Post-graduation plans: Navigating global regimes of mobility

Mulvey, B. (2023) Post-graduation plans: Navigating global regimes of mobility. In: Mapping International Student Mobility Between Africa and China. Springer: Singapore, pp. 99-114. ISBN 9789819985081 (doi: 10.1007/978-981-99-8509-8_6)

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the post-graduation plans of this group of African students in China, drawing on the concept of global regimes of mobility to express how students navigate global inequalities in planning for post-graduation mobility. A central focus is on how students’ social positioning is reflected in their mobility plans and the barriers they face when attempting to navigate mobility regimes. I highlight the complexity of student decision-making regarding post-graduation mobility, which is often underplayed as a result of a focus on a ‘stay/return’ binary in student mobility research. The chapter highlights three broad post-study trajectories, while also stressing their nuances. First, there are returnees, either deterred by structural barriers to staying in China or with obligations related, for example, to their families or a sense of duty to contribute to national development. Second, there are those, usually relatively privileged, who can stay in the country by operating businesses. Third are those who plan to move onwards to a third country, using China as part of a ‘stepwise’ migration path.

• Item Type: Book Sections
• Additional Information: Online ISBN: 9789819985098.
• Status: Published
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Mulvey, Dr Benjamin
• Authors: Mulvey, B.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Education
• Publisher: Springer
• ISBN: 9789819985081