International and transnational education for whose interests? A study on the career development of Chinese students

Ka Ho MOK, Xiao HAN, Jin JIANG, Xiaojun ZHANG

Research output: Journal PublicationsJournal Article (refereed)peer-review

43 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A significant increase in internationally mobile students has been observed in the past decades. With the strong intention of enhancing their competitiveness in the global labour market, a growing number of students have embarked on their learning journeys through studying abroad or enrolling in transnational Higher Education programmes. These students expect the international learning experience will enhance their future job prospects and career advancement. However, whether or not this learning experience enables students to secure promising positions in the global labour market and make their investments in Higher Education worthwhile remains debatable. Drawing on both student surveys and in-depth interviews, this study explores how international or transnational Higher Education affects job prospects and career development, with particular reference to the perspective of employable skills and contextual influences. The respondents of the present research rate their learning experiences highly for hard knowledge, soft skills and cross-cultural understanding. The majority of respondents suggest that the international and transnational learning experience will positively contribute to their career development. Such findings are supported by similar studies related to the job prospects of returning Chinese students after studying overseas. This article contributes to a better understanding of how students assess their studying abroad affected their personal development, job prospects and career development.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)208-223
Number of pages16
JournalHigher Education Quarterly
Volume72
Issue number3
Early online date12 Jul 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2018

Bibliographical note

The authors acknowledge the methodological limitation of the present studies, especially conducting a direct comparison with graduates from TNHE and local university graduates against the context of diverse variations of graduate employment across the whole country.

Funding

The authors thank the Economic and Social Research Council and the Higher Education Funding Council of England in the UK for funding the present research project as part of the research programmes of the Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE).

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