"a Stanford Prison of Sorts": Institutionalized Power Imbalance and Vulnerability of High School International Students (HSIS) in Canadian Homestays

Background: The recent decades witnessed growing efforts on large-scale international student recruitment initiatives by Canadian Kindergarten to Grade 12 (K–12) public schools, with over 33,000 international students enrolled by the end of 2023. Even during the national cap of study permit, secondary students are not impacted, continuing entering Canada and helping public schools to sustain financial viability amidst declining government funding. While international education policy frames “K–12” as a group, this study focuses specifically on high school international students (HSIS)—the primary group in homestays, accommodations that remain poorly regulated.

Although intended to provide a “culturally immersive experience,” homestays exist within a neoliberal framework that treats international education as a commercial enterprise. This study examines how systemic structures create and maintain power imbalances within homestays and reinforce vulnerability of HSIS. One participant, reflecting on their professional experience, compared the system to the Stanford Prison Experiment—a social psychology study demonstrating how institutional roles combined with a lack of oversight lead ordinary individuals to behave coercively. This analogy helps frame how harm within homestays is not necessarily driven by individual malice, but by structural conditions that normalize oppression and compliance.

Methods: This research used a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach. Data were collected through a one-day in-person storytelling forum including students, education and social service professionals, and community members (total n = 19). Five participants delivered reflections on their lived experiences as HSIS or professionals supporting them. These were followed by four small group discussions guided by facilitators using semi-structured prompts. All data were audio-recorded, transcribed, anonymized, and analyzed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis.

Results: Findings reveal a multi-level structure that enables and exacerbates power asymmetries within homestays. At the macro level, international education policy positions students as financial assets rather than minors entitled to care. Their tuition and homestay payments are welcomed, but their developmental and psychological needs receive minimal policy attention. At the mezzo level, this market-driven orientation materializes through institutional design failures, including the absence of licensing and standardized training for homestays, or reporting mechanisms for students. At the micro level, role-conferred authority enables unchecked power. Homestay providers occupy positions that combine adult authority, property ownership, and discretionary power, while students are structurally positioned as compliant dependents. This fosters internalized compliance: students monitor their behavior, suppress discomfort, and conform to unrealistic, idealized expectations to maintain housing stability. With no accessible recourse mechanisms, the burden of proof falls on the student, reinforcing their vulnerability in this poorly-regulated field of homestay arrangements.

Conclusion and Implications: This study calls for a systemic reframing of homestays as child-involved living arrangements that demand supervision. Policy implications include: (1) mandatory licensing and regulation of homestays; (2) separation of custodianship and housing roles; (3) creation of independent, accessible reporting systems; and (4) integration of HSIS into child protection frameworks. Practitioners—especially school social workers—are positioned to advocate for culturally-responsive and proactive systems that challenge institutionalized power imbalances. Ultimately, protecting HSIS requires shifting away from market logic toward a rights-based approach to care.