international doctoral students in globalized transnational spaces
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International Doctoral Students in Globalized Transnational Spaces. Jennifer M. Phelps, PhD Assistant Dean Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies University of British Columbia November 4th, 2013 Canadian Association of Graduate Schools Annual meeting – Montreal, QC. Research problem. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
International Doctoral Students in Globalized Transnational Spaces
Jennifer M. Phelps, PhDAssistant Dean
Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral StudiesUniversity of British Columbia
November 4th, 2013Canadian Association of Graduate Schools
Annual meeting – Montreal, QC
Research problemWe know little about how international
doctoral students make sense of their own educational purposes, choices and experiences, and imagine their future trajectories in the context of a rapidly globalizing world.
Research questions1. What are international doctoral students’
purposes in pursuing a PhD abroad?
2. Why and how did these students come to the University of British Columbia, Canada? What do they encounter? What future paths do they imagine?
3. What do the answers to these questions tell us about influences of globalization and how students are interacting with them?
Global Higher Education Field
Neoliberalism
(Harvey, 2005)
Transnational Space (Glick Schiller & Fouron, 1999; Jackson, Crang & Dwyer, 2004)
Global Social Imaginary (Appadurai, 1996;
Taylor,2004)
Network Society (Castels, 1996)
Global ranking schemes; vying for global prestige
Increased Student/ Academic Mobility
Academic capitalism/
market imperatives
Research globalization
Global Universities
National and Provincial Policies
and Discourses
University Policies and Discourses
Global Higher Education Field
Doctoral education as developing “global
citizens”, “outstanding researchers” and
contributors to social good
Doctoral education as means to
produce/retain capital (human, economic)
Student purposes?
Research design and methodQualitative methodology– in-depth interviews
with representative sample of international PhD students at UBC who had advanced to candidacy
Sampling frame Asia Middle East USA European Union
Central/South America
M F M F M F M F M F
SSH
Arvind Sheddy
Maya Jason Ross
Mallory
Suzanne
Carl Shane
Helena
STEM
Jun Quon
Ravi Simon
Li Tina
Farjad
Ira
Reza
Hoda Christopher Jerry
Jackie
Kim
Jaro Rico Stefan
Giulia Diego
Esteban
Chela
Totals 6 3 3 1 4 4 5 2 2 1
SSH: 10 (32.3%) (UBC: 30.4%) Female: 11 (35.5%) (UBC: 37.9%)STEM: 21 (67.7%) (UBC: 69.6%) Male: 20 (64.5%) (UBC: 62.1%)
Total: 31
Findings Map
CROSS-CUTTING THEMES
Students’ purposes for doctoral education
Influences of globalization on students’ imagination, choices, experiences
Student agency and its bounds
STUDENT PATHWAY
Imagining and choosing an educational path
Living and learning as international doctoral students
Imagined and planned futures
Students’ purposes for doctoral education1)Capital acquisition- Prestige/clout/credibility- Skills/knowledge/English proficiency- Access to influential social/professional
networks- Mobility (Motility capital--Kaufmann,
Bergman & Joye, 2004) – ability to be mobile; to immigrate
- Intercultural fluency (Transnational identity capital--Kim, 2010) – ability to engage competently with ‘otherness’
2) AcademicProduce and disseminate knowledge; teach
new learners; become members of an academic community
“The most interesting, most exciting in doing research is I am the first person to see this, to discover this. I think discovery, the knowledge itself is very important because the application is based on fundamental study…Maybe for 10 years nobody use it, but discovery, the knowledge itself is interesting process for me.” (Jun)
Students’ purposes for doctoral education
3) Positive social contributionEffect positive social change; help others; benefit
home country
“I think I will be able to do much more back home than here. Here you have already so many people with PhD and so many intelligent people...I think we need more people willing to work back home rather than run away after they get a PhD... I learned a lot, but all of them would mean nothing if I don’t know how to use them for the benefit of others.” (Sheddy)
Students’ purposes for doctoral education
4) PersonalExperience the world and find personal growth, enjoy
life, prove oneself, give family new opportunities.“My decision doing a PhD was not based on I want to be a PhD. It was based
on I want to have more Canadian experience...So PhD doesn't really mean that much to me. My experience, interacting with the real Canadian environment, that means a lot to me.”(Li)
“I wanted to do it for personal reasons more so. I wasn’t thinking about getting a job after, I just wanted to see if I could actually do a PhD…Coming from a lower class background, I’m not somebody who should be doing a PhD. I should be working as a mechanic or in some sort of trade. I suppose it was kind of sticking two fingers up to the world.” (Shane)
Students’ purposes for doctoral education
Influences of globalization across the student pathway
“I was ten years old and there were Olympic games in Calgary (on TV). And we were still behind the Iron Curtain and I had no idea what it is…I knew that I wanted to go to at least see Canada. Canada, in my child eyes, was something that perfectly fulfilled my wishes which was lots of snow, freedom, maybe I don’t know, nice life.” (Jaro)
1) Choosing a path
Global media influences students’ imaginations
Mobility of others (family, other students, faculty members) makes global pathways seem accessible
Global educational rankings and scholarship schemes simplify complex choices
Influences of globalization across the student pathway
“I had never imagined myself living anywhere else [but home country]...but for my daughter, this is the only home she has known. And that does cause some anxiety, because when I say home, it’s always [home country], but she always refers to Vancouver as home.” (Maya)
2) Being an international doctoral student
Significant engagement in global academic mobility and research collaboration
Enduring and shifting identities and senses of “home” --Immigration to Canada is an evolving issue for many
Pervasive use of communication technologies allow students to be both “here” and “there” simultaneously
“I wish that UBC can do something where we can still be connected to Canada. I mean you cannot expect for all the people to just come and settle here. You still need that other part of the world and you still need to have ties with it, but I’m not sure what can be done so that we can.” (Hoda)
3) Imagined and planned futures
Global “canvas of the possible”, some expect to stay mobile for a period after obtaining PhD
Some seek stability but expect ‘forced mobility’ due to discouraging job market
Some imagine new career forms, mixing sectors and building on global networks
Those returning to less developed countries want to retain connections to academic mainstream
Influences of globalization across the student pathway
Findings – Agency and its boundsAgency Bounds
Choosing a path
Students imagine and create global educational pathways
Some pathways are blocked by political, financial concerns, informational deficits
Being an international doctoral student
Students pursue and create a wide variety of learning opportunities
Funding constraints, exploitive supervisors, inflexible degree structures restrict personal agency
Imagined and planned futures
For some, the world seems open and a variety of imagined careers are for the making
Compressed job markets, family obligations restrict agency for many
Global Higher Education Field
National and Provincial Policies
and Discourses
University Policies and Discourses
International Doctoral Studentsare deeply influenced by forces of globalization yet
navigate them with agency and strategy within their unique ranges of motion. They offer a multiplicity of purposes and experiences that counter any singular
notion of the “international doctoral student”.
“World-making agents”
Rizvi & Lingard, 2009
Implications for policy and practiceBetter alignment is needed between doctoral education
and diverse, global career paths
Students seek a larger purpose to their doctoral education and want to make a positive social contribution
More can be done to bridge the distances between global academic mainstream and periphery and extend the benefits of doctoral education
Universities can better support students by recognizing their agency and the multiplicity of their purposes, experiences and identities
Thank you. Merci.