Educational Migration Research Articles

Air pollution and entrepreneurship

We investigate the effect of exposure to air pollution on entrepreneurship using panel data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. To address endogeneity arising from location choices and omitted variable bias, we employ a two-way fixed effects model with an instrumental variable approach. We find that adults exposed to high levels of air pollution are unlikely to become employer entrepreneurs or have diversified household entrepreneurial activities. Specifically, a one unit increase in air pollution leads to a decrease in the propensity for entrepreneurship by 1.6 percentage points and a decrease in the likelihood of household entrepreneurial diversity by 2.1 percentage points. We find that risk propensity, networking consumption, self-efficacy, and the city's highly educated migrants are the main channels through which air pollution impacts entrepreneurship. Our findings also reveal that air pollution has a more significant negative impact on individuals with lower education levels compared to their more educated counterparts.

The uses of education: young women negotiating migration, employment, and romance in Gujarat, India

ABSTRACT This paper draws on a three-year ethnography anchored at a premier pharmacy college in Gujarat to explore the uses of education for academically high-achieving young women, specifically, those who had migrated to attend college. Since migration for education had been reluctantly permitted by families, the completion of education interrupted women’s mobility. Exploitative labor markets and familial control over marriage further attenuated mobility. Differentiated movements followed. Indigenous and rural women continued migration for work. Urban women returned home to work. Very rich women in college romance not sanctioned by the family pursued international migration. But across the differences, there were two similarities. First, women relied on education to transform experiences of stuckedness. Those who pursued employment sought jobs they could frame as a “learning opportunity.” Those pursuing love strategized family resources for international migration by cloaking it under education. For academically high-achieving women, reframing employment and romance as educational pursuits legitimized aspiration. Second, the idealized direction of aspiration was entrepreneurial conjugality, not just for romantically committed women. In keeping with the trading histories of the region, Gujarati women hoped to start a family-owned pharmacy after marriage. Community histories both directed women’s aspirations and were used by them as strategic resources, but subjectivities attached to education and conjugality gave meaning to im/mobility. I suggest that situating im/mobility in regional histories and personal meaning making can move migration research beyond its transnational mobility bias and feminizing imperatives.

EXPLORING INTELLECTUAL AND EDUCATIONAL MIGRATION IN KAZAKHSTAN: DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS

Background: Addressing brain drain and fostering human capital development are critical for sustaining a nation's long-term economic growth, innovation capacity, and global competitiveness. Kazakhstan has faced significant brain drain, particularly following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, as many skilled professionals sought better opportunities abroad. Despite government efforts to retain talent, the country continues to experience a negative migration balance, with a substantial portion of emigrants being highly educated and skilled. This study examines the challenges posed by brain drain and evaluates Kazakhstan's current policy initiatives aimed at addressing intellectual migration and fostering human capital development. Methods: The study employs a qualitative research approach using documentary analysis to explore intellectual and educational migration in Kazakhstan. The methodology involves systematically reviewing key government policy documents and reports, such as the Concept of Migration Policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2023-2027. Documentary analysis was selected for its ability to provide in-depth insights into government initiatives and policy frameworks, enabling an assessment of their long-term effectiveness. Content analysis was applied to identify recurring themes and policy shifts related to human capital development and brain drain. Results and conclusions: The findings highlight the government’s efforts to attract skilled professionals, retain domestic talent, and foster international collaboration through streamlined visa processes, academic partnerships, and the establishment of international branch campuses. The analysis highlights educational immigration as a core component of Kazakhstan's migration strategy, shaped by regional factors and geopolitical considerations. Despite these efforts, the study identifies ongoing challenges in creating attractive domestic career opportunities and competitive research environments, which are crucial for the longterm retention of talent. By leveraging international best practices and fostering collaboration between the government, academia, and industry, Kazakhstan can enhance its position in the global knowledge economy while addressing demographic and economic challenges. The paper concludes by discussing the potential policy implications and recommendations for sustaining Kazakhstan’s human capital development in the context of global intellectual migration trends.

