A critical policy analysis of the Australian Strategy for International Education 2021–2030

Abstract

National internationalization strategies are produced by governments to frame and drive their internationalization agendas. They are relatively new, but growing in number. This paper contributes to an emerging strand of international education research: that of discursive policy analysis. We analyse the Australian Strategy for International Education (ASIE) 2021–2030, drawing on Bacchi and Goodwin’s ‘ What’s the problem represented to be?’ framework and ask what ‘problems’ are discursively constructed by the ASIE, what assumptions underlie these representations, and how the representations have come about. Our analysis reveals that deeply rooted assumptions govern the strategy in relation to six key themes: marketisation, sustainability, domestic labour, national security, international student wellbeing and international student identity. We demonstrate that the commercial orientation of the ASIE is historically contingent and precludes alternative ways of imagining international education.