International Mobility Experiences Research Articles

I Felt Like I Was Getting to Be My Own Person: Exploring the Impact of Cultural Master Narratives on Identity Development During Student Exchange

International mobility experiences such as student exchange can promote identity development and cultural awareness. However, little research has assessed such processes using a master narrative framework. This study explored undergraduate student perspectives on how changing cultural contexts and the associated cultural master narratives influence identity development during university exchange experiences. Twenty interviews were conducted with Australian and U.S. exchange students aged 21-22 years. Thematic analysis identified a process model of master narrative awareness and associated responses incorporating three key elements: contexts of awareness, identity responses, and experiences of self-transformation. A fourth theme highlighted the influence of individual identities as interaction effects in these processes. The findings show that exposure to diverse master narratives during student exchange enhances students’ awareness of their own and other master narratives, which supports identity development. The study provides new insights into the ways intercultural experiences shape master narrative awareness and identity in emerging adults.

Is international student mobility still a distinctive strategy? A study of upper milieu students in Germany

ABSTRACT Drawing on Bourdieu’s theory of social reproduction, the article examines whether international student mobility (ISM) is still a distinctive educational strategy of upper-milieu students in the 21st century. As a result of the Bologna process, ISM has become widespread in Europe. Does this also mean that international mobility loses its distinctive character? Based on current studies that point to a differentiation within ISM, we investigate to what extent students from upper milieus may strive to re-establish the ‘structure of distances’ - as Bourdieu puts it – in the field of higher education. Our research design consists of 95 qualitative interviews with Master’s students in Germany. The study conducts a comparative analysis to differentiate between lower, middle and upper milieus (vertical axis), with the main focus of the research being directed towards the upper milieus. In addition, the differences within upper milieus (horizontal axis) are examined by including three academic disciplines in the research design: management/business administration, medicine, and musicology. The results of our study suggest that, even within the context of a knowledge society, characterised by an increased participation in higher education, there remain numerous symbolic, spatial, and cultural opportunities for students from upper milieus to distinguish their educational paths in distinct ways, e.g. the destinations chosen, the rhetorical framing of international mobility experiences, and the integration with work-related practices beyond the course of study.

PSYCHOLOGICAL FEATURES ADAPTATIONS OF CHILDREN IN THE CONDITIONS OF WAR AND EMIGRATION

The article notes that, despite a fairly wide study, the problem of researching the peculiarities of the psychological adaptation of emigrant children in modern conditions is gaining special relevance due to the war that is currently ongoing in Ukraine. Migration processes lead to the emergence of a whole set of problems, which are characterized by a certain specificity and require their immediate and detailed solution. In psychological science, the problem of adaptation of refugees and forced migrants has become widespread, but despite a fairly wide study, the problem of researching the peculiarities of the psychological adaptation of immigrant children in modern conditions is gaining special relevance. The purpose of the article is to conduct a theoretical and empirical study of the psychological features of children's adaptation in the conditions of war and emigration. Adaptation of immigrant children to the conditions of a new country depends on various factors, such as age, gender, previous experience of international mobility, level of support from relatives and social environment. Based on the conducted research, it is worth coming to the conclusion that the adaptation of children in conditions of emigration is a complex process that requires special attention and approach. Studies have shown that immigrant children have their own unique psychological characteristics associated with a change in environment, cultural context, and language situation. It is important to develop methodological approaches and tools to study and support the adaptation of these children, providing them with psychological support and resources for successful integration. A comparative analysis of emigrant children and children studying on the territory of Ukraine allows to understand the specifics of their development, to identify similar and different factors of adaptation that can be used to build effective programs and approaches in the field of education and psychological support .

Cultivating Global Scholars: Delving into Chinese Doctoral Students’ Integration Experiences at Finnish Universities Through an Institutional Logics Lens

AbstractInternational doctoral students are key actors in globalized knowledge society. While the value of international doctorates lies in the ability to develop and leverage knowledge across borders and cultures, such competencies can be acquired only when students successfully integrate into the host systems or universities in their international mobility experiences. However, international doctoral students encounter multiple challenges in integration, highlighting a mismatch between their expectations and the practices at the host universities. This article unpacks this mismatch and its causes from an institutional logics’ perspective through interviews with ten Chinese doctoral students and four Finnish supervisors. We found that Chinese students’ expectations of doctoral education were largely influenced by the institutional logics of profession, bureaucratic state, and family, whereas the contexts of Finnish universities were mainly informed by the logics of profession, democratic state, and corporation. The disparity in logic constellations led to the students’ confusion about their role and relations with supervisors. Further, this study shows that reciprocal learning in intercultural supervision can mitigate logics conflicts and create opportunities for innovations in doctoral education in the host university. We call for more efforts to reconcile the logics conflicts that that affect students’ integration, as this could foster organizational innovation.

