The rapid globalization in the last few decades has led to a significant increase of sojourners in higher education, with record-breaking enrolments of international students in universities especially in the English-speaking countries (cf. IIE 2016; Robinson 2018). Whereas these sojourners have made significant educational and financial contributions to the host countries and institutions, they often have been disproportionately problematized in institutional discourse and mainstream media coverage (cf. Burton-Bradley 2018). The danger of perpetuating the deficit discourse has been critically discussed (cf. Benzie, 2010; Haugh, 2016). In this symposium, we argue that it is imperative to diverge from the prevalent deficit model that stigmatizes sojourners as problems to fix, and instead explore constructive approaches to recognize their contributions, enhance their learning experiences in the host countries and ultimately empower them to realise their potential further. Thus, we warmly invite papers that can lead or inspire the community to move forward to a positive direction from various perspectives including pedagogical model, identity, cultural competence, autonomy, diversity & inclusion, reflective practice and sojourners in their own land (e.g. Australian Indigenous students) but not limited to these.
Room 1 AILA 2021 aila2021@gcb.nlThe rapid globalization in the last few decades has led to a significant increase of sojourners in higher education, with record-breaking enrolments of international students in universities especially in the English-speaking countries (cf. IIE 2016; Robinson 2018). Whereas these sojourners have made significant educational and financial contributions to the host countries and institutions, they often have been disproportionately problematized in institutional discourse and mainstream media coverage (cf. Burton-Bradley 2018). The danger of perpetuating the deficit discourse has been critically discussed (cf. Benzie, 2010; Haugh, 2016). In this symposium, we argue that it is imperative to diverge from the prevalent deficit model that stigmatizes sojourners as problems to fix, and instead explore constructive approaches to recognize their contributions, enhance their learning experiences in the host countries and ultimately empower them to realise their potential further. Thus, we warmly invite papers that can lead or inspire the community to move forward to a positive direction from various perspectives including pedagogical model, identity, cultural competence, autonomy, diversity & inclusion, reflective practice and sojourners in their own land (e.g. Australian Indigenous students) but not limited to these.
Fabiola Ehlers-Zavala
Mira Kim
Bosheng Jing
Kerstin Dofs
Amanda Wallace
