THE DISCURSIVE FRAMING OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

Abstract

This study examines how international education programs in British Columbia have been discursively framed by government and media sources. Over the past two decades, international education programs have expanded in number and scale in the province, a phenomenon that has been interpreted by some education researchers and media sources as predominantly an effort to generate further revenue from international student tuition fees. However, international education programs are also seen as opportunities for increased internationalization, with students from different national and cultural backgrounds in BC schools alongside domestic students. We draw upon the concept of mediatization of policy to position and understand the relation between the state and media sources in the shaping of public understanding of education policy, as well as upon the theoretical lenses of marketization and internationalization for analysis. Methodologically, we employ critical discourse analysis to examine government documents and texts from provincial and local media sources. Findings suggest that there has not been a co-constitutive role for government and media in discursively presenting international education programs, with differing foci between groups and even within groups.