Jemmy Button syndrome? Subjective effects of international mobility experiences in 243 Chilean university students

ABSTRACT The present study examined the well-being and the emotional experience of Chilean university students after participating in an international exchange programme and the association between these factors and the underlying discontents of Chilean society. We sought to determine the extent to which the participants’ evaluation of their student exchange experience predicted their opinion of Chile. We employed a quantitative methodology with a descriptive and correlational design. The participants were 243 Chilean students who taken part in an exchange programme between 2014 and 2018 in 13 countries. Regression analyses showed that subjective experiences in Chile had a stronger predictive value for evaluating the country’s situation than subjective experiences developed abroad. This shows that, unlike Jemmy Button, the participating students were not as deeply shocked by their time abroad; rather, their deep-seated dissatisfaction with Chilean society is determined by their experiences in Chile and by a prior, permanent colonial domination that has entered the country through various paths.

Psychological Factors of Youth Emigration Intentions: A Review of International Studies

The psychological factors of the emigration intentions of young people, the growth of which is observed today in various countries of the world, are analysed based on the data of numerous international studies. The scientific significance of this analysis, on the one hand, is due to the lack of Russian psychological works that systematize and popularize the relevant information, on the other hand, it is associated with the need to subsequently correlate the results of international and Russian studies in order to identify common supra-cultural and specific psychological factors that affect the emigration intentions of young people. The psychological driving forces of the emigration intentions of young people considered in international studies are diverse and correspond to different levels of personality activity (individual, interpersonal and macrosocial). They correlate with general groups of factors contributing to emigration. The factors reflecting the emerging opportunities for emigration are related to positive attitudes towards emigration in general, the consideration of emigration as a way to achieve significant goals, a low degree of attachment to the country of origin, dissatisfaction with the existing living conditions, and positive attitudes towards the country where young people intend to move to. The psychological factors associated with the availability of social support include the support they receive from their families as well as relevant interpersonal contacts they have abroad. The group of factors related to personal resources for overcoming emerging obstacles correlates with expressed career aspirations, high motivation for power and achievements, insignificant motivation for affiliation, extraversion, openness to new experience, desire for risk, change and new impressions, openness to the world and cultural differences, readiness to interaction with others, faith in other religions and nationalities, self-efficacy, ability to cope with the ambivalence of emerging emotions and feelings, a high level of education, proficiency in foreign languages, and experience of international mobility. The obtained data can be used to conduct empirical psychological studies on the driving forces of the emigration activity of young people in Russia and other countries.

Beyond scientific excellence: International mobility and the entrepreneurial activities of academic scientists

As the international mobility of academic scientists is ever increasing, its effects on outcomes beyond research productivity deserve more attention. In this paper, we therefore investigate to what extent academics with different international mobility experiences differ in their likelihood to commercialize their research through entrepreneurship. To answer this question, we make use of a detailed survey covering all academics employed at Danish universities in 2017. Empirically, we distinguish three groups of academics according to their international experience (stayers, returnee, and immigrants) and focus on entrepreneurial outcomes realized while residing in the host country, Denmark. The estimation of duration models reveals that returnees are more than 50% more likely to become academic entrepreneurs than stayers. Immigrants, however, were between 38 and 47% less likely to start a firm than returnees. This difference seems to increase at higher levels of commercially relevant research and international research stays at international top institutions.

