Using Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice to Investigate the Experience of Ontario College Graduates Who Are Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian, and Seek Career Employment and Permanent Residency in Canada

Abstract

The thesis explores international community college graduates' from three former Soviet Republics experience transitioning from college to the labor market in Canada. Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice provides the theoretical framework to analyse the labour-market integration of 14 women and 16 men. The data collected from in-depth interviews and document analysis reveal that each participant in the study belongs to one of three distinct age groups. Differing significantly in terms of career habitus and career capital, the members of the three groups have distinctly different labour-market outcomes.