Identities, lost and found
Australia impacted my life in a way that I can really measure. I can always tell my kids how this all happened and was, I would say, the beautiful plot twist of my life.
I ran an independent research project this year, inspired by the 40th Anniversary conference held by English Australia, the peak body for the English language sector of international education in Australia. I was curious to go further than my usual projects, which tend to include current or future students, exploring their experiences and expectations. But what if we could go way, way back to where it all started?
The research started with a question: What impact does learning English have for international students, in the long term?
Better job prospects and new career outcomes? Yes, often.
Increased enrolments into higher education and alternative educational pathways? Absolutely.
How about expanding global networks, and the ability to communicate in a connected world? Yes, that too.
But there’s more. The literal and metaphorical student journeys in this research reveal a complex web of systems, networks, and unpredictable emergence that challenge how we might think about our impact on student experience, and not just a month or a year after graduation. To understand long-term impact, we have to explore broader ecosystems - life-long and life-wide learning. In breaking away from short-term targets, political cycles and established criteria for ‘impact’, we can open our eyes to different stories, and deeper meaning.
Identities lost and found acknowledges the complexity of international education and the individuals who contribute to its diversity. The insights shared here come from interviews with former students during May-August 2023. Some arrived in Australia over 20 years ago, others in the last 10 years; all bring thoughtful reflection to the experience of being an international student, and learnings for how we might support the experiences and outcomes of current and future students.
Download the full report below to explore more, and find out what happened after these former students left our classrooms and continued on with their lives…