Rite of passage into the teaching profession? Australian pre-service teachers’ professional learning in the Indo-Pacific through the New Colombo Plan

ABSTRACT A growing number of pre-service teachers (PSTs), who traditionally tend to be less internationally mobile than students in other fields, are participating in mobility programs to the Indo-Pacific region. This article analyses the extent to which Australian pre-service teachers’ international mobility experiences via the New Colombo Plan (NCP) contribute to the development of their professional capabilities and preparedness for the teaching profession. The research uses positioning theory as a conceptual framework to interpret how teachers make sense of their professional learning via international practicums. The PSTs’ perceptions and experiences disrupt the stereotype of the Indo-Pacific as nurturing a spoon-fed and rote learning culture that inhibits students’ independent learning. It shows how the Indo-Pacific region represents a powerful learning space for PSTs from an Anglophone country like Australia to learn to teach independently, develop ethnorelative perspectives, and enrich their professional capacities. The findings indicate that international practicums in the Indo-Pacific helped Australian PSTs build essential professional skills and enhance their preparedness to teach in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms both in Australia and internationally. Importantly, the study highlights how Indo-Pacific experiences support Australian PSTs’ development of empathy and awareness of social justice as well as the aspiration to work with disadvantaged and refugee children.

Multidimensional meanings of studying abroad : international mobility experiences of Taiwanese joint dual doctoral program students in Belgium

Promoting dual doctoral degree programs is a critical strategy adopted to not only internationalize Taiwan's higher education system but also improve the low enrollment rates in doctoral programs in the country. However, limited research attention has been paid to the experiences of Taiwanese students enrolled in dual degree programs. Therefore, the present study adopted a qualitative approach to explore the experiences of Taiwanese students enrolled in a Taiwanese-Belgian joint dual doctoral program. A total of seven Taiwanese students and Belgian scholars participated in this study. The findings indicated that all student informants intended to study abroad before deciding to participate in the joint dual doctoral program; however, due to time and money restrictions, they participated in the joint dual doctoral programs established by their home universities in Taiwan. This study highlighted that students were motivated to participate in international, cooperative doctoral programs because obtaining dual learning experiences at both domestic and overseas universities differentiated them from purely domestic doctoral students. In this manner, the experience of studying abroad enhances their unique value in the academic market. While studying abroad, intercultural communication, in addition to differences in doctoral training schemes and supervision styles, were vital challenges that affected student informants' learning experiences and adaptation to life. During this process, the students constructed their adaptation and negotiation strategies to address those challenges. These strategies made them (re)define and (re)confirm their academic positions and identities. However, the limited period for studying abroad reduced students' motivation to participate and engage in local activities and establish social networks with local residents and friends in the host society. Moreover, the public and academic colleagues' limited understanding of the joint dual doctoral program may not only negatively affect students' academic mobility in terms of obtaining positions in the academic market but also influence prospective students' willingness to participate in such programs. Moreover, this study provides constructive suggestions for the development of joint dual doctoral programs on the basis of students' own practical experiences. Finally, the study's limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Does the Experience of International Mobility Lead to Career Advantages? Study of Russian researchers

The current agenda of Russian scientific policy pays much attention to measures aimed at supporting the mobility of scientific personnel (including young ones). The purpose of this study is to analyze how the experience of international mobility affects the objective and subjective indicators of employment of Russian Doctorate Holders, and to find out whether the experience of working or studying abroad always gives advantages when returning to the home country. The empirical base of the study is the data of the project “Monitoring survey of Highly Qualified R&D Personnel” (N=1742 for the year 2019). The obtained results show that the impact of the international mobility on the careers of Russian researchers is a complex phenomenon that is not limited to positive effects. A number of advantages can be received for the “non-mobile career”, when loyalty to the current organization is rewarded. Along with the implementation of mobility support programs, it is necessary to create an institutional environment in which researchers with experience in international mobility can maximize their professional potential and have a favorable environment for building a scientific career.

Growth all along the road? Personality development and international contacts of (in)experienced sojourners

International student mobility (ISM) is an important educational means to promote the international (job market) potential of university students. Beyond that, it constitutes a context of personality development in young adulthood. With the present research, we tried to integrate the perspectives of applied and personality research in addressing the following questions. First, we scrutinized the robustness of ISM effects on personality development as we controlled for effects of sociodemographic characteristics and implemented a waiting group design ( N = 3070). Second, we explored ISM anticipation effects as well as the moderation of ISM effects by previous international mobility experiences. Finally, in view of the public discourse on the benefits of “Erasmus crowds”, we assessed the roles of international and host relationships with regard to the personality development of sojourners. The results largely corroborated the robustness of ISM effects on personality development. No ISM anticipation effects occurred, and effects of current ISM engagement were largely unaffected by previous international mobility experiences. Finally, international contact experiences were associated with personality development above and beyond effects of host country contacts. Implications for the understanding of personality development and potential inferences for the organization and improvement of ISM programs are discussed.

