Abstract
Migrant academics’ teaching, research and leadership knowledge and skills are essential and valued in their host higher education institutions, globally. However, there is limited evidence on understanding migrant academics’ career capital experiences in Australian universities. Drawing on a career capital framework, this qualitative study explores the experiences of 26 international academics at Australian universities. Based on interview findings, migrant academics have developed capitals in terms of knowing-why, motivation to migrate and seek employment at Australian universities, knowing-how, utilising accumulated human capital in teaching and research activities, and knowing-whom, developing and relying on social connections to have a positive impact on teaching and research work. The findings contribute to the literature because career development experience of migrant academics in Australia is an underexplored phenomenon, underpinned by career capital theory. The implications of these findings for international academics and higher education institutions are also discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ajjawi, R., & Higgs, J. (2007). Using hermeneutic phenomenology to investigate how experienced practitioners learn to communicate clinical reasoning. The Qualitative Report, 12(4), 612–638. http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR12-4/ajjawi.pdf. Accessed 18 Nov 2023
Aksakal, N. Y. (2020). Career capital as a component human capital: A theoretical model proposal to the intellectual capital. Business & Management Studies: An International Journal, 8(5), 3772–3794. https://doi.org/10.15295/bmij.v8i5.1656
Al Ariss, A., & Özbilgin, M. (2010). Understanding self-initiated expatriates: Career experiences of Lebanese self-initiated expatriates in France. Thunderbird International Business Review, 52(4), 275–285. https://doi.org/10.1002/tie.20355
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2020). Migrants, Education and Work, Australia. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/migrant-data-matrices/latest-release. Accessed 18 Oct 2023
Aytekin, I., Erdogmus, N., Erdil, O., & Akgün, A. E. (2016). Academicians’ career capital and career satisfaction: The mediation effect of research productivity. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 16(6), 1921–1945. https://doi.org/10.12738/estp.2016.6.0412
Balasooriya, C., Asante, A., Jayasinha, R., & Razee, H. (2014). Academic mobility and migration: Reflections of international academics in Australia. In N. Maadad & M. Tight (Eds.), Academic mobility (pp. 117–135). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706QP063OA
Burford, J., Koompraphant, G., & Jirathanapiwat, W. (2018). Being, adjusting and developing satisfaction: A review of ajarn tangchart (non-Thai academics) within the Thai higher education system. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 50(5), 656–675. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2018.1544482
Cantwell, B. (2011). Transnational mobility and international academic employment: Gatekeeping in an academic competition arena. Minerva, 49, 425–445. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11024-011-9181-3
Clarke, V., & Braun, V. (2017). Thematic analysis. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 12(3), 297–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2016.1262613
Creswell, J. W. (2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (3rd ed.). Pearson Prentice Hall.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2016). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage publications.
DeFillippi, R. J., & Arthur, M. B. (1994). The boundaryless career: A competency-based perspective. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15(4), 307–324. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030150403
Dickmann, M., Suutari, V., Brewster, C., Mäkelä, L., Tanskanen, J., & Tornikoski, C. (2018). The career competencies of self-initiated and assigned expatriates: Assessing the development of career capital over time. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(16), 2353–2371. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2016.1172657
Dinh, N. B. K., Caliskan, A., & Zhu, C. (2021). Academic leadership: Perceptions of academic leaders and staff in diverse contexts. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 49(6), 996–1016. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143220921192
Fagan, C., & Teasdale, N. (2021). Women professors across STEMM and non-STEMM disciplines: Navigating gendered spaces and playing the academic game. Work, Employment and Society, 35(4), 774–792. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017020916182
