Factors influencing international PhD students to study physics in Australia

Abstract

Since physics research is an activity of an active international community, international visits are a common way for physicists to share scientific knowledge and skills. International mobility of physicists is also important for PhD physics study and research training. We investigated personal and social factors that influenced the decision for international PhD students to study physics in Australia. Eleven international PhD physics students at a university in Australia participated in individual in-depth interviews. As a result, multidimensional factors on their decision to engage in PhD study abroad were found. Although highly regarded research fields and/or experts in fields appeared as a strong influential factor, other personal and social contexts also influence the final decision. This indicates intertwined aspects of personal learning desire and social contexts for PhD international learners in physics who are underrepresented in the higher education literature.

Studying international doctoral researchers: nexus analysis as a mode of inquiry

“…Although the heterogeneity of international students is acknowledged in research literature (Asmar, 2005), it is also often ignored (Choi et al, 2012;Fotovatian, 2012;Manathunga, 2014). Instead, international students are all too often regarded as a homogenous mass with deficiencies in their English skills or having passive learning styles (Choi et al, 2012;Ryan & Carroll, 2005).…”

“…Although the heterogeneity of international students is acknowledged in research literature (Asmar, 2005), it is also often ignored (Choi et al, 2012;Fotovatian, 2012;Manathunga, 2014). Instead, international students are all too often regarded as a homogenous mass with deficiencies in their English skills or having passive learning styles (Choi et al, 2012;Ryan & Carroll, 2005). At its worst, international students are seen as a group which is not interested in academic achievement but merely a residency of the target country (Fotovatian, 2012), when in reality their motivations to study abroad are varied: pursuing academic or professional growth, intellectual stimulation, economