Australian Universities’ Review - The International Student as Student, Migrant and Victim

Oct 15, 2026

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Australian Universities’ Review examines how international students in Australia have been framed as students, migrants, and—most recently—victims, arguing that the victim narrative can reinforce an exploiter–exploited framework while leaving deeper public-policy issues insufficiently addressed. It traces research themes since the late-1980s post-Colombo Plan era, including effects on perceptions within education and wider society. The article highlights industry growth, debates around export measurement, and policy shifts linking immigration to education.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

The changing roles of international students

Student as student, migrant, and victim

Research themes since the late 1980s

Policy, media focus, and employment controversies

Industry growth and provider landscape

University research strands and cultural deficit claims

A U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W The international student as student, migrant and victim Changing perceptions in a vexed area of public policy. Paul Rodan CQUniversity From the inception of post-Colombo Plan international education in Australia, three broad research emphases have been evident: the student as student, as migrant and most recently, as victim. The victim role plays easily into preconceived notions, helping to sustain an exploiter and exploited framework in which deeper issues remain unaddressed. This article raises some such questions, especially the role of casual work, and makes the case for greater acknowledgement of the complexities in this contentious area of public policy. Research into international education in Australia has followed several themes since the emergence of the post-Colombo Plan version in the late 1980s. This article explores the ways in which this research has helped develop perceptions of international students in Australia, first among the education community andover time, in the wider society following immigration controversies and a series of assaults. The growth in the industry has been extraordinary, with an annual export figure of $15.5 billion for 2008 (AEI, 2009), although the methodology for arriving at this quantum has been questioned in recent times (Healy, 2009) . It is also worth pointing out that this is no longer a university-dominated phenomenon, with only 37 per cent of the 449,000 overseas students studying for a higher education qualification; a fast-growing Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector on 36 per cent; 17 per cent in English Language Intensive Course for Overseas Students (ELICOS), with the remainder in schools and ‘other’(DEEWR, 2009) . As of 2008, there were 1,310 providers of education to international students (TVET, 2009, p.11), which tends to place Australia’s thirty eight universities in some overall context. Outside the school sector, which attracts interest from those involved in teacher education, research has focussed on university issues, a natural consequence of the research role synonymous with that sector. One strand focuses on the international student as student, with work on plagiarism, culturally-linked learning patterns, internationalisation of the curriculum, intercultural communication and language issues. Discussion also addressed the ‘cultural deficit’ explanation for the challenges faced by international students (Chalmers & Volet, 1997; Ninnes,Aitchison & Kalos, 1999; Egege & Kutieleh, 2004; Hellsten & Prescott, 2004; Sawir, 2005; Leask, 2006) . The notion of the student as ‘customer’ has been a recurring feature of the last two decades,perhaps more especially with the fee-paying species, both domestic and international. However, this phenomenon would appear to have generated more internal management vol. 51, no. 2, 2009 The international student as student, migrant and victim, Paul Rodan 27 A U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W documentation than scholarly literature (Owens & Loomes, 2007; Svensson & Wood, 2007) . After the Federal Government’s decision to link immigration policy with international education, the associated issues of adequate language skills and international graduate employability became controversial and assumed a dominant role in the media’s treatment of the industry.This was perhaps inevitable, as the relevant questions sometimes spoke to ancient memories in Australia’s immigration history and lent themselves more easily to an occasional newspaper headline and story than did complicated matters of intercultural pedagogy, the latter rarely featuring on the talkback circuit. The pre-eminent academic figure in exploring the student as migrant issue was Bob Birrell, Director of Monash University’s Centre of Population and Urban Research.An economic nationalist floating in an ocean of globalism (at Monash and beyond), Birrell observed th

FAQs

How does the article describe the shift in perceptions of international students in Australia?

It traces research themes that increasingly frame international students not only as students and migrants, but also as victims. The article suggests this victim role can fit preconceived ideas and sustain an exploiter–exploited framing.

What public-policy complexities does the article say are often left unaddressed?

It argues that deeper issues remain insufficiently considered, especially when casual work and broader intercultural pedagogical matters receive less attention than media-ready controversies.

What controversies emerge after immigration policy is linked to international education?

The article notes disputes around language proficiency and international graduate employability, emphasizing how these concerns dominate media treatment and are sometimes treated more easily as headline stories than as complex educational questions.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Blitz