Feeling excluded: international students experience equity, diversity and inclusion

Abstract

ABSTRACT Many institutions of higher education have committed to the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). This collective move signifies an effort to identify and confront systemic issues of marginalisation and exclusion of minoritised groups in contexts of higher education. Nevertheless, international students are not always considered an equity-seeking group, despite the structural barriers international students face. As a result, international students’ experiences of EDI remain underexplored and are typically examined from a perspective of internationalisation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the experiences of five international students from the broader perspective of EDI at a Canadian university through a case study design. The findings demonstrate that, in spite of the university’s long-standing commitment to aspects of EDI, international students felt excluded and othered in the community. Their experiences pointed to a lack of intercultural awareness and sensitivity on the part of the superficially multicultural community, a lack of institution-led initiatives to include the students through socialisation with peers, and the limited internationalisation of the curriculum. This paper is concluded with a call for universities to recognise international students as a marginalised group in their EDI efforts and, potentially, address structural issues that internationalisation frameworks have neglected.