Enacted spaces of peer learning: tracing practices of relationality among international students in higher education

Abstract

This article attends to practices of peer learning among international students on and around an Australian university campus. Informed by posthuman theories, we frame peer learning as a relational process that is entangled with objects, bodies, technologies, spaces and materialities. Our analysis pays attention to the vitality of various spaces and the pedagogic practices they call forth. In doing so, it differs from educational theorising that treats space as a passive backdrop to learning, as well as that which focuses strictly on formal spaces of education, such as the classroom. Our focus on affirmative practices among international students also differs from deficit approaches which suggests international students need to interact with domestic students to fit in to ‘host’ cultures abroad. Drawing on interview material generated in 2021, we show how enacted spaces of peer learning are formed as international students seek and settle into accommodation, as well through their everyday practices on and around campus. The main argument is that enacted spaces of peer learning generate critical knowledge and relationships among international students that make studying abroad productive and meaningful. Harnessing and nurturing such practices will be vital for creating a more inclusive and caring educational landscape.

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