The Pandemic and the Welfare of International Students: Abandonment or Policy Consistency?
Saved in:
| Title: | The Pandemic and the Welfare of International Students: Abandonment or Policy Consistency? |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Ramia, Gaby, Mitchell, Emma, Hastings, Catherine, Morris, Alan, Wilson, Shaun |
| Source: | Australian Universities' Review. 2022 64(1):17-26. |
| Availability: | National Tertiary Education Union. PO Box 1323, South Melbourne 3205, Australia. Tel: +61-3-92541910; Fax: +61-3-92541915; e-mail: editor@aur.org.au; Web site: https://www.nteu.au/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 10 |
| Publication Date: | 2022 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | COVID-19, Pandemics, Foreign Students, Student Welfare, Educational Policy, Foreign Countries, Financial Policy, Student Attitudes, Student Employment, Psychological Patterns, Student Costs |
| Geographic Terms: | Australia |
| ISSN: | 0818-8068 |
| Abstract: | In its response to COVID-19 in 2020, the Australian Government excluded international students from the temporary financial assistance it offered most permanent residents. This article examines the status of international student welfare as a policy question before and during the pandemic, and discusses post-pandemic policy implications. It draws on pre- and during-COVID-19 survey data from international students in Sydney and Melbourne. We argue that the pandemic highlighted and exacerbated an existing policy absence, rather than constituting a fresh abandonment of international students. Since the Dawkins changes in the early 1990s, international students have been officially treated in policy as consumers, not as 'social citizens'. This made many of them vulnerable to socio-economic shocks, given widespread dependence on precarious employment and insecure private income sources. The central policy implication is that, to avoid disproportionate welfare diminutions in future crises, the government needs to align the treatment of international and domestic students. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2023 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1372492 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | In its response to COVID-19 in 2020, the Australian Government excluded international students from the temporary financial assistance it offered most permanent residents. This article examines the status of international student welfare as a policy question before and during the pandemic, and discusses post-pandemic policy implications. It draws on pre- and during-COVID-19 survey data from international students in Sydney and Melbourne. We argue that the pandemic highlighted and exacerbated an existing policy absence, rather than constituting a fresh abandonment of international students. Since the Dawkins changes in the early 1990s, international students have been officially treated in policy as consumers, not as 'social citizens'. This made many of them vulnerable to socio-economic shocks, given widespread dependence on precarious employment and insecure private income sources. The central policy implication is that, to avoid disproportionate welfare diminutions in future crises, the government needs to align the treatment of international and domestic students. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0818-8068 |
