The Politics of International Education: Constructing New Zealand's Export Education Industry

Abstract

International education today is an important export industry for New Zealand. It has come a long way from its origins as a developmental scholarship programme for countries in South and Southeast Asia under the Colombo Plan. This thesis studies the concepts and debates related to international education globally; and traces its development in New Zealand over three stages to investigate how it has been transformed from “education for aid” to “education for trade”.

This transformation has taken place against the backdrop of neoliberal globalisation. Adopting a constructivist approach, I argue that the commercialisation of international education is influenced by normative factors such as globalisation and regionalism, as well as a conscious decision made by the state based on the material resources New Zealand possesses as an English language speaking country with a relatively advanced liberal education system attractive to developing countries, particularly in Asia.

I construct New Zealand’s export education industry in its current state using Wendt’s framework of three elements of social structure. Assuming that the neoliberal norm persists, this thesis identifies the critical factors affecting the continued wellbeing and future development of the export education industry as follows: 1) the quality and reputation of New Zealand’s international education; 2) the continued economic growth of key student source countries and the ongoing demand for overseas education; and 3) the willingness of people from these countries to purchase education services from New Zealand.