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.

jenny.phelps@ubc.ca