International and transnational learning in higher education: a study of students’ career development in China

During the past few decades, there has been a significant increase in international mobile students. With a strong intention to enhance their competitiveness in the global labour market, a growing number of students embark on their learning journeys through studying abroad or enrolling in transnational higher education programmes, expecting that the international learning experience will enhance their future job searches and career advancement. However, whether this kind of learning experience enables students, especially degree pursuers for study abroad, to secure promising positions in the global labour market and make their investments in higher education worthy remains debatable. The current literature renders differentiated or even opposing results. Drawing on both student surveys and in-depth interviews, this paper aims to explore how international or transnational higher education affects job searches and career development, with particular reference to the perspective of employable skills and contextual influences. We find that the respondents of the present research highly rate their learning experiences for hard knowledge, as well as soft skills and cross-cultural understanding. The majority of our respondents suggest that the international and transnational learning experience positively contributes to their career development. However, most of the graduates from international or transnational higher education institutions come from advantaged family backgrounds, and attained their first job through their social network after their graduation. Transnational and overseas study may perpetuate social inequality. The article ends with some sociological reflections on this study.