Abstract
This paper addresses the question of interaction between home and international students using qualitative data from 100 home students at two ‘teaching intensive’ universities in the southwest of England. Stephan and Stephan's Integrated Threat Theory is used to analyse the data, finding evidence for all four types of threat that they predict when outgroups interact. It is found that home students perceive threats to their academic success and group identity from the presence of international students on the campus and in the classroom. These are linked to anxieties around ‘mindful’ forms of interaction and a taboo around the discussion of difference, leading to a ‘passive xenophobia’ for the majority. The paper concludes that Integrated Threat Theory is a useful tool in critiquing the ‘internationalisation at home’ agenda, making suggestions for policies and practices that may alleviate perceived threats, thereby improving the quality and outcomes of intercultural interaction.
Highlights
This paper addresses the question of interaction between home and international students using qualitative data from 100 home students at two „teaching intensive‟ universities in the southwest of England. Stephan & Stephan‟s (2000) Integrated Threat Theory is used to analyse the data, finding evidence for all four types of threat that they predict when outgroups interact
This paper will focus on two specific components of the „internationalisation at home‟ agenda which appear to offer particular challenges to achieving the objectives desired by policy-makers
This study found some support for that position : “[My friend] used to get irritated with all the international students, but I think it was „cos she was sort of surrounded by them a lot of the time [...] I‟m not always working with them so I don‟t see it as too much of an issue She‟s sort of surrounded by them because there happen to be a lot of them on her course and I think that frustrated her a bit.” [interview]
Summary
This paper addresses the question of interaction between home and international students using qualitative data from 100 home students at two „teaching intensive‟ universities in the southwest of England. Stephan & Stephan‟s (2000) Integrated Threat Theory is used to analyse the data, finding evidence for all four types of threat that they predict when outgroups interact. There is current interest in education‟s social and ethical role in mediating global processes and in developing a concept of citizenship It is in this context that the „internationalisation‟ movement has arisen and matured (Knight & De Wit, 1995; Knight, 2004; Universities UK, 2005; Middlehurst & Woodfield, 2007; Caruana & Spurling, 2007; Jones & Brown, 2007). Most universities in the UK are in the process of developing and implementing strategies to respond to this agenda (Middlehurst & Woodfield, 2007) These strategies tend to have a number of components, including increasing or diversifying the intake of international students, promoting the uptake of study/work abroad programmes, undertaking formal and informal curriculum development and making university campuses more inclusive, serving an increasingly diverse student and staff body. This paper will focus on two specific components of the „internationalisation at home‟ agenda which appear to offer particular challenges to achieving the objectives desired by policy-makers
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