This special issue of Comparative and International Education/Éducation comparée et internationale critically examines where international students from Asia fit within broader initiatives of internationalization, Indigenization and decolonization, and equity, diversity, and inclusion in Canada’s colleges and universities. The goal is to contextualize some of the challenges they face, to understand how they fit within institutional priorities, and to examine knowledges, strategies, structures, and spaces from critical perspectives. The seven papers in this issue, as described in the next section, were selected for their examination and exposition of the connections and disconnections between actors in the domain of international education and for provoking questions about the lack of coherence among internationalization, Indigenization, and equity priorities within institutions. In this section, we offer a justification for the focus on students from Asia, namely India and China, and argue for situating their experiences of recruitment, exclusion, and marginalization within a decolonizing and equity, diversity, and inclusion framework. International students are an increasing presence in educational institutions at all levels across the country and roughly half of over 700,000 international students come from Asia, predominantly India and China (Government of Canada, 2019). Part of the exponential rise in their numbers can be attributed to the launch of a centralized international education strategy by the federal government in 2014 that provided a national vision to the recruitment and retention of international students and one that identified target markets such as China, India, Vietnam, Japan, and Korea, among others, for primarily economic benefits (Government of Canada, 2014). The enrollment trend at the postsecondary level, which is the level of interest in this special issue, is astonishing with numbers of students from East, Southeast, and South Asia rising nearly four-fold within a decade, from just over 66,000 to over 250,000 students between 2010 and 2019 (Statistics Canada, 2022a). From India, roughly 10,000 students were enrolled in a college or university program in 2010 compared to over 117,000 in 2019. From China, the enrollment numbers show approximately 35,000 students in 2010 and over 90,000 in 2019. Although numbers alone do not justify attention on a population, they do raise questions about the role of institutions and the state in attracting flows from particular places and in their reception and integration of those, and other, students, who arrive in Canada, a place with a complex history that is undergoing social change. For its part, the federal government updated its 2014 strategy with one in 2019 titled, Building on Success: International Education Strategy 2019–2024, which lauded Canada’s progress, noting that the number of international students to Canada increased by 68% between 2014 and 2018 (Government of Canada, 2019). Now a shared vision between the departments of International Trade Diversification; Employment, Workforce Development and Labour; and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the strategy reemphasized international education as crucial to the country’s economic prospects and called more specifically for a diversification of markets. As then-Minister of International Trade Diversification James Gordon Carr indicated, one of the three priority activities is to “diversify the countries from which international students come to Canada, as well as their fields, levels of study, and location of study within Canada” (Government of Canada, 2019, p. i). These two federal strategies have been used in recent scholarship as starting points to better grasp what a Canadian approach to international education means. However, at times, they have been posited uncritically as sole foundational moments to Canada’s recruitment of international students. Well before these strategies, provinces, colleges, and universities have framed international students as primarily economic actors, with a sustained interest in recruiting from Asian countries (see Chen, 2008; Francis, 1993). …
Appendices
Bibliography
- Alizai, H. (2021). Young Canadian Muslims: Islamophobia and higher education. Comparative and International Education, 49(2), 1–16.
- Beck, K., & Lemaire, E. (2020). Editorial. Comparative and International Education, 48(2).
- Buckner, E., Clerk, S., Marroquin, A., & Zhang, Y. (2020). Strategic benefits, symbolic commitments: How Canadian colleges and universities frame internationalization. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 50(4), 20–36.
- Chen, L. H. (2008). Internationalization or international marketing? Two frameworks for understanding international students’ choice of Canadian universities. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 18(1), 1– 33.
- Cui, D., & Kelly, J. (2013). “Too Asian?” Or the invisible citizen on the other side of the nation. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 14, 157–174.
- Francis, A. (1993). Facing the future: The internationalization of post-secondary institutions in British Columbia. [Task Force Report]. British Columbia Centre for International Education.
- Government of Canada. (2014). Canada’s international education strategy: Harnessing our knowledge advantage to drive innovation and prosperity. https://www.international.gc.ca/education/assets/pdfs/overview-apercu-eng.pdf
- Government of Canada. (2019). Building on success: International education strategy, 2019–2024. https://www.international.gc.ca/education/assets/pdfs/ies-sei/Building-on-Success-International-Education-Strategy-2019-2024.pdf
- Guo, S., & Guo, Y. (2021). Combating anti-Asian racism and xenophobia in Canada: Toward pandemic anti-racism education in post-COVID-19. Beijing International Review of Education, 3(2), 187–211.
- Heer, J., Ma, M. C. K., Bhandar, D., & Gilmour, R. J. (2012). ”Too Asian?” racism, privilege, and post-secondary education. Between the Lines.
- Jones, G. A. (2004). Ontario higher education reform, 1995–2003: From modest modifications to policy reform. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 34(3), 39–54.
- Karsgaard, C. (2021). Rethinking and reinventing intercultural education in post-secondary institutions: A critical, anti-colonial approach. Comparative and International Education, 50(1), 17–29.
