Towards Equality in Age of Internationalisation of Higher Education: Revisiting Chinese International Students

Chinese international students are historically vital to internationalization strategies in Canadian higher education, providing immediate and significant economic benefits to Canadians. At the same time, they face many challenges. Hence, it is imperative to understand Chinese international student experiences in Canada. Existing studies primarily adopted a cultural approach, with a focus on cultural shock and differences, and neglected social inequalities related to race, class, and gender. This study intends to go beyond the cultural approach to examine how race, gender, and class are intersected in producing social inequality among Chinese international students in Canada. Through the narratives from six students attending three different institutions in British Columbia, research findings reveal that the intersection of race, gender, and class shaped student lived experiences in learning and class engagement, making friends, entering the Canadian labour market, and accessing social resources. Thus, this research challenges the deficit model applied to international students and calls for an intersectionality approach to examine international students and their lived experiences in Canada by understanding students