Embodied journeys: international students as active co-creators of inclusive higher education spaces

As global student mobility rises, universities face new challenges in supporting international students, who bring diverse perspectives and experiences into higher education (HE). This paper examines how postgraduate students actively navigate and reshape their learning journeys within a UK university, moving beyond the deficit-based views that often frame international students. Instead, it explores how students engage in ‘dwelling’, an embodied process of creatively adapting to, and making meaning within, new spaces, where they maintain cultural identities while connecting with unfamiliar social and academic environments.

Using a Naturalistic Inquiry approach (Lincoln, Y., & Guba, E. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage), this study collects empirical data through in-depth interviews and photo elicitation to reveal how students’ embodied interactions with their surroundings shape informal learning, cultural reflection, and personal growth. These embodied experiences highlight how students adapt, reflect on both their host and home cultures, and forge unique, individualised learning paths.

Key themes include the role of place-making in adaptation, the importance of informal spaces in fostering belonging, and how students’ experiences shape their personal development and intercultural awareness. By recognising international students as active creators of their HE environments, this paper offers insights for institutions aiming to build inclusive, responsive spaces for a globally diverse student body.