- Matias, C., Popovic, A., & Lebel, A. (2021). Projected financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Canadian universities for the 2020–21 academic year. Education, Learning and Training Research Paper Series, Statistics Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/81-595-m/81-595-m2021002-eng.htm
- Statistics Canada. (2022a). Postsecondary enrolments, By status of student in Canada, country of citizenship and gender. Table 37-10-0086-01. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3710008601
- Statistics Canada. (2022b). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university finances for the 2020–21 fiscal year. The Daily, Statistics Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220809/dq220809c-eng.htm.
- Tamtik, M., & Guenter, M. (2019). Policy analysis of equity, diversity and inclusion strategies in Canadian universities—How far have we come? Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 49(3), 41–56.
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (2015). Calls to action. https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf.
- Yu, H. (2007). Towards a Pacific history of the Americas. Amerasia Journal, 33(2), xi–xix.
- Zhang, Z., & Beck, K. (2014). I came but I’m lost: Learning stories of three Chinese international students in Canada. Comparative and International Education, 43(2).
- Zhang, Z., & Zhou, G. (2010). Understanding Chinese international students at a Canadian university: Perspectives, expectations and experiences. Comparative and International Education, 39(3), 43–58.
Appendices
Bibliographie
- Alizai, H. (2021). Young Canadian Muslims: Islamophobia and higher education. Comparative and International Education/Éducation comparée et internationale, 49(2), 1–16.
- Beck, K. et Lemaire, E. (2020). Éditorial. Comparative and International Education/Éducation comparée et internationale, 48(2).
- Buckner, E., Clerk, S., Marroquin, A. et Zhang, Y. (2020). Strategic benefits, symbolic commitments: How Canadian colleges and universities frame internationalization. Canadian Journal of Higher Education /La Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur, 50(4), 20–36.
- Chen, L. H. (2008). Internationalization or international marketing? Two frameworks for understanding international students’ choice of Canadian universities. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 18(1), 1– 33.
- Commission de vérité et réconciliation du Canada. (2015). Appels à l’action. https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/4-Appels_a_l-Action_French.pdf.
- Cui, D. et Kelly, J. (2013). “Too Asian?” Or the invisible citizen on the other side of the nation. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 14, 157–174.
- Francis, A. (1993). Facing the future: The internationalization of post-secondary institutions in British Columbia. [Task Force Report]. British Columbia Centre for International Education.
- Gouvernement du Canada. (2014). Stratégie du Canada en matière d’éducation internationale : Utiliser notre avantage du savoir comme moteur de l’innovation et de la prospérité. https://www.international.gc.ca/education/assets/pdfs/overview-apercu-fra.pdf
- Gouvernement du Canada. (2019). Miser sur le succès : la stratégie en matière d’éducation internationale 2019– 2024. https://www.international.gc.ca/education/assets/pdfs/ies-sei/Miser-sur-le-succes-la-Strategie-en-matiere-d-education-internationale-2019-2024.pdf
- Guo, S. et Guo, Y. (2021). Combating anti-Asian racism and xenophobia in Canada: Toward pandemic anti- education in Post-COVID-19. Beijing International Review of Education, 3(2), 187–211.
- Heer, J., Ma, M. C. K., Bhandar, D. et Gilmour, R. J. (2012). “Too Asian?” racism, privilege, and post-secondary education. Between the Lines.
- Jones, G. A. (2004). Ontario higher education reform, 1995–2003: From modest modifications to policy reform.
- Canadian Journal of Higher Education /La Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur, 34(3), 39–54.
- Karsgaard, C. (2021). Rethinking and reinventing intercultural education in post-secondary institutions: A critical, anti-colonial approach. Comparative and International Education/Éducation comparée et internationale, 50(1), 17–29.
- Matias, C., Popovic, A. et Lebel, A. (2021). Répercussions financières projetées de la pandémie de COVID-19 sur les universités canadiennes pour l’année universitaire 2020–2021. L’éducation, l’apprentissage et la formation. Série de documents de recherche, Statistique Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/81-595-m/81-595-m2021002-fra.htm
- Statistique Canada. (2022a). Effectifs postsecondaires, selon le statut de l’étudiant au Canada, le pays de citoyenneté et le de la personne. Tableau 37-10-0086-01. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/fr/tv.action?pid=3710008601
- Statistique Canada. (2022b). Les répercussions de la pandémie de COVID-19 sur les finances des universités pour l’exercice financier 2020–2021. Le Quotidien, Statistique Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220809/dq220809c-fra.htm
- Tamtik, M. et Guenter, M. (2019). Policy analysis of equity, diversity and inclusion strategies in Canadian Universities—How far have we come? Canadian Journal of Higher Education/La Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur, 49(3), 41–56.
- Yu, H. (2007). Towards a Pacific history of the Americas. Amerasia Journal, 33(2), xi–xix.
- Zhang, Z. et Beck, K. (2014). I came but I’m lost: Learning stories of three Chinese international students in Canada. Comparative and International Education/Éducation comparée et internationale, 43(2).
- Zhang, Z. et Zhou, G. (2010). Understanding Chinese international students at a Canadian university: Perspectives, expectations and experiences. Comparative and International Education/Éducation comparée et internationale, 39(3), 43–58.