Against ‘Integration’ in Research and Practice with International Students

Abstract

Integration is a commonly used term that is ubiquitous throughout research and practice with international students. This essay exposes some of the common assumptions underpinning this concept through an interdisciplinary lens, with a reflection on its conceptual history from Durkheim and Tinto. I argue that more critical and ethical approaches are urgently needed in research and practice with international students, which requires abandoning integration as the primary lens through which we view the field. The essay concludes with some questions that scholars and practitioners might consider for thinking beyond integration.