ABSTRACT
In the literature on international students, national level policy is rarely studied. However, over the last 20 years, many major host countries have developed national-level policies on international education, including the recruitment of international students. In the UK, Tony Blair’s Prime Minister’s Initiative was launched in 1999, and later evolved into a fully-fledged International Education Strategy, published in 2013. Examined from a critical perspective, these policies construct representations of international students and their anticipated behaviour while in the UK. They are represented as economic assets, consumers, educational resources, migrants and ambassadors. Students are expected to adapt to the norms, values and culture of the host country. Where students do not adapt, they are represented as in deficit. Institutions are expected to make small changes to support this adaptation and change students’ perceptions of their experiences. Beyond this, institutions and the sector are expected to adapt by taking advantage of opportunities in international education. None of these changes reflect a commitment to significantly adapting higher education to reflect its international character. Instead, they are strategic approaches to allow the UK to adapt to a changing and increasingly competitive world, using international students as a resource to do so.
