Out of Sight, out of Mind: Systemic Failures in Supporting High School International Students in Canada

Background: Canada’s Kindergarten to Grade 12 (K–12) international student program has become a significant and profitable sector, with over 33,000 international students enrolled in public K-12 schools in 2023—most of them in high school. Even during the federal visa cap 2023-24, K-12 student permits were exempt, reflecting their strategic importance. These students contribute to school budgets that offset decreasing government funding, and are seen as part of the nation’s future workforce. Despite this, they remain largely invisible in policy and unprotected in practice. While the term “K–12” is widely used in policy discourse, this study critiques that such blanket categorization risks flattening important distinctions between age groups.

Although this study’s initial attention centered on high school international students’ (HSIS) experiences in unregulated homestay arrangements, it reveals a broader troubling pattern: when students face adversity—in housing, school, or social contexts—the default response by professionals and schools is to recommend that they return to their home countries. This practice demonstrates that schools and community services lack the infrastructure, accountability, and professional capacity to support these minors, and a deeper systemic orientation toward displacement rather than support. This study examines the systemic failures leading to this outcome and calls for a reimagination of how systems engage with HSIS as minors deserving care and protection.

Methods: Using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, data were collected through a one-day storytelling forum including students, professionals, and community members (total n = 19). Five participants delivered reflections on their lived experiences as HSIS or as professionals supporting them. These were followed by four small group discussions guided by facilitators using semi-structured prompts. All data were audio recorded, de-identified, transcribed, and analyzed using reflective thematic analysis (RTA).

Results: Findings reveal a multi-level systemic failure. On the micro level, individual actors—homestay providers, custodians, agents—are often untrained and unprepared to support minor students. On a mezzo level, institutions (e.g., public schools) lack the infrastructure and resources to provide consistent and culturally-responsive care. Hence, school staff often feel constrained by institutional limitations. At the macro level, policy gaps and weak oversight created a fragmented and reactive support system.

A recurring theme emerged across all data: when students seek help, a common response from professionals is to suggest returning home. Rather than building a safety net, the system deflects responsibility, rendering students’ struggles invisible and offloading accountability to families and countries of origin.

Conclusions and implications: This study challenges institutions to confront their responsibility to support HSIS as minors under their care. Instead of deferring to repatriation, schools must be equipped to provide proactive, rights-based support. Policy implications include: (1) provincial regulation and oversight of HSIS programs; (2) mandated training and accountability structures for homestays, custodians, and school staff; and (3) integration of HSIS protections within child welfare frameworks. School social workers are well-positioned to lead in building trauma-informed, culturally competent support systems and advocating for systemic change. This research calls for a conversation about the ethical obligations Canada holds toward the minors it recruits to its schools.