Reverse Student Mobility to the Global South and the Decolonisation of International Education: Australian Students' Learning and Regional Engagement in the Indo-Pacific

Abstract

International education practices and trends, particularly student mobility, remain largely shaped by Global North perspectives. Although scholars have repeatedly called for the dismantling of Western dominance and supremacy in international education, there is still limited understanding of how this can be achieved and what the decolonising impacts might be. This article examines how reverse student mobility from the Global North (Australia) to the Global South (the Indo-Pacific), as facilitated by the New Colombo Plan (NCP), can shift students' perceptions of the Global South, strengthen Indo-Pacific capabilities and deepen regional engagement. At the same time, the findings indicate that some Australian students in the Indo-Pacific face intersecting challenges, including language barriers, gendered violence, discrimination and institutional protection neglect, that can constrain capability development and, in extreme cases, undermine or reverse the intended benefits of regional mobility. It highlights how students' agency, shaped through direct interaction and relational experiences in diverse socio-cultural contexts in the Global South, is central to initiating broader systemic change. Drawing on empirical data, the article elucidates how structured experiences in the Global South not only challenge post-colonial knowledge hierarchies at the individual level but also contribute to rethinking decolonial practices and expanding intercultural engagement.