I received a British Academy research grant to examine the production, credibility, and use of migration statistics to monitor migrant populations. I’m particularly interested in the connection between immigration and higher education, focusing on how UK immigration policies impact international students and the HE sector. My research explores the datasets underpinning these policies, critically analysing how they are used by policymakers and other stakeholders to monitor international students. I’ll update this section with new papers as they are published—many thanks to Dr Nikhaela Wicks for her invaluable support on this project!
Although not focused on the issue of statistics this paper reveals how the UK’s migration management policies are actively ‘producing’ the international student as a population category. Dr Sophie Cranston and I uncover the existence of multiple populations within the international student category, exposing the hierarchies of privilege and contradictions therein. Our intervention challenges assumptions about, and raises important ethical questions regarding the treatment of, the ‘international student’.
James Esson 