The stories they tell: understanding international student mobility through higher education policy

Abstract

The movement of students across borders has had profound impact on higher education policy development. This article seeks to unpack international student mobility through a discourse approach, using five policy documents on international student mobility from well-established recruiters of international students. Eight headline findings are presented in this article. It was found that there are many different types of international students. Higher education institutions are located at the heart of the action, and provide a broad range of services across four distinctive stages of the students’ sojourn. Governments reaffirm their commitment in providing good higher education experience to the international student population. However, there are signs that the students’ presence has shaped higher education policies to be more service-, market-, and reputation driven. The ethics of care concept is proposed to balance the present role of higher education as “wealth creation agents,” and to ensure both institutions and students reap the benefits of international higher education.