"De"Colonizing Discourse: A Critical Analysis of On-Campus International Student Offices in Canada, the UK, and the United States

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable Session 3:05 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Envisioning the Future: Shifting and Lifting Possibilities in Higher Education (Table 28)

Abstract

Much of the research on international students (IS) focuses on the often visible challenges they face as newcomers to a country. Our study contributes to IS research by identifying the implicit barriers that are ingrained in higher education from a decolonial lens. This research draws from Critical Discourse Analysis to analyze documents as a means of examining the language used by international student service offices (ISSO) in Canada, US, and UK. We lean on Fairclough’s 3-Dimensional Paradigm to analyze descriptions from text, seeking to understand its relations to practice. This study’s findings reveal the ways through which ISSO discourse reproduces colonial views. It further demonstrates that power manifests through hierarchies of dominance, inequitable power dynamics, and unquestioned assumptions.

Authors

• Alison D'Cruz, University of Toronto - OISE

• Amanda R. Corso, George Mason University

• Rizqarossaa Darni, University of Cambridge