Highly educated Ukrainian migrants in Poland prior to 2022: education, work and integration efforts

ABSTRACT Drawing on recent original qualitative research, this paper focuses on the under-researched area of highly skilled migration in the relatively new migratory context of Ukrainian migrants to Poland. Commonly, migrants from Ukraine have been found to work in basic low-paid jobs and in an informal, non-regulated capacity; thus, often falling prey to precarious and insecure employment. However, this article focuses on career pathways of highly educated migrants from Ukraine in Poland and explores how they take advantage of their education and qualifications. The analysis is focused on individual-level factors. The paper discusses the findings of 29 individual in-depth interviews. Among the respondents, 15 were working in occupations requiring higher education, and 14 worked below their education. This article contributes to the literature on the use of qualifications of migrant workers from Ukraine in Poland. We found that knowledge of the Polish language, and individual attitudes influence migrants’ use of education/qualifications. The relationship between family composition and the labour market situation of people with higher education is not clearly established in this research. We hope these findings will support the integration efforts of the newly arrived forced migrants from Ukraine in Poland and beyond.

Reach, Adoption, Implementation, and Sustainability of the Mobile Health for Migrant Health (mHealth-4-Mhealth) Program: Nebraska, 2022‒2023.

Migrant families face challenges to health and well-being from COVID-19. We deployed Mobile Health for Migrant Health (mHealth-4-Mhealth) to migrant families, a household-based program with mHealth-assisted at-home testing and linkages to community resources. We assessed the reach, adoption, and implementation of the program among rural migrant families enrolled in the Title IC Nebraska Migrant Education Program from February 2022 to July 2023. We describe successful adoption and longitudinal use of mHealth screening tools for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection risk and social determinants of health. (Am J Public Health. 2024;114(11):1212-1216. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307746).

Including highly educated migrants in academia to improve their health-protocol for a pilot intervention.

Norway's healthcare system needs a diversified work force to meet societal demands for improved cultural competence. However, many migrants in Norway who were educated as health professions in their home countries are not practicing these professions. This may negatively affect their physical and mental health and hinder their personal social integration. Though good health is often seen as a precondition for work, relevant working activities can also improve health. However, including health professionals with foreign education in academic institutions prior to receiving necessary accreditation is a complex task. This study will pilot an intervention aiming to improve health through meaningful integration of these professionals in academic environments. This paper is a protocol for a non-randomized pilot intervention study targeting migrants who are waiting for their health education accreditation in Norway. To test the benefits of meaningful activity on health and explore possibilities for implementing such activity, we have designed a six-month long intervention consisting of including nurses, doctors, and other highly educated migrants with healthcare backgrounds between 20 and 67 years of age, into health-related working tasks, at two higher education institutions in Bergen, Norway. The intervention will be tailored according to the participant's expertise. This hybrid type 2 pilot protocol paper will present how feasibility, fidelity, dose received (satisfaction), and dose of exposure (participation), will be assessed and whether the intervention is experienced as beneficial for the participants' health as primary outcome utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods. We present a complex, personalized intervention that has the potential for large scale implementation in the future. By thoroughly presenting our designed intervention and assessment methods, this protocol will add to the study's transparency and facilitate replicability and comparison with future studies. This study will be of benefit to the migrants themselves, policy makers, government agencies and academia at large as it can point to a unique and sustainable way of speeding up the integration of highly educated migrants in their respective fields in a new host country.

Beyond Migration Categories: Amity, Conviviality and Mutuality in South Africa

Our ethnographic fieldwork with Congolese and Zimbabwean economic migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and educational migrants reveals a complex narrative of exclusion and inclusion in South Africa. Frontier Africans – South African citizens and African transmigrants alike – initiate and maintain connections that create a vexing and entangled narrative of hard and soft borders. A deeper consideration of how South African citizens and African transmigrants subvert and transcend state-centric categorisation of citizen and migrant other, through amity, conviviality and mutuality – a process of humaning – harasses the alignment of political categorisation with analytical elucidation.

Language and education in migration policy: the inter-state model

Regarding the various indications such as social, cultural, political, educational, and labor policies of the host country for family migration, the present study discussed the index of inclusivity in psychosocial and educational immigration policies. The study aimed to propose how social and educational vulnerabilities of migrants should be addressed. To achieve this, the study examined the current status (state) and potential improvements in psychosocial and educational migration policies in terms of inclusivity. A wide range of materials including articles, news reports, journal pieces, legal documents from Europe and North America, specifically the EU, were analyzed to provide a comprehensive view of the subject. The study also utilized Selinker's Interlanguage theory from Second Language Acquisition to compare with migration policy in answering research questions. Through dynamic review, thematic analysis, and qualitative research design, the study concluded that the index of inclusivity is evolving and should be implemented in various aspects of migration policy. As a result, a model for education in migration policy, named "The Inter-state Model," was proposed. This model aims to provide clarity on the role and support of migration policies for migrants, particularly vulnerable populations. / Keywords: moderate inclusive education, transmigration, assimilation, diversity, migration policy, inter- state migration model