The quality of international mobility experiences, general self-efficacy and job search self-efficacy: A time-lagged investigation

Grounded on social cognitive career theory as a framework, the present research investigates whether high quality international mobility experiences of students enhance their general self-efficacy perceptions and improve job-search self-efficacy behavior (JSSE-B) and job-search self-efficacy outcome (JSSE-O) following graduation. Data was collected at two different time points from students who enrolled to an international mobility program. The first survey was conducted shortly after students returned to home country, and the second survey after 23 months on average following the first survey. The results revealed that the quality of international experiences had a positive and indirect effect on JSSE-B and JSSE-O and this relationship was mediated by general self-efficacy of participants. The findings suggested that both general self-efficacy and by extension job search self-efficacy could be enhanced through properly designed international student mobility programs, benefits of which are not constrained to a limited time span, but prevail after graduation, as well.

Mobilidade e vulnerabilidade socioambiental: um estudo de caso para Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais, Brasil

Mobility or immobility responses to environmental issues are likely to be associated with socio-environmental characteristics and vulnerability of families and the context, and these responses may be a mechanism of adaptation (to environmental events) and reduction or aggravation of vulnerability. In addition, the speed and severity of environmental events may impose the adoption of mobility on individuals. For this purpose, a socio-environmental vulnerability index and mobility typologies were constructed using data from a probabilistic, mutli-stage sample of 1226 urban households collected between 2013 and 2016. The results suggest that although the subgroup of respondents with international mobility experiences is more exposed to socio-environmental risks, it is better able to adapt to the occurrence of socioenvironmental problems and has smaller levels of vulnerability than the subgroup of respondents that has never experienced international mobility.

Conferred cosmopolitanism: class-making strategies of elite schools across the world

Drawing on a multi-sited global ethnography of elite schools, this article explores how these institutions work to produce subjects that will thrive in a globalized world. We examine how despite a similar commitment to global citizenship education and a cosmopolitan orientation across all schools, the intersections between the transnational and national sphere continue to shape the specific futures students are being prepared for. Thus, while all schools understand cosmopolitanism as being acquired by working across difference and having international mobility experiences, the specificities of the national socio-economic contexts and the founding principles of each institution, shapes the kinds of ‘leaders’ being formed, which in turn differentiates the specific cosmopolitan practices being promoted. Ultimately, these elite institutions are seeking to create an elite class by conferring a cosmopolitan status on their students which will have direct convertibility for the specific futures being envisioned for them.

Atmospheres of science: Experiencing scientific mobility.

This article uses notions of the atmospheric to engage with empirical material concerned with international mobility in science. It draws on recent conceptual work on atmospheres that frames them as allowing access to the affective qualities of everyday life and as ‘productively nebulous’: atmospheres exist between the local and the globally diffuse, the emergent and the staged, the intangible and the brutally present. Using atmospheric thinking, I devise ‘apparatuses of attunement’ to capture elusive aspects of life in science, as discussed in interviews with natural scientists about their experiences of international mobility. In particular I use ideas of the situation, atmospheric threads, and the staging of atmospheres to argue that scientists represent themselves as existing in between the particular and the general: they are never wholly at the mercy of the structures and expectations of globalized science, but are also never not in the grip of them. In closing I reflect on what this analysis reveals about the affective qualities of contemporary science, the forms of life being nurtured by the norms and expectations of research (policy), and the kinds of agency available to (these) scientists. The aim of the article is thus twofold: to demonstrate how concepts of atmospheres can be put to work in STS, and to contribute to research on international mobility in science and contemporary scientific careers.

Interfaculty collaboration for improving international mobility experiences: sustaining a dialogue across difference

ABSTRACT Higher education institutions promote interfaculty collaborations in research and education projects, but few studies have examined the challenges of such collaborations. This case study investigates how a heterogeneous interfaculty group worked in a community of practice for two years curating an educational e-resource to support the professional learning of academic leaders of student international mobility experiences in their university. Focusing on the journey of working within this community of practice rather than the destination (the e-resource they produced), the study explores how the different members of the group negotiated the tensions and uncertainty associated with an interdisciplinary collaboration. Data in the form of reflexive ‘critical incident’ narratives written by all seven authors reveal the challenges of sustaining a ‘dialogue across difference’ in this cross-disciplinary collaboration. The study supports existing research that argues interfaculty collaborations are potentially rich and generative, but shows why success should not be taken for granted.

