Abstract:
Despite playing an integral role in the internationalisation of higher education, research on the experiences and perspectives of international students within higher education in countries like Aotearoa/New Zealand remains limited. Much of the research to date looks only at specific subgroups of international students or explores such experiences through the lens of adjustment, acculturation, integration, adaptation or assimilation. This thesis sets out to present a different outlook by taking into account the agency of international students. It puts forth an argument that the consumerist frameworks usually depict international students as fragile human beings whose cultural and academic backgrounds are deficient in some way and who must conform to the Western way of life in order to succeed in their academic endeavours. It argues instead to see international students as agentic because it may make higher education more inclusive by treating international students as partners rather than mere consumers. Interviews were conducted with thirteen international students from a variety of national and cultural backgrounds, disciplines and levels of study at a large comprehensive university in Aotearoa/New Zealand to explore their experiences. Critical ethnography was utilised as the main framework for this research because it could reveal the systemic power relations at work, and it was supplemented with auto-ethnographical reflection on the researcher’s journey as an international student to add a level of detail not usually provided in studies of the international student experience in Aotearoa/New Zealand. This study found instances of communication apprehension and stereotyping in intercultural communication. It also reveals that support systems for international students may be inadequate under the neoliberal system of higher education that seeks maximum economic profitability as its main agenda. The thesis ultimately argues that the agency of international students should be integrated into the provision of higher education for them so that their voice is not only heard but also acknowledged and acted upon.