(Im)mobility, literacies and second language education for adults and adolescents with limited previous education

This special issue draws attention to literacy and basic literacy education for adult and adolescent migrants with limited or no previous school background, who are learning a second language. This introduction addresses issues closely related to literacy education for this group of migrants, namely human mobility and immobility, including both horizontal (geographical and spatial) and vertical (social) mobility, as well as the interrelation between the two. Whereas some people’s mobility is considered a threat that must be regulated and restricted, other people’s mobility is encouraged. While mobility and diversity have always been intrinsic aspects of human societies, it can be concluded that social, economic and technological changes have intensified migration, the movement of artifacts and communication between people over vast distances. As mobility and diversity have increased, theoretical perspectives and research in applied linguistics and education have emerged. In this special issue, we bring together seven studies of second language and literacy education for adolescent and adult second language learners in different contexts, illustrating both similarities and differences between educational domains. The studies were conducted in Canada, Norway and Sweden. We are happy to say that the authors’ efforts have resulted in a body of work that contributes to research on literacies and literacy education for adults and adolescents with limited previous education. It is also our hope that the articles will inspire additional research in the area in the coming years.

Educational Migration to Kyrgyzstan: Trends and Prospects

Educational migration in Kyrgyzstan has its own socio-demographic structure, which may vary depending on a number of factors, such as age, gender, nationality, educational level, etc. One of the main trends of educational migration to Kyrgyzstan is the increase in the number of students from neighboring countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, as well as the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus. This is due to both economic reasons and historical ties and cultural similarities between these countries. Educational migration to Kyrgyzstan from India, Pakistan and other countries has its own socio-demographic structure, which differs from educational migration from other countries. One of the main factors that stimulates educational migration is the lack of quality education in the home country. Many students seek to get an education in the West, where it is considered to be of higher quality and prestigious. In addition, educational migration can be caused by the desire to improve prospects in the labor market and get a highly paid job abroad. The forecast of educational migration in Kyrgyzstan is given. The author believes that there will be a positive trend in the development of educational migration in Kyrgyzstan, which will have a positive impact on the economy of Kyrgyzstan. The developed recommendations for improving the education management system in the Kyrgyz Republic contribute to the promotion and implementation of educational services aimed at students.

A Life's Work? Unpacking the Existential Meaning of Educational Mobilities for Migrant Families

ABSTRACTIt is axiomatic that middle‐class Asian migrant families invest heavily—practically and emotionally—in their children's education. Scholarship has linked this investment to strategies of capital accumulation. There has been little discussion, however, about the transformative nature of these strategies and how they might be framed in terms of migrants' whole lives. This paper applies theoretical concepts from migration studies and a framework proposed by philosopher Charles Taylor, to argue that educational migration should be seen as profoundly life shaping.

МЕЖДУНАРОДНАЯ ПРАКТИКА В ОБЛАСТИ ИНТЕЛЛЕКТУАЛЬНОЙ МИГРАЦИИ: АНАЛИЗ ОПЫТА ВЕЛИКОБРИТАНИИ

This article analyzes international practice in the field of intellectual migration using the example of Great Britain, a country with a developed educational system and an attractive labor market for migrants. The study uses the case study method and analyzes regulatory documents. The features of the UK's immigration policy, its impact on the socio-economic development and cultural diversity of the country were studied, and recommendations were proposed to strengthen its effectiveness and adaptation to modern challenges. The results of the study emphasize the importance of an integrated approach to managing migration flows and the need to create conditions for successful integration of intellectual migrants, which will contribute to sustainable development and prosperity in the era of globalization. The scientific research was carried out within the framework of a state order for the implementation of a scientific and (or) scientific and technical project under budget program 217 «Development of Science», subprogram 102 «Grant financing of scientific research», under the priority «Research in the field of social and human sciences» and on the topic: IRN AP13067766 «Transformation of policy in the field of educational migration: development of strategies for using the intellectual potential of Kazakhstanis living abroad». Keywords: intellectual migration, educational migration, immigration policy, immigration, Great Britain.

