The international student as student, migrant and victim : changing perceptions in a vexed area of public policy

From the inception of pos-Columbo Plan international education in Australia, three broad researech emphases have been evident: the student as student, as migrant and most recently as victim. The victim role plays easily into preconceived notions, helping to sustain an exploiter and exploited framework in which deeper issues remain unaddressed. This article raises some such questions, especially the role of casual work, and makes the case for greater acknowledgement of the complexities in this contentious area of public policy.