Engagement in knowledge: unpacking dynamics of self-formation among international students

This paper explores how international students engage in knowledge as a central domain of self-formation, shaped by both personal aspirations and structural conditions within higher education. While research on student mobility increasingly highlights agency and identity, fewer studies consider how students navigate knowledge systems and position themselves within academic and societal structures. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in the UK, Denmark, and Germany, this study investigates how international students critically engage with disciplinary knowledge, negotiate institutional barriers, and assert themselves in processes of knowledge production. The analysis shows that engagement in knowledge is not merely an academic pursuit but a means of shaping personal and societal futures. However, access to, and recognition within, these knowledge systems remain uneven, reinforcing existing global hierarchies. By centring students’ experiences, this paper contributes to debates on cognitive justice and the transformative potential of higher education in reimagining relations between self and society.