Interregional Migration of Youth in the Russian Federation

The subject of the study is interregional migration of young people in the Russian Federation during the period of obtaining higher education; The topic of the study is the change in the migration attractiveness of regions for higher education; research hypothesis: there has been a change in the centers of gravity of migration flows and the status of regions from 2017 to 2020 and 2023 due to the impact of the pandemic and government measures to increase the attractiveness of universities in the regions. Source data includes official government statistics for the period from 2017 to 2023. The article identifies limitations on the use of this source (migration of 18-year-olds and migration of 21-year-olds is not identical to direct and return educational migration) and formulates a thesis about the need to use aggregated data of «digital traces» of applicants and graduates and federal information systems. An assessment of changes in the status of regions for 2017, 2020 and 2023 was carried out. The study makes assumptions about the possibility of using tools for objective monitoring of interregional educational migration of applicants to improve the work of universities. It is necessary to concentrate the efforts of the regional authorities of the «donor» region and the regional university community on first obtaining «transit» status for the university and the region, followed by transition to the «acceptor» category. For 2017, the author identified 12 «acceptor» territories, 59 «donor territories» (the rest were mixed and intermediate forms). In 2020, there were only 30 «donors», 12 «acceptors», 37– they reached conditional «balance» positions– this is how the COVID-2019 pandemic affected interregional migration. In 2023, there were 12 «acceptors» in the Russian Federation (the list has changed slightly), the number of «donors» was 46, 21 territories reached a «balance» state, the rest still belong to intermediate types.

Educational Migration as a Tool for Increasing the Labor Force

Educational Migration as a Tool for Increasing the Labor Force

History of Educational Migration in Georgia: From Ancient Times to the Soviet Period

Aim. The problem of “brain drain” is currently very relevant for Georgia. It is a fact that, despite the country’s low economic development, the number of people wishing to obtain higher education abroad has grown rapidly. This process often leads to permanent migration thus reducing the intellectual and labour potential of the country. Our goal was to find out whether this event also took place in Georgia in the historical past and how our ancestors managed it. Methods. The present work is based on historical documents, some of which were found by the author in the personal archives of Georgian scientists. Results. The research has revealed that educational migration is not new to Georgia. For thousands of years it has been both organised and unorganised in nature. It has been established that still in early 1900s, educational migration was studied in Georgia under the leadership of Prof. Ivane Javakhishvili. This allowed us to identify the geographical area and professional interests of those who went to study abroad. Conclusion. It was also established that against the backdrop of incessant wars that continued for hundreds of years, educational migration has contributed to the preservation of a more or less stable regime of social and cultural development of the country.

Responses to Livelihood Precarity in Dryland India: Diversifying Out of Agrarian Distress

ABSTRACTScholars of critical agrarian political economy see agriculture in liberalization‐era India as a form of disguised unemployment, part of wider agrarian distress. This article engages with literature differentiating the class/caste responses to agrarian and non‐farm livelihood distress in India to understand the different diversification options that households have available. The article draws on research carried out in a village in dryland, Bt cotton‐dependent Telangana in south India to show these variegated practices. While Other Backward Caste households invested in livestock to cope with heavy Bt cotton investments and losses, Scheduled Caste households focused on the educated rural youth, relying on their non‐farm wage labour in jobs such as taxi driving. Despite rural–urban migration and higher levels of education, under/unemployment remains persistent for rural youth. In this context, Ryuthu Bandhu, a cash transfer programme pioneered in Telangana in 2018, proved crucial for rural livelihood survival in the study village, contributing up to 22 per cent of annual household incomes. However, negative average net incomes across all households show that attempts to diversify out of distress have been largely unsuccessful.

Schooling for integration? Reception of refugees in discourse and practice in Swedish rural municipalities 2015–2022

This study explores the integration of migrants in education and the labour market from the perspectives of professionals working with young migrants in Swedish rural municipalities. It compares interview data referring to the situation during the refugee crisis in 2015 with data referring to the period 2019–2022. It addresses the organisation of teaching, how professionals talked about integration in relation to the local labour market and how integration-related practices and discourses developed from 2015 to 2022. The findings indicate a major change over time in the educational integration strategies and practices. Migrant children were mainly taught in separate preparatory classes in 2015, but by 2019–2022 there was a general aim to integrate them rapidly in regular classes. In terms of labour market integration there was also a discursive change. In 2015 the main hope was that the migrants’ reception would create short- and long-term jobs for the local population and contribute to the survival of local services and life. In contrast, in 2019–2022 the main expressed hope was that migrants would stay permanently and contribute productively to their new societies’ labour forces.

