Knowledge, experiences, perceptions and attitudes of the receiving society to international students

International education is a global growth phenomenon. In Australia tertiary international students number practically 300,000, with the rate of growth within the sector twice that of other areas. International education is not only an important export industry for Australia, but one that significantly affects local residents as they perform everyday routines and practices. Bringing together literature from the fields of international education, mobilities and diversity studies, this thesis interrogates how the receiving society recognises, perceives and experiences international students. It analyses the intersection of global and local forces; neoliberalism and student mobilities; and the negotiation of difference in a highly diverse context. Its analysis offers an alternative to conventional intercultural studies that examine relations between seemingly disparate groups by measuring levels of integration, in that it applies a more complex approach and frame of analysis to explore relations in a mixt and rapidly transforming area of Sydney. The research uses a broad mix of ethnographic methods, including ethnographic observations concentrated in three sites, opportunistic discussions, extensive field-notes, focus groups, individual interviews and anonymous questionnaires. Drawing on this rich empirical data, this study argues that global and local phenomena are intricately entwined to affect how everyday relations are constructed and enacted. This approach provides critical, ambiguous, complex and indeed often contradictory insights into relations between international students and the receiving society, as well as offering possibilities for generating new distinctive imaginings for the City of Ryde, New South Wales. Additionally the findings include potential for scaling up into broader political debates that can translate into new policy directions.