Green, W., & Myatt, P. (2011). Telling tales: A narrative research study of the experiences of new international academic staff at an Australian university. International Journal for Academic Development, 16(1), 33–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2011.546219
Guo, C., & Al Ariss, A. (2015). Human resource management of international migrants: Current theories and future research. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 26(10), 1287–1297. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2015.1011844
Ho, C. (2006). Migration as feminisation? Chinese women’s experiences of work and family in Australia. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 32(3), 497–514. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691830600555053
Hsieh, H. H. (2012). Challenges facing Chinese academic staff in a UK university in terms of language, relationships and culture. Teaching in Higher Education, 17(4), 371–383. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2011.641001
Inkson, K., & Arthur, M. B. (2001). How to be a successful career capitalist. Organizational Dynamics, 30(1), 48–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0090-2616(01)00040-7
Järlström, M., Brandt, T., & Rajala, A. (2020). The relationship between career capital and career success among Finnish knowledge workers. Baltic Journal of Management, 15(5), 687–706. https://doi.org/10.1108/BJM-10-2019-0357
Jayashree, P., Lindsay, V., & McCarthy, G. (2020). Career capital development of women in the Arab Middle East context: Addressing the pipeline block. Personnel Review, 50(4), 1253–1278. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-10-2018-0436
Jepsen, D. M., Sun, J. J. M., Budhwar, P. S., Klehe, U. C., Krausert, A., Raghuram, S., & Valcour, M. (2014). International academic careers: Personal reflections. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25(10), 1309–1326. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2013.870307
Jiang, X., Di Napoli, R., Borg, M., Maunder, R., Fry, H., & Walsh, E. (2010). Becoming and being an academic: The perspectives of Chinese staff in two research-intensive UK universities. Studies in Higher Education, 35(2), 155–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070902995213
Johansson, M., & Śliwa, M. (2014). Gender, foreignness and academia: An intersectional analysis of the experiences of foreign women academics in UK business schools. Gender, Work & Organization, 21(1), 18–36. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12009
Jöns, H. (2007). Transnational mobility and the spaces of knowledge production: A comparison of global patterns, motivations and collaborations in different academic fields. Social Geography, 2(2), 97–114. https://doi.org/10.5194/sg-2-97-2007
Kim, J. (2019). International students’ intercultural sensitivity in their academic socialisation to a non-English-speaking higher education: A Korean case study. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2019.1627298
Kucharska, W. (2021). Do mistakes acceptance foster innovation? Polish and US cross-country study of tacit knowledge sharing in IT. Journal of Knowledge Management, 25(11), 105–128. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-12-2020-092
Kuzhabekova, A., & Lee, J. (2018). Relocation decision of international faculty in Kazakhstan. Journal of Studies in International Education, 22(5), 414–433. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315318773147
Kvale, S. (2007). Doing interviews. Sage Publications.
Larbi, F. O., & Ashraf, M. A. (2020). International academic mobility in Chinese academia: Opportunities and challenges. International Migration, 58(3), 148–162. https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12662
Lee, J. T., & Kuzhabekova, A. (2018). Reverse flow in academic mobility from core to periphery: Motivations of international faculty working in Kazakhstan. Higher Education, 76(2), 369–386. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0213-2
Luxon, T., & Peelo, M. (2009). Academic sojourners, teaching and internationalisation: The experience of non-UK staff in a British University. Teaching in Higher Education, 14(6), 649–659. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562510903315233
Mäkelä, L., Suutari, V., Brewster, C., Dickmann, M., & Tornikoski, C. (2016). The impact of career capital on expatriates’ perceived marketability. Thunderbird International Business Review, 58(1), 29–40. https://doi.org/10.1002/tie.21742
Markee, N. (1997). Managing curricular innovation. Cambridge University Press.
McClure, J. W. (2003). The experiences of Chinese international postgraduates studying in Singapore. Unpublished Doctorate dissertation, Griffith University, Queensland.
Minichiello, V., Aroni, R., & Hays, T. (2008). In-depth interviewing: Principles, techniques, analysis (3rd ed.). Pearson Education Australia.
