A Highly-Regulated ‘Free Market’: Commonwealth Policies on Private Overseas Students from 1974 to 2005
Abstract
This article traces the evolution of Commonwealth policies on private overseas students from the 1970s to the present, emphasising the Commonwealth government's role in the creation of an international education market. It will be argued that while neoliberal ‘market forces' rhetoric has been a key feature of its international education policies since the 1980s, the Commonwealth has shown by its actions that it fears the consequences of a truly free market in international education services.
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Biographies
Dr Lyndon Megarrity studied aspects of Queensland political history for his PhD from the University of New England, completed in 2002. Between 2003 and 2005 he worked as a research associate for an Australian Research Council project on the history of international education in Australia from 1945 to 2000. He is currently a research assistant for a commemorative history of Queensland from 1859 to 2009. His historical publications include works on mining, Queensland political history and the Commonwealth's role in international education from 1945 onwards.
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Article first published: April 2007
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