International Students and UK universities: what research has to say to practice

Dr Liz Bennett

Director of Teaching and Learning

School of Education and Professional Development, and HudCRES

The timing of this symposium, hosted by HudCRES on 1st February 2022, could not have been better. In January 2022, the UK higher education sector met its target of 600,000 international students (8 years ahead of schedule). The symposium was introduced by Professor Alastair Sambell, Pro Vice Chancellor, International, at the University of Huddersfield.

During the event, four leading scholars and practitioners contributed their critical and research informed perspectives to help inform development:

Professor Rachel Brooks, Associate Dean for Research and Innovation (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences), University of Surrey
Dr Manny Madriaga, Associate Professor, University of Nottingham
Dr Sylvie Lomer, founding co-convener of the Higher Education Research Network HERE@Manchester, Institute for Education, University of Manchester
Bee Bond, Associate Professor of English for Academic Purposes, University of Leeds

Professor Rachel Brooks

International students and UK policy: ethical implications

International students pay a significantly higher fee than UK domicile students and have become a key income stream for many HEIs. Hence it was especially timely for this symposium to consider the ethical dimensions of attracting students to study in the UK. Professor Rachel Brooks emphasised this area as complex and nuanced.

Brooks, R., & Waters, J. (2021). Student migrants and contemporary educational mobilities. Palgrave Macmillan.

Brooks, R., & Waters, J. (2011). Student mobilities, migration and the internationalization of higher education. Palgrave Macmillan.

Dr Manny Madriaga

International students becoming Black

We were invited by Dr Manny Madriaga to understand the lived experiences of international students and the overlaps with BAME student experiences. He outlined how these experiences are shaped by the way that institutions normalise whiteness and Britishness whilst the experiences of those who come from different backgrounds are made to feel ‘other’. As one participant in his research commented, “I didn’t feel Black until I came here”.

Madriaga, M., & McCaig, C. (2019). How international students of colour become Black: a story of whiteness in English higher education. Teaching in Higher Education, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2019.1696300

Dr Sylvie Lomer

International students in the UK: deficit narratives and research approaches

The aim of the symposium was to move beyond research, to identify action that might help to improve the experience for international students. Dr Sylvie Lomer’s contribution moved us on to the practical. She started by noting that there isn’t a solid evidence base of successful pedagogic practices in internationally diverse student groups (Lomer & Mittelmeier, 2021) rather, the literature often situates students in deficit. She invited teachers to be alert to, and to challenge, our own deficit narrative framing and hence to challenge racialised and established practices developed from UK centric norms.

Sylvie highlighted some inclusive pedagogical practices that help to address this gap and introduced the AdvanceHE International Pedagogies website which contains resources and case studies.

Lomer, S. (2017). Recruiting International Students in Higher Education: Representations and Rationales in British Policy (1st 2017. ed.). Palgrave MacMillan.

Lomer, S., & Mittelmeier, J. (2021). Mapping the research on pedagogies with international students in the UK: a systematic literature review. Teaching in Higher Education, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2021.1872532

Mittelmeier, J., & Lomer, S. (2021). The problem of positioning international students as cash cows. Blog post, Higher Education Policy Institute.

Bee Bond

Language as a barrier and enabler

The final speaker, Bee Bond, is an English for Academic Purposes, EAP. Her talk highlighted the way that students’ language competency is viewed through the lens of language testing (IELTs). Instead, she argued for an embedded academic literacies approach that shared responsibility for language with subject teachers to help to develop students’ autonomy and confidence.

These inputs were followed by discussion in small groups (not recorded) with key points fed back to the whole group and during the chat.

Key ideas that were discussed included:

the importance of focussing on the students’ experiences and using these to help to motivate change;
the potential for co-creation approaches to curriculum development;
the need to humanise our teaching and learning by recognising the importance of support (for both teachers and learners)
the role of support that is integrated rather than separated from our teaching;
the place of English language and the challenge of the term ‘international student’.

Watch again

Introduction - Dr Liz Bennett
Introduction - Professor Alastair Sambell [4:45]
Professor Rachel Brooks [12:20]
Dr Manny Madriaga [23:35]
Dr Sylvie Lomer [36:10]
Bee Bond [50:00]

The small group discussions and feedback were not recorded.