Beyond competition: a comparative review of conceptual approaches to international student mobility

ABSTRACT

The existing literature offers an instrumentalist approach that focuses on how economic rationality underlies international student mobility (ISM). In response to these instrumentalist accounts, a critical approach emerges and reemphasises the importance of humanity and human rights in ISM and the process of internationalisation of higher education. However, this paper argues that these critical perspectives are insufficient to address the non-instrumental values of ISM. To address this argument, the paper uses the capability approach to reframe the meanings of ISM, thereby broadening the conceptual approaches to this aspect of internationalisation of higher education. Specifically, the paper suggests that international mobility is a way to promote individual freedom. On the conceptual basis of the capability approach, the paper identifies three interrelated orientations for future research on the impact of mobility on international students.

KEYWORDS:

• International student mobility
• capability
• freedom
• human capital
• internationalisation of higher education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

ORCID

William Yat Wai Lo http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8091-7745

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.