1st Edition

International Students from Asia in Canadian Universities Institutional Challenges at the Intersection of Internationalization, Racialization and Inclusion

Edited By Ann Kim, Elizabeth Buckner, Jean Michel Montsion Copyright 2024
    296 Pages 6 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    This book explores how the recruitment and retention of Asian international students in Canadian universities intersects with other institutional priorities. Responding to the growing need for new insights and perspectives on the institutional mechanisms adopted by Canadian universities to support Asian international students in their academic and social integration to university life, it crucially examines the challenges at the intersection of two institutional priorities: internationalization and anti-racism. This is especially important for the Asian international student group, who are known to experience invisible forms of discrimination and differential treatment in Canadian post-secondary education institutions. The authors present new conceptualisations and theoretical perspectives on topics including international students’ experiences and understandings of race and racism, comparisons with domestic students and/or non-Asian students, institutional discourse and narratives on Asian international students, comparison with other university priorities, cross-national comparisons, best practices, and recent developments linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Foregrounding the institutional strategies of Canadian universities, as opposed to student experience exclusively, this direct examination of institutional responses and initiatives draws out similarities and differences across the country, compares them within the broader array of university priorities, and ultimately offers the opportunity for Canadian universities to learn from each other in improving the integration of Asian international students and others to their student body. It will appeal to teacher-scholars, researchers and educators with interested in higher education, international education and race and ethnic studies.

    The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

    Introduction: International Students from Asia and Canadian Universities: Institutional History and Trends
    Ann H. Kim, Elizabeth Buckner and Jean Michel Montsion

    SECTION 1: Institutional Contexts: A Critical View

    1. The Ruling Relations of the Internationalizing Canadian University
    Kumari Beck

    2. International Students and Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity (EDI) in Canadian Universities: A Critical Look
    Tania Das Gupta and Bianca Gomez

    3. For Students, Look East; For Partners, Look West: How Canadian Internationalization Strategies Portray Asia and Europe
    Elizabeth Buckner, Janine Knight-Grofe and Cynthia Eden

    4. Framing International Students from Asia in Ontario Universities: Provincial Priorities, Deficit-focused Services and Economic Benefits
    Jean Michel Montsion and Daniela Caneo

    5. International Education Pipeline: An Analysis of British Columbia’s University Transfer System
    Elic Chan and Brett Matsushita

    SECTION 2: Inclusion and Exclusion in Universities

    6. Assessments of universities by international students from Asia: Institutional resources, adjustment, inclusion and safety
    Ann H. Kim, Firrisaa Abdulkarim and Melissa Payne

    7. Between Intellectual Gateway and Intellectual Periphery: Chinese International Student Experiences
    Min-Jung Kwak, Lucia Lo, Guanglong Pang and Yun Wang

    8. Understanding Chinese Students’ Manifold Transitions in a Canadian University
    Eustacia Yu

    9. Voices from Chinese International Students on Resources Offered by Montreal Universities: Pathways towards Equity and Social Justice
    Roberta de Oliveira Soares, Marie-Odile Magnan, Yifan Liu and Fabiola Melo Araneda

    10. Asian international students studying in Canada: A review of barriers to the learning experience by revisioning of Astin’s I-E-O Model
    Guanglong Pang and Brandon R. G. Smith

    11. Pushed to the Periphery: Understanding the Multiple Forms of Exclusion Experienced by Asian International Students
    Vander Tavares

    SECTION 3: Anti-Asian Racism and the Politics of Race

    12. Asian International Students at the University of Toronto: How Diversity Discourses Downplay Student Demographics
    Elizabeth Buckner, Eun Gi Kim and Fotini Vlahos

    13. An East Coast Racial Reckoning: International Students and the Politics of Race at Dalhousie University
    Ajay Parasram, Madison Gateman, Amaan Kazmi

    14. Asian international Students in a mid-sized Canadian University: A Case study of the University of Manitoba
    Yazhi Luo and Lori Wilkinson

    15. Neo-racism, Neo-nationalism and the Recruitment of International Students to Canada in the Era of the Pandemic
    You Zhang, Shangcao Yuan and Phoebe Kang

    16. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the racial experiences of international university students from Korea in Canada and the US
    Ann H. Kim, Angie Chung, Mihyon Jeon, Thomas Klassen, Min-Jung Kwak, Hyunjung Shin and Patricia Trudel

    Conclusion: Building on Success from the Bottom-up? Institutional Challenges, Racialized Experiences, and Opportunities for Further Research
    Jean Michel Montsion, Ann H. Kim, Elizabeth Buckner

    Biography

    Ann H. Kim is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at York University, and Faculty Associate of the York Centre for Asian Research, Canada. Elizabeth Buckner is Assistant Professor in the Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, Canada. Jean Michel Montsion is Associate Professor in the Canadian Studies Program at Glendon College, York University, Canada. He is also Director of the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies, and Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.

    "Asian perspectives on the internationalisation policies and practices of Canadian universities bring both insights and disturbing questions that demand attention, given the tremendous potential for cultural enrichment that Asian students bring. This volume gives voice to a wide range of students and faculty across the country whose in-depth research exposes the inequities and imbalances of policies at both federal and institutional levels while also putting forward constructive proposals for transformation. A must read for all who care about the future of internationalization in our universities."

    --Ruth Hayhoe, Professor, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, President emerita, the Education University of Hong Kong

    "This volume is a timely and welcome addition to the expanding scholarship on the internationalization of higher education and international student mobility which arrives at a time when the international community is facing unprecedented challenges with the global pandemic and anti-Asian racism. Featuring sixteen chapters, the collection offers a comprehensive and perspective-rich analysis of the racialized experiences of international students from Asia in Canadian universities. This is a much needed contribution to the field."

    --Shibao Guo, Professor, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary

    "This timely collection focuses on the institutional challenges that Asian international students face in Canadian universities. While various levels of the Canadian government are eager for international students to migrate to Canada, and universities adopt diverse strategies to attract them, little institutional support is available for them upon their arrival. One of the important contributions of this book is the inclusion of graduate students’ research papers."

    --Sutama Ghosh, Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University

    "This vital examination of institutional practices in recruiting and supporting international students in Canadian higher education will open important discussions and reforms."

    --Lorna Marsden, President emerita, York University

    "This book provides a thorough understanding of international students from Asia in Canada. It deals with an important yet seldom addressed topic in sociological studies. The editors have compiled a series of papers, with cross-referencing among them, on the institutional, economic, social, and political implications of the presence of international students from Asia in Canadian universities. The book should become a key source for understanding this group of students in the Canadian education system for years to come."

    --Eric Fong, Chair Professor in Sociology, The University of Hong Kong