Caso ESCO turismo | projetos integradores & internacionais formar profissionais e cidadãos, melhorar o acesso às oportunidades de aprendizagem e fomentar o gosto pelo saber fora dos muros da escola

There is more and more misfit between the traditional ways of teaching in school and the complex, uncertain, demanding and unpredictable challenges of contemporary society. Committed and competent teaching professionals are needed to provoke, monitor, stimulate and guidethe learning of each and every citizen throughout their lives (Perez Gomez, 2010). More than knowing the subject to teach, the distinctive functions of the teaching professional are: knowledge, function, power and reflexivity (Roldao, 2009, pp. 46-48), having a passion for teaching (Day, 2004)), enjoying help learn, know how they learn and how they like to learn today’s students (Michel Serres, 2012) in today’s Society of Industry 4.0 (Schwab, 2017), recognize their multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1983), know incorporate educational resources and digital tools diversified into teaching practices (Khan Academy – https://khanacademy.org/- , didactic games, Kahoot!, ClassDojo, Quizizz,…), build differentiated and contextualized teaching strategies to essential learning (AE, 2018) and aligned with the descriptors of the competency areas of the Student Profile on Leaving Compulsory School (PA, 2017), organizing new spaces and times, evaluating processes and not just products, give immediate and intelligent feedback, motivate and follow everyone and, especially those who do not want to learn, inclusively. This article presents an experienced and contextualized testimony of how ESCO – Escola de Servicos e Comercio, in Torres Vedras, Portugal, works for Integrative Projects, enhancing the intercultural and international mobility experiences of students and teachers, in particular, in these last few years with Holland and France.

International student mobility & study tours as a tool for social justice

ABSTRACT Universities value the provision of opportunities for students to undertake international mobility experiences. Contemporaneously, they often highlight their commitment to social justice through international experiences, though it is not always clear how their educational activities fulfil this commitment. There has been little focus to date on the intersection of student mobility and the desire to include socially just pedagogy into university curricula. Drawing on narratives from semi-structured interviews with academics and professional staff, we explore the utilisation of study abroad within criminology. We argue that student mobility experiences have the potential to be socially just pedagogy through increasing access to new forms of education for a broad range of students. In turn, this positions mobility as a pedagogy for social justice by providing experiential learning opportunities that encourage critical engagement of students and increase their capabilities to act on social justice when in their home country.

The development of multicultural effectiveness in international student mobility

International student mobility (ISM) is an important educational means to increase students’ multicultural effectiveness and their (international) job market potential. In the present study, we investigated ISM effects by addressing the following three research questions: First, how do future sojourners differ from control students in terms of their pre-departure multicultural effectiveness? Second, how does ISM affect the development of multicultural effectiveness above and beyond effects of students’ demographic characteristics, their cultural and educational background, and their previous international mobility experiences? And third, do any of these variables moderate ISM development effects and thus help to explain who benefits most from ISM? We used a sample of N = 3070 students at German higher education institutions who were assigned to three groups (i.e., control students with no mobility plans, present sojourners who participated in ISM during the study period, and a waiting group of future sojourners who participated in ISM in the semester sequencing the study period). The analyses with (moderated) latent change models showed substantially higher pre-departure multicultural effectiveness in present and future sojourners compared with control students as well as positive effects of ISM on the development of multicultural effectiveness. The strongest effects were observed amongst students without previous international mobility experiences. Theoretical implications for the understanding of adaptive development in a globalized world as well as practical inferences for ISM outreach and recruitment strategies are discussed.

The limits and benefits of international mobility: an empirical examination of the biographies of Australian legal academics

ABSTRACTAcademics are becoming increasingly internationally mobile, and yet there is still limited research into the nature, outcomes and limits of academic mobility. This paper examines the biographies of over 700 academics employed within Australian law schools. It identifies legal academics who hold academics qualifications have been employed outside of Australia. Almost a quarter of legal academics in our sample hold a first degree outside of Australia, over a third hold a non-Australian post-graduate degree. While it could be expected that possessing international experience would broaden an academic’s cultural experiences, we also found that the internationally mobile academics have typically studied and worked previously within an elite international law school, and are now employed within an elite Australian law school. In addition, experiences of international mobility are not equally distributed, and male legal academics are significantly more likely to have international experience than female legal academics.