Commentary: East Asian Educational Migration as Narrative Quests

ABSTRACTI interpret the rich conceptual insights and empirical findings of the special issue Childhood, Migration and the Pursuit of Happiness in Middle‐Class East Asia through the lens of understanding migration as a journey of narrative quests. Drawing from moral philosopher McIntyre's theory of narrative self and the pursuit of a good life, I highlight the dialectic and dialogic aspects of ‘narrative quests’ across multiple cases of East Asian educational migration (educational migration broadly construed). I highlight key features, central themes and tensions of narrative quests among these migrant families. I also pose questions for expanding further inquiry under this theoretical framework.

Language learning space and legitimation of adult second language speakers in the workplace

ABSTRACT This paper explores space in relation to the (il)legitimacy of migrants as second language learners and speakers. Migrants learn the host country’s language(s) in multiple settings, both in language classrooms and beyond in various institutional and non-institutional settings. The workplace is a crucial setting for many migrant language learners. Applying the concept of positioning (Bamberg [1997]. Positioning between structure and performance. Journal of Narrative and Life History, 7(1–4), 335–342. https://doi.org/10.1075/jnlh.7.42pos; Bamberg & Georgakopoulou [2008]. Small stories as a new perspective in narrative and identity analysis. Text & Talk, 28(3), 377–396. https://doi.org/10.1515/TEXT.2008.018) to focus group discussions with four female highly educated migrants from Indonesia who recently came to Norway, the present paper explores the meanings and roles of space and place in the legitimacy of Norwegian language learners. As part of the focus group discussions, a city map was used to elicit the participants’ narratives. The findings illustrate that legitimacy as language learners and speakers is constantly negotiated and renegotiated in various learning spaces. Different spaces may be associated with different language ideologies shaping the power structures that affect how learners can be perceived as legitimate or illegitimate speakers. This study contributes new insights into the role of spaces in language learning and legitimisation of second language speakers, in particular, adult learners in a non-English-speaking country.

Tutoring as a form of support for the adaptation of foreign students at the university

Introduction. Strengthening globalization processes leads to the expansion of international cooperation in the field of education. This is especially reflected in the growth of international mobility of students in higher education institutions, in particular, Russian universities. And if the first students of the beginning of the large waves of mass educational migration were proficient in the Russian language and were familiar with Russian culture, then the students who followed them were much less proficient in the language and cultural code. And, since the internationalization of education remains a prerequisite for the existence of universities, and long-term adaptation of foreign students to learning conditions worsens the quality of their training, there is a need to organize their psychological and pedagogical support in the first years of study. The purpose of the article: to specify the main problems of adaptation of foreign students to the conditions of study in Russian universities and to justify the need to organize their tutor support. Materials and methods. The study involved 556 international students of the first and second years of study of three Tatarstan universities (Kazan National Research Technological University (KNRTU-KICT), (Kazan); Kazan National Research Technical University named after A. N. Tupolev (KNRTU-KAI), (Kazan); Elabuga Institute of the Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University (EI KFU) (Elabuga). Research results. The results of the study confirmed the presence of adaptation problems among foreign students. The main ones are difficulties with the Russian language (41%) and acclimatization (21%). It takes 46% of students about a year to get used to the learning conditions, and 23% – more than a year. The main learning difficulties they identify are awkwardness when speaking in public in front of an audience (23%) and teachers’ underestimation of their educational results (20%). More than half of the students see older compatriots as a source of help in overcoming cultural and educational barriers; The help of a supervisor turned out to be effective only for 15% of respondents. Taking into account the results obtained, it is proposed to organize the training of future tutors from among foreign senior students who have undergone appropriate psychological and pedagogical training. Conclusion. While maintaining the institute of curatorship, it is necessary to create a tutoring institute in universities that train foreign students. The main functions of tutors, which are absent from the curators of academic groups, should be to help foreign students overcome barriers to socio-cultural adaptation and insufficient proficiency in Russian, promote the acceptance of foreigners by their new environment, help in building effective interaction with the university administration and teachers, study students' personalities, monitor the results of their educational activities, help in professional identification, monitoring of newly emerging difficulties of students, strengthening cooperation between Russian and foreign students.