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Counting Family: Making the Family of International Students Visible in Higher Education Policy and Practice

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Abstract

This article focuses on a significant group of postgraduate international students overlooked by institutions and policymakers, namely those with accompanying partners and children. The economic importance of international students to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America is highlighted. It is argued that an outdated construction of the international student as young and carefree contributes to the pattern of invisibility apparent in data collection systems and in the research literature. Drawing on the NAFSA formula, estimates are calculated for numbers of accompanying family members for five selected countries, and then immigration, education, and health policies pertaining to family members are examined

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Notes

  1. NAFSA, originally the National Association of Student Advisors, underwent two name changes. In 1964, it became the National Association of Student Affairs, and then in 1990 to the Association of International Educators. The Acronym was retained because this was widely known and recognized, and had a history (http://www.nafsa.org).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Victoria University of Wellington, School of Education, PO Box 17-310, Wellington, 6147, Karori, New Zealand

    Stephanie Doyle, Judith Loveridge & Niusila Faamanatu-Eteuati

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  1. Stephanie Doyle
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  2. Judith Loveridge
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  3. Niusila Faamanatu-Eteuati
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Doyle, S., Loveridge, J. & Faamanatu-Eteuati, N. Counting Family: Making the Family of International Students Visible in Higher Education Policy and Practice. High Educ Policy 29, 184–198 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1057/hep.2015.20

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