Asian International Students on Australian Campus

Abstract

This chapter contextualises the increased presence of Asian international students in the complex and shifting communities in Australian higher education. Over the past two decades, international mobility has literally changed the face of the population on Australian campuses with one in five coming from overseas. Through an examination of the relationship between Asian students, their universities, academics and the government agencies, it attempts to offer an insight into the lived experiences of these students in Australia. The last section provides a more focused analysis of what the "Chinese learner" goes through in an environment where neoliberal universities homogenise graduate attributes and curriculum, thereby relegating alternative epistemologies on campus into the margins through a hegemonic abuse of power.