This book explores the world of international doctoral students in the Chinese higher education system. It delves into their motivations, research experiences, and how they navigate the transitions across borders between their research, personal, and social worlds while pursuing their research in China. The stories, presented in both patterned categories and individual reflexive narratives, illustrate how these students navigate themselves as doctoral researchers in the Chinese context. The stories highlight the opportunities and challenges these international students encounter in their doctoral research in China. While some students progressively become competent, confident, and positive researchers as they smoothly adjust, others struggle with difficult transitions and face challenges in their relationships with Chinese supervisors, peers, and the academic field. Through analyzing international doctoral students' lived experiences and the relevant policies, the authors offer insight into China's position and characteristics in the context of global doctoral education. This book will be of special interest to academics, researchers, student counsellors, university administrators, and policymakers, both in the east and the west. It should also be of interest to international students who are currently pursuing or planning to commence doctoral studies in China.

This volume examines the diversified and challenging experiences of Chinese international STEM doctoral students at Australian institutes of higher education, exploring how intersections between research, personal life, and social experiences can be negotiated to achieve academic success and personal transformation. By drawing on a range of qualitative and longitudinal research methods, the book foregrounds student narratives and utilizes a novel three-dimensional multi-world framework as an effective approach for understanding student experiences in a holistic way. It integrates Chinese philosophical perspectives and theories in the fields of educational psychology, international education, and doctoral education to interpret the nuances, complexity, and particularities of the cross-cultural STEM PhD experience, highlighting the importance of the supervisor–mentee relationship and the role of students’ cultural, social, and philosophical values in supporting their successful completion of the PhD degree. The analysis thus provides new insights into the ways in which these experiences vary across students, and might apply in other national contexts, and to non-STEM student cohorts. This book will be a valuable resource for researchers and academics engaged in cross-cultural education, the sociology of education, and international and comparative education. It will be of particular interest to those with a focus on international doctoral education and cultural Asian studies.

This book makes valuable theoretical, empirical, and methodological contributions to the study of overseas doctoral students’ cross-cultural adaptation. Focusing on Australia, one of the top three destinations for Chinese students, this book seeks to understand how Chinese doctoral students perceive their lived experience of adapting to the academic and research environment at Australian universities. The book presents an innovative data collection chiefly based on interviews. It probes into Chinese doctoral students’ emic perception of their cross-cultural adaptation from a human development perspective and in three main phrases: how motivated and prepared they are for their overseas stay (planning), how they experience their adaptation as active agents (implementing), and how they evaluate their overseas doctoral journey after the fact (reflecting). Empirically speaking, its findings can help bolster the effectiveness of cross-cultural adaptation and that of the internationalisation of doctoral education. Methodologically speaking, it combines popular techniques and underused instruments such as graphics and maps to offer an in-depth portrait of the issue. Given its content, the book is primarily intended for researchers in cultural studies and practitioners in international education, or in a broader sense for anyone who has a keen interest in how individuals navigate the learning trajectory and construe meanings in unfamiliar academic and socio-cultural settings. Though the book focuses on Australia as a case study, its findings are equally applicable to other contexts.

Responding to the growing need for recruitment and retention of international talent in higher education institutions globally, this volume documents the experiences and contribution of international graduate students, researchers, and faculty. This text foregrounds perspectives around recruitment, transition, integration, professional development, and the retention of scholars originating from, or arriving in, countries including China, Australia, Iraq, Japan, and the US. By investigating the support systems that are in place to assist foreign-born faculty members in institutes of higher education, the text provides important insights for departments and institutions as they look to successfully attract and retain global academic talent. Moreover, the scientific and practical implications of the research presented in the text directly informs institutional policy, working towards more effective, inclusive, and equitable ways to support international faculty. This text will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with an interest in higher education, international and comparative education, and, more specifically, those involved with faculty development programs. The text will also support further discussion and reflection around multicultural education, international teaching and learning, and educational policy more broadly.

