Academic Standards, Internationalisation, and the Discursive Construction of "The International Student"

Abstract

The release in early 2001 of a study of Australian social science academics
\nperceptions of the impact of commercialisation on academic freedom (Kayrooz, Kinnear &
\nPreston, 2001) led to sustained public debate over the issue of academic standards and the
\ninternationalisation of higher education in Australia. This debate gave expression to
\ngrowing disaffection amongst Australian academics with the pressures for increased commercialisation
\nand entrepreneurialism in their work. In this paper I use the tools provided
\nthrough the work of Michel Foucault to critically examine the terms of the debate as it was
\nconducted in the public arena. The purpose of this analysis is to explore the ways in which
\ninternational students were represented in the discourses of academic standards, and the
\nconflation of the alleged decline in academic standards with the internationalisation
\nof higher education, and in particular, with the presence of international students on
\nAustralian campuses.