Abstract
Study-abroad programs are increasingly adopted and supported by institutions and governments as a strategic tool for deepening internationalisation and public diplomacy through people-to-people, institution-to-institution and country-to-country connections. Yet, the agency of study-abroad students who are engaged in outbound mobility as part of their study program in their home institution has long been neglected. This article draws on a study of the New Colombo Plan (NCP) to explore how Australian students exercise agency during their experiences in China. The article is based on 44 in-depth interviews with Australian students learning abroad in China. It uses a theoretical framework combining Sen’s capability approach, Marginson’s notion of student self-formation and Tran and Vu’s conceptualisation of ‘agency in mobility’. The article analyses student agency in developing ethno-relative perspectives, comparative curriculum-specific knowledge, empathy, intercultural competence and professional skills. The research unpacks and conceptualises the five main forms of agency that Australian students exercise to navigate their experiences in China: agency for becoming, needs-response agency, agency for connecting, agency for disrupting and agency for contributing. The article highlights how reverse student mobility, such as Australian student mobility to China, and cross-border student agency in this process can be a powerful mechanism to disrupt coloniality in international education.