This edited volume brings together the perspectives of a diverse group of international scholars to explore the intersections of study abroad and social mobility. In doing so, it challenges universalist assumptions and power imbalances implicit in study abroad across the Global North and South, and explores the implications of COVID-19 for equity within study abroad programs, policy, and practice going forward. Offering empirical, theoretical, and conceptual contributions, Critical Perspectives on Equity and Social Mobility in Study Abroad foregrounds critical reflection on the stratification of access to study abroad and examines the varied outcomes of international study in relation to graduates’ entry into domestic and international labor markets. Focusing on the experiences and outcomes of students from varied backgrounds, chapters identify a number of power imbalances relating to student race, ethnicity, religion, local and international policies and politics, and put forward valuable recommendations to ensure greater equity within the field. Against the backdrop of growing criticism over the power imbalances in international exchange, this text will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with an interest in higher education, international and comparative education, and multicultural education. Those interested in educational policy and the sociology of education more broadly will also benefit from this book.

This study investigates the learning and practical experience of Chinese international students in Canadian graduate schools to increase their engagement and enhance their experience. Specifically, this research explores the challenges and needs faced by Chinese international graduate students engaging in Canada. Qualitative data were collected in the form of student and staff member interviews and educational policies from an urban university in Canada. Generally, the participants have varied understanding of student engagement from their experiences and cultural backgrounds. The determining factors that influence Chinese international graduate students' engagement in Canadian institutions include cultural differences, language barriers and identities, student motivation, sense of belonging and community inclusivity, the expectations of parents, instructors, and peers, personality, interests, financial burdens and employment barriers, and gender-based differences. To better engage in and out of the classroom, Chinese international graduate students need the support of their academic and social engagement and the supporting resources. They need the support from the following areas: academic and professional development, language and cultural awareness, critical awareness and engagement, the environment based on equity, diversity, and inclusivity, sense of belonging, student voice and leadership, financial resources, health life including mental health, safety and wellness, and time management. Implications from this study suggest deconstructing the Western dominant ways of the understanding of student engagement. These findings provide some practical suggestions for Chinese international graduate students to better engage in Canadian graduate institutions and for staff to better support Chinese graduate international students. They also suggest some directions for future research.

The Journal of International Students (JIS), an academic, interdisciplinary, and peer-reviewed publication (Print ISSN 2162-3104 & Online ISSN 2166-3750), publishes narrative, theoretical, and empirically-based research articles, student and faculty reflections, study abroad experiences, and book reviews relevant to international students and their cross-cultural experiences and understanding in international education.

Cross-cultural experiences in university settings have a significant impact on students’ lives by enriching the learning process and promoting cultural awareness and tolerance. While studying abroad offers students unique learning opportunities, educators must be able to effectively address the specific social and academic needs of multicultural learners. Exploring the Social and Academic Experiences of International Students in Higher Education Institutions is a pivotal reference source for the latest research on the issues surrounding study abroad students in culturally diverse educational environments. Featuring various perspectives from a global context on ensuring the educational, structural, and social needs of international students are met, this book is ideally designed for university faculty, researchers, graduate students, policy makers, and academicians working with transnational students.

Focused on understanding the journey of international doctoral and early career scholars, this key book provides insight and guidance for those whose country of origin differs from where they have chosen to pursue a doctorate. Drawing on the experiences of PhD students, it harnesses invaluable insights to support a deepening appreciation of a chosen subject of study, manage research and make the most of what intercultural interactions can offer within a doctoral experience. Each carefully considered part uses research-informed evidence drawn from a wide range of experiences and observations, providing various, and at times contrasting, perspectives. This book has been written to: Offer new insights into the PhD abroad experience Equip international scholars for their doctoral journey Help the reader optimise institutional support with help from supervisors and other staff members Filled with evidence-informed suggestions and advice, this book offers support to doctoral scholars and early career researchers as they navigate their international doctoral journey. The ‘Insider Guides to Success in Academia’ offers support and practical advice to doctoral students and early-career researchers. Covering the topics that really matter, but which often get overlooked, this indispensable series provides practical and realistic guidance to address many of the needs and challenges of trying to operate, and remain, in academia. These neat pocket guides fill specific and significant gaps in current literature. Each book offers insider perspectives on the often implicit rules of the game – the things you need to know but usually aren’t told by institutional postgraduate support, researcher development units, or supervisors – and will address a practical topic that is key to career progression. They are essential reading for doctoral students, early-career researchers, supervisors, mentors, or anyone looking to launch or maintain their career in academia.