BOOK REVIEW

S. Marginson, C. Nyland, E. Sawir, and H. Forbes-Mewett:International student security

Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2010

Russel Potter • Jenny J. Lee

Published online: 21 August 2011� Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

International Student Security is an extensive exploration of issues facing international

students in Australia. The authors examine both economic and social facets of student

experiences, which they broadly capture as ‘‘security,’’ primarily based on 200 interviews

with international students attending nine Australian universities during 2005. Specific

topics included immigration, discriminatory experiences in housing, the community, and

work, and a wide swath of concerns surrounding the health and well being of students.

Unlike most past research on this population, a member of the team with a history as an

international student conducted the interviews, in order to garner more candid responses.

Respondents ranged from young undergraduates to mature doctoral students, although the

sample favored older students. 51% of respondents were female, and the sample repre-

sented a wide cross-section of nationals from every region of the world.

The book is in four parts. Part one is an introduction, complete with alarming examples

of dramatic failures of security, and explains the study itself (Chap. 1). What follows

explores the background and state of affairs in Australia and other English-speaking

international-education states (Chap. 2), investigates the growth in and movement toward a

global market in education (Chap. 3), and discusses the regulation and legislation sur-

rounding human security in education (Chap. 4).

Parts two and three follow a consistent pattern, starting with an in-depth discussion of

the literature, including informative material covering other national institutions. This is

followed by a discussion of the pertinent questions to the chapter’s topic, and then

exemplar samples of the student responses. Finally, once the data has been presented,

explained, and contextualized, the authors present concluding remarks for improvement, a

discussion of the issues and how they may be solved, and recommendations for policy

makers, administrators, and other stakeholders.

Part two looks at the formal and legal components of international student security.

Specifically, this section looks at student experiences with finances (Chap. 5), student

employment (Chap. 6), housing issues (Chap. 7), healthcare (Chap. 8), personal safety

(Chap. 9), and the relationship of the student with government (Chap. 10). Part three

R. Potter � J. J. Lee (&)University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USAe-mail: jennylee@u.arizona.edu

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High Educ (2012) 64:135–137DOI 10.1007/s10734-011-9469-0

address the less-formal components of student-safety, including informal governmental/

institutional relations (Chap. 11), issues of language (Chap. 12), the development of local

support networks (Chap. 13), student loneliness (Chap. 14), and relations and interactions

with local students and in the community (Chap. 15). Finally, part four looks at impli-

cations and summarizes and extends recommendations (Chap. 16).

The authors provide a critical look at capitalist motivations of internationalizing edu-

cation. Education is an export, a product sold to non-citizens to make a profit, as best

demonstrated in their research site of Australia. As a profit-making component of an

otherwise nonprofit industry, regulation is driven by economic and consumer protections.

The authors take issue with this approach, arguing that human and civil rights, rather than

corporate or trade regulations, should protect the buyers and inform the industry. Along

with market-driven decision-making, the authors emphasize the influence of the White

Australia policy. Although formally abolished in Australia more than 40 years ago, the

spirit of English cultural superiority, racism towards non-Whites, and resistance to Asian

migration remain in some areas. Consequently, such beliefs and practices leave the

international student as an outsider, with limited rights, little support, and even at times an

expectation of discrimination.

The authors’ suggestions are broad and sweeping. In many cases, the suggestions put

forth in part two (formal security issues) involve greater oversight and compassion on the

part of otherwise dispassionate institutions. Railing against the formal relationship the state

and institution has with the immigrant student as one of provider and supplicant, they

suggest a shift in bureaucratic motivation towards consideration of the student’s (not

supplicant) best interest. This theme of treating students as humans with universal rights

first, and as economic assets last rejects the marketization of education. In each case the

suggestions call for a reorientation in legislation, bureaucratic structure, and decision

motivation, such that if followed the consideration of student security, indeed of interna-

tional education, would completely change.

As such, the target for this book is the community at large. While directly intended to

influence and improve the state of international student security in Australia, the findings

hold insight for programs worldwide, regardless of their international nature. Almost any

institution with high populations of ethnic minorities will find useful insight on student

social networks. Admissions and recruitment offices may also benefit from the introspection

recommended to policy makers, in order to alter the landscape from ‘gaining fee-paying

students’ to ‘enrolling students in the right programs’. The book would also be informative

to both students and scholars of international student mobility as it provides rich interview

data on the human side of educational migration alongside extensive quantitative tables.

While the scope of the study is large, the study spurs questions for further research.

Since the publication of the book, the lead author has continued to explore the positionality

of international students as subordinated outsiders and access to their protections,

empowerment, and human rights (Marginson 2011). Beyond what has already been pub-

lished, a deep investigation of the motivations of students to study abroad, despite the

many reports concerning international student challenges, is warranted. While the authors

discuss the role of networks and friendships as a component of adequate safety, future

research is needed on whether those students without tight networks have a preponderance

of poor relations in the host community. But whatever future work comes from this

research, this book provides a necessary foundation and is a must-read for any higher

education practitioner or scholar.

The Australian story reflects those of the rest of the dominant export of education

states—monocultural institutions in a society with inherent racism in legislation and

136 High Educ (2012) 64:135–137

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culture, find themselves suddenly catapulted into the international market as an effort to

stem the tide of financial difficulty. This trend will likely not change. Without consider-

ation of culturally appropriate preparations, these institutions find themselves morally (if

not legally) responsible for the security of students who face unique issues and have unique

needs. While institutions approach the brave new world of international education as a

profit industry over an educational provision, student needs for differentiation in services

continue to go unaddressed.

Universities ignore this at their peril—the first universities to enact security improve-

ments as a component of the education will ultimately become more attractive to inter-

national students. This argument is crafted lightly, with the moral considerations pushed to

the front. However, the authors admit that there is financial motivation to make these

changes, even in the face of financial decisions being a source of some of the problems.

Again, they call for a change in motivation—to do what is best for students (regardless of

national origin) as a moral imperative. Moreover, the authors also make clear, ‘‘interna-

tional students are not a weak vulnerable population lacking agency and rights’’ (p. 450).

While international student experiences should continue to be investigated as a human

rights issue, their achievements and contributions to both their home and host countries

must be equally understood and celebrated to further ensure their ‘‘security.’’

Reference

Marginson, S. (2011). Including the other: Regulation of the human rights of mobile students in a nation-bound world. Higher Education. doi:10.1007/s10734-011-9454-7.

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