The Policy and Practice of Internationalization in the Global-South: African International Students’ Experiences in South Africa during COVID-19
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32674/afwhbb79Keywords:
higher education, international student migration, global south, capability approachAbstract
Understanding higher education internationalization is challenging as it includes different dimensions with varied
implications for universities. This paper focuses on the recruitment and teaching of international students. It explores the
experiences of African international students at two South African universities between 2020-2022, during the COVID-19
pandemic-induced lockdown. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Informed by the capabilities
approach, the paper draws on Ubuntu and affiliation as key capabilities for an expansive conceptualization of
internationalization. The study's findings reveal the intersecting and underlying constraining contexts for international
students, exacerbated by the pandemic. Such a micro-level study contributes towards a nuanced understanding of the
practice of higher education internationalization in the global South. It highlights the need to reframe internationalization
as a reciprocal relationship based on mutual interconnectedness and mutual values that do not just respond to broader neoliberal
narratives but foster student and institutional flourishing.
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