Tracing pedagogy from below: an affirmative account of international students’ learning practices in higher education

This article draws on semi-structured interviews to analyse international students’ learning practices in an Australian university. Drawing critical internationalisation studies into conversation with asset-based pedagogies, I propose tracing pedagogy from below as an analytical and methodological route toward an affirmative account of international students’ learning practices. In contrast to depictions of international students as passive or reluctant to engage in classrooms, this article teases out the active ways international students learn within and beyond the classroom. It demonstrates how international students (i) develop and mobilise transnational academic knowledges, (ii) build inclusive learning communities, and (iii) develop relational competencies through practices of care. The conclusion positions international students’ learning practices not as a problem to be solved but as problem solving, suggesting that recognising and harnessing their pedagogical practices might inform more ethical and inclusive forms of higher education.