Morley, L., Alexiadou, N., Garaz, S., González-Monteagudo, J., & Taba, M. (2018). Internationalisation and migrant academics: The hidden narratives of mobility. Higher Education, 76(3), 537–554. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0224-z
Nguyen, H. M. (2013). Faculty advisors’ experiences with international graduate students. Journal of International Students, 3(2), 102–116. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v3i2.504
Sandberg, J. (2000). Understanding human competence at work: An interpretative approach. The Academy of Management Journal, 43(1), 9–25. https://doi.org/10.5465/155638
Sandberg, J. (2005). How do we justify knowledge produced within interpretive approaches? Organizational Research Methods, 8(1), 41–68. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428104272000
Sang, K., Al-Dajani, H., & Özbilgin, M. (2013). Frayed careers of migrant female professors in British academia: An intersectional perspective. Gender, Work & Organization, 20(2), 158–171. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12014
Schartner, A., Young, T. J., & Snodin, N. (2023). Intercultural adjustment of internationally mobile academics working in Thailand. Higher Education, 85(3), 483–502. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-022-00846-4
Singh, J. K. N. (2020). Challenges in obtaining employment in China: Lived experiences of Australian Chinese graduates. Australian Journal of Career Development, 29(3), 153–163. https://doi.org/10.1177/1038416220947085
Singh, J. K. N. (2021a). International academics’ lived experiences in gaining leadership positions at Australian universities. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2021.1988717
Singh, J. K. N. (2021b). Academic resilience among international students: Lived experiences of postgraduate international students in Malaysia. Asia Pacific Education Review, 22(1), 129–138. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-020-09657-7
Singh, J. K. N. & Chowdhury, H. (2021). Early-career international academics’ learning and teaching experiences during COVID-19 in Australia: A collaborative autoethnography. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 18(5), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.53761/1.18.5.12
Singh, J. K. N. & Jack, G. (2022). The role of language and culture in postgraduate international students’ academic adjustment and academic success: Qualitative insights from Malaysia. Journal of International Students, 12(2), 444–466. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v12i2.2351
Singh, R., Ragins, B. R., & Tharenou, P. (2009). What matters most? The relative role of mentoring and career capital in career success. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 75(1), 56–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2009.03.003
Sloan, A., & Bowe, B. (2014). Phenomenology and hermeneutic phenomenology: The philosophy, the methodologies, and using hermeneutic phenomenology to investigate lecturers’ experiences of curriculum design. Quality and Quantity, 48(3), 1291–1303. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-013-9835-3
Song, X., & McCarthy, G. (2020). Asian academic mobility in Australia. In X. Song & G. McCarthy (Eds.), Governing Asian International Mobility in Australia (pp. 137–168). Palgrave Pivot.
Talebloo, B., & Baki, R. B. (2013). Challenges faced by international postgraduate students during their first year of studies. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 3(13), 138–145.
Trembath, J. L. (2016). The professional lives of expatriate academics: Construct clarity and implications for expatriate management in higher education. Journal of Global Mobility, 4(2), 112–130. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGM-04-2015-0012
Walker, P. (2015). The globalisation of higher education and the sojourner academic: Insights into challenges experienced by newly appointed international academic staff in a UK university. Journal of Research in International Education, 14(1), 61–74. https://doi.org/10.1177/1475240915571032
Winterheller, J., & Hirt, C. (2017). Career patterns of young highly skilled migrants from Southeast Europe in Austria: Investigating accumulation and use of career capital. Personnel Review, 46(2), 222–236. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-05-2015-0148
Wond, T., & Brown, C. (2019). Building career capital: Helping workers to enhance career mobility in uncertain times. Journal for Perspectives of Economic Political and Social Integretion, 25(1), 7–25. https://doi.org/10.18290/pepsi-2019-0001
Yao, C. (2013). The perceived value of Chinese expatriates’ career capital: A symbolic capital perspective. Journal of Global Mobility, 1(2), 187–218. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGM-09-2012-0001
Yao, C. (2014). The impact of cultural dimensions on Chinese expatriates’ career capital. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25(5), 609–630. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2013.792862
Zhu, Y., & Bresnahan, M. (2018). “They make no contribution!” versus “We should make friends with them!”—American domestic students’ perception of Chinese international students’ reticence and face. Journal of International Students, 8(4), 1614–1635. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v8i4.221
Zikic, J. (2015). Skilled migrants’ career capital as a source of competitive advantage: Implications for strategic HRM. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 26(10), 1360–1381. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2014.981199
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The author declares no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Singh, J.K.N. Migrant academics’ career capital experiences in Australian universities: a qualitative study. High Educ (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01152-3
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01152-3