Identity and ethnicity in the

internationalization of higher
education
CATHERINE GOMES
RMIT UNIVERSITY
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
International Education in Australia – A Short
History

 Colombo Plan 1952

 Mid 1980s – full fee paying
 Arts Degree (AUD33.5k or USD23.4k); Science Degree (AUD44k or USD32k); PhD
(AUD40.5 k or USD21.3k)
 Approximately 1 international student pays for 4 domestic students
 AUD31 billion / USD22.3 billion

 Transnational Education: Offshore campuses

International Students in Australia and
Victoria (maybe what to expect @HBSUs?)

 Areas of (international) education: university, ELICOS (English Language Intensive

Courses for Overseas Students), high school, private colleges / TAFE (Technical and
Further Education) - Pathway Program (Assoc. Degree).
 City and Regional
 International Students in Australia: 624,001 enrolments (highest number to date – 13 %
increase from previous year.)
 Top sender countries: China, India, Malaysia, Brazil, Vietnam (and rest of Asia)
 International Students in Victoria: 200,000
International students in Victoria

 International Student cities

 Changes in business, cultural (e.g. food), ethnographic landscapes of the city.
 Changes in the cityscape – most students live in Melbourne CBD
 They have colonised ‘white’ spaces
(e.g. Victoria State Library)
could such things happen in Baltimore?
Source: https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/about-us/collaborations-affiliations
International Students: Terror & Threats
(possible issues that can happen in US)

 2000s – link to permanent residence leading to fly-by-night providers

 Violence against Indian students and Indian student protests
 Racial verbal abuse on public transportation – directed towards Northeast Asian (Mainland
Chinese students)
 International students taken advantage of in employment (Asian restaurants, 7 Eleven,
Dominos)
 Accommodation – constantly moving house, ‘illegal’ boarding houses (sublet),
overcrowding leading to fire hazards
 Sexual violence on university campuses (National Report on Sexual Assault and Sexual
Harassment at Australian Universities, 2017)

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/ten-people-in-a-two-bed-unit-international-students-living-in-squalor
My Research (Asia-Pacific centric – but what
is Asia-Pacific…?)

 PhD in History (Reception of Chinese cinema!)

 social media, social networks, migration, ethnicity/race, memory, diaspora and identity.
 digital media contributes significantly to the migrant experience
 championing transient migration as a necessary area of study
 the physical and digital social and cultural spaces of international students
Work based on ethnographic studies

 Focus groups
 Face to Face Interviews
 Journal
 Online Surveys
Why Identity Matters

‘Being overseas and away from the familiarity of the nation, culture/s, society/s and
community/s in which they grew up—such as the sights, sounds and smells of the places
transient migrant scall home—and from the family and friends they had come to rely on for
support, means that they have to start relying on their identities in order to navigate their
lives overseas. Self-perceived identities help the [international students] navigate the social
groups that they want to be part of whether they are based on the nationality, culture, visa
status as temporary migrants (e.g. international students), interests (e.g. religion) or other
variables. The self-perceived identities, in other words, allow [international students] to be
part of communities based on any number of variables within which they feel comfortable
and supported while on foreign soil’ (Gomes, 2018: 10-11)
 Not identity politics but identity that grounds people while in transience …..

This Photo by Unknown Author is

licensed under CC BY-ND
Identity and Silos

 Hierarchy of identities: ‘[International Students] rely on a hierarchy of identities they possess while in transience
to make connections (and disconnections) with people….[T]he connections [they] make …. are based on a
combination of meaningful relationships (e.g. friendships) and useful and beneficial associations (e.g. with
diasporas online) formed while overseas’ (Gomes, 2018:19). to b
y
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is Pho Autho
Th w n e r
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 BUT the danger of forming silos: International students become part of something I call Siloed diversity which: CC

‘[O]ccurs when international students form physical and online networks, groups and communities based on
identities that become distinct because of their very transience. At the same time …. these identities—some of which
are strengthened (e.g. nationality) while others are formed (e.g. transient migrant status)—also lead [international
students] to disconnect with people they would otherwise form networks, groups and communities with if they were
not living overseas.’
• There are also negative implications of siloed diversity: living echo chambers leading international students to
self-segregate from the host/receiver society.
Ethnicity and Race – Matters but not really

 ‘ethnicity’ does not matter (because we identify as international students)

 disconnections with local population (and domestic students) takes place too despite any
ethnic similarities
 The case of Asian-Australians and Asian international students
 Australians are ‘white’; want to see ‘white faces’ on tv. Chinese student: if Australia has
all Asians, why should I come?
 Feel that Asian-Australians are not ‘true Asians’ but more Australian while Asian-
Australians thinking Asian international students are ‘fresh off the boat’

This Photo by Unknown Author is

licensed under CC BY-SA
Tensions: International students and
International education

 Stereotyping international students (even by staff): PR hunters, bring down academic standards,
can’t speak/write in English, stick together/don’t mix around
BUT
 Large numbers *do not* gain PR. Yet PR is opportunity not settlement.
 Academic standards – international students are an easy mark. This Photo by
Unknown Author is
licensed under
 International students work on improving their English (Gomes, 2017) by talking to each other, CC BY

watching Hollywood pdtns, ELICOS classes

 *Want* to mix: acculturate but not assimilate

 Transnational education – overseas campuses and the issues there (Phan, 2017)
What can faculty and students do?

 Campuses are internationalized – which has led to some tension (especially in classes)
 Internationalization of the curriculum – what it is and why we have misunderstood this
term (lack of ‘domestic’ engagement and overemphasis on the international student =>
international students not *the* problem).
 What is a ‘domestic student’? New first generation migrants in institutions may have
similar issues to international students. Likewise interstate students.
This Photo by
 Create curriculum where local students see the benefits of working with international Unknown Author
is licensed under
students – for future (e.g. visits!, business) CC BY-ND

 Need to understand international students and not force our understandings on them (e.g.
of the belonging desk) INTERCULTUEAL COMPETENCE THE KEY
Is internationalization still important?
What are our roles when it comes to collaborations?

 Internationalization of curriculum to employability. Yet have we really figured out what

‘internationalization’ really is?
 Internationalization of campuses is unstoppable – increasing international mobility of
students aka international students.
 Comparative work and why this is important
 Research projects, publications, networks
 Students can do the same but takes work (structures need to be put in place and they need
direction)
 HBCUs in unique position – lean from failures and challenges This Photo by Unknown Author is
licensed under CC BY
What next?

 Partnerships – e.g. International Networks

 Possible Projects (comparative work) – Research, Student-centric, Publications
 Funding

This Photo by
Unknown Authr
is licensed under
CC BY-SAo
 This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under
CC BY-NC-ND

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND