International Students’ Perceptions of Their University-To-Work Transition

dc.contributor.advisorArthur, Nancy Marie
dc.contributor.authorWoodend, Jon D.
dc.contributor.committeememberKawalilak, Colleen
dc.contributor.committeememberMoules, Nancy J.
dc.date2020-02
dc.date.accessioned2019-11-19T17:24:59Z
dc.date.available2019-11-19T17:24:59Z
dc.date.issued2019-11
dc.description.abstractInternational students are increasingly seeking a foreign education. Part of this increase is due to institutional goals for revenue generation and for diversifying the student population. At the same time, governments of developed countries such as Canada are creating incentives for international students to work in the destination country post-graduation to fill skilled labour shortages. Post-study, international students often face barriers when integrating into the workforce, defeating these policies and decreasing the value of a foreign education. Moreover, researchers have predominately focused on the in-study experiences of international students, particularly their academic adjustment. Few studies have addressed the post-study experiences of former international students. In my doctoral thesis, I sought to help address this gap by investigating the post-study experiences of former international students, three to five years post-graduation. Specifically, I used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to explore how former international students in Canada made sense of their transition out of university and into the Canadian workforce. Guided by a Systems Theory Framework, I used the results to offer insights into the barriers these former international students faced, how they were able to overcome them, and the influences that were important to their workplace transition. Implications included suggestions for policy-makers, universities, and career practitioners to help international students successfully navigate the transition into and out of study. By supporting former international students in their post-study transition, practitioners can help with concerns such as un/under-employment, universities can help improve the value of education, and policy-makers may recruit highly talented workers to address labour shortages.en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/37255
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/111232
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisher.facultyWerklund School of Educationen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.en_US
dc.subjectinternational studentsen_US
dc.subjectcareer transitionsen_US
dc.subjectinternationalizationen_US
dc.subjectcareer developmenten_US
dc.subjectinterpretative phenomenological analysisen_US
dc.subject.classificationEducational Psychologyen_US
dc.subject.classificationEducation--Guidance and Counselingen_US
dc.titleInternational Students’ Perceptions of Their University-To-Work Transitionen_US
dc.typedoctoral thesisen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineEducation Graduate Program – Educational Psychologyen_US
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgaryen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrueen_US
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