Mobility as 'becoming': a Bourdieuian analysis of the factors shaping international student mobility

• Published in: British journal of sociology of education Vol. 37; no. 8; pp. 1268 - 1289
• Main Author: Tran, Ly Thi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Routledge 01.12.2016; Routledge Taylor & Francis Group; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Advantaged; Aspiration; Becoming; Bourdieu; Bourdieu (P); Capital; Cultural Capital; Educational Sociology; Foreign Countries; Foreign Students; Higher Education; International Education; International students; Interviews; Labor Market; Meaning; Mobility; Occupational mobility; Professional development; Professional training; School districts; Semi Structured Interviews; Social development; Student adjustment; Student attitudes; Student Mobility; Transnationalism; Vocational Education; Vocational education and training; Australia
• ISSN: 0142-5692; 1465-3346
• DOI: 10.1080/01425692.2015.1044070

This paper unpacks the meanings and implications of the mobility of international students in vocational education - an under-researched group in the field of international education. This four-year study found that transnational mobility is regarded as a resourceful vehicle to help international students 'become' the kind of person they want to be. The paper justifies the value of re-conceptualising student mobility as a process of 'becoming'. Mobility as 'becoming' encompasses students' aspirations for educational, social, personal and professional development. Theorising mobility as 'becoming' captures international students' lived realities and has the potential to facilitate the re-imagining of international student mobility with new outlooks. By theorising mobility as 'becoming', this research suggests the importance of drawing on the integrated and transformative nature of Bourdieu's forms of capital in understanding the logics and practice of the social field - international student mobility.