Recent Australian policy documents stress the need to enhance international student experiences. These include the Draft International Education and Skills Strategic Framework, the Australian Strategy for International Education 2021-2030, the Australian Universities Accord, the Migration Strategy and the Parliament Interim Report on International Education.
The Australian Universities Accord emphasises it is crucial to broaden student support services, and the Australian Strategy for International Education 2021-2030 highlights the need to ensure “the voices and experiences of international students continue to inform relevant policies”.
Despite this rhetoric, we have mainly heard voices from the government, professional organisations and education providers in relation to policy changes in recent months.
The silent voices are those of ordinary international students who are ironically at the centre of policy changes. Their voices and needs should be given more attention in debates about policy changes. Policy reforms need to be evidence-based, considering student needs and how best to support them.
It is crucial the sector also moves beyond listening only to the voices of student leaders, though they are important. We must find effective mechanisms to listen to and consider the hidden and marginalised voices – voices that fall through the cracks – in discussions about policy changes and support provision. Vulnerable voices include those from female students suffering from violence, those within the LGBTQIA+ community, students with mental health issues, students facing academic or financial challenges and students from regional and rural areas.
We conducted focus group interviews with 33 participants, including international students, international graduates, and staff from diverse stakeholders such as education providers, professional organisations, and local communities who are involved in supporting international students. We asked participants about areas of support international students need most in the current context, barriers to seeking support and how to effectively support them.
This focus group consultation and our research on international student voices over the past decades indicated a critical need for institutions, the government and professional organisations to work together in enhancing local communities’ understandings about international students as the first step towards better international student engagement in their host country.
Despite international students’ educational, social, cultural and economic contributions to Australia, their values are often not recognised by the local community. Lack of understanding about international students and awareness of their contributions is among the main reasons behind the lack of care and unjust treatment toward this cohort.
Systemic issues that have persisted for decades include the myth about international students taking away study places, jobs and accommodation from domestic students and local communities, insufficient communication between the international education sector and the Australian public, and the loose connections between international students and local peers and communities.
Substantial structural barriers in recent years have been the increasing politicalisation of international education, policy uncertainties, and politically driven interventions from the government without an evidence-based approach and adequate consultation. This is fuelled by anti-migration sentiments resulting in othering, marginalisation, discrimination and xenophobia towards international students.
Amid the headwinds facing international education, the research identified a number of priority areas of support for international students:
- Mental health and wellbeing
- Connection with local communities and domestic students
- Accommodation
- Financial pressures
- Legal and visa support
- Finding a job and employability support
- Language and academic support
- Accessing information and seeking help.
Despite the myriad of support services provided by education institutions, peak bodies and community organisations, there are some persistent gaps in the sector, including:
- Lack of collaboration and coordination between stakeholders across the international student lifecycle
- Many international students do not know where to go and how to seek help or lack trust in support provision
- Information overload, making international students overwhelmed or confused
- Disengaged students and vulnerable students, including female students suffering from violence, students with mental health issues, and those struggling academically and financially
- Challenge in providing both in-person and online support
- Lack of local communities’ and employers’ understandings of international students
- Lack of support for homeless students
- Lack of programs that connect international students with local students.
The combined emerging politicalisation of international education and traditional overemphasis on commercialisation of the sector have intensified the de-humanisation of international students.
This discourse overlooks the diverse needs, human experiences and aspirations of international students. It not only worsens international students’ precarity as cross-border non-citizens in the host country but also risks missing the opportunity to build on the diverse cultural, intellectual and experiential values that international students bring along to enrich the host communities.
It’s a critical time to remind ourselves of the importance to understand international student needs and how best to support them, which is at the heart of our work.
Ly Tran, Diep Nguyen, Danielle Hartridge, & Gary Lee
