Whilst the presence of international students from so-called 'developing' or 'newly industrialised' countries has become a ubiquitous phenomenon in European higher education, few scholars have explored the underlying postcolonial trajectories that facilitate student migration to many European countries today. In this article, we seek to narrow this gap by critically engaging with the postcolonial heritage of European higher education and the ways in which it informs much student migration in today's era of neoliberal globalisation. We propose a threefold approach to reading this postcolonial heritage of higher education which comprises its historical, epistemic, and experiential (or 'lived') dimensions. Whilst such an approach requires a close examination of existing postcolonial theory in higher education studies, we also draw on qualitative research with student migrants in Portugal and the UK to show how the postcolonial heritage of European higher education is negotiated in everyday contexts and may become constitutive of students' identity formations.

Despite the increase of research on international students, the complexity of their learning experiences is yet to be fully understood. This study seeks to provide an expanded vision of their learning by considering students’ experiences beyond formal educational spaces, focusing especially on their out-of-classroom experiences. To achieve this, the narratives of 12 international students in Portugal were analysed in light of the theory of transformative learning. The results indicate that all students experienced particular forms of learning as an outcome of their international experience and were engaged in transformative learning processes. Moreover, the theory of transformative learning proved to be an appropriate analytical tool for understanding the learning narratives of international higher education students. Through the analysis of the transformative effects of engaging with a foreign cultural context, this paper makes a contribution to the ongoing debate on transformative learning and the experience of international students in the European context.

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Compared to other major players in the global market of international education, internationalisation of higher education has only recently become a relevant topic in Portugal. In line with the worldwide increase of international students, Portuguese universities are also experiencing a growing inflow of students willing to obtain a foreign tertiary degree. Anchored in international students' perceptions, this paper aims to understand how Portuguese universities deal with the increased diversity of their student bodies. The data result from an in-depth qualitative approach guided by the methodological assumptions of narrative inquiry and are analysed in the light of theories of multiculturalism. The findings give an account of numerous weaknesses in the way Portuguese universities tackle diversity, suggesting that institutional structures may reinforce assimilationist and deficit views of international students. Finally, considering that universities from other 'catch-up' countries may be confronted with similar issues, some empirically based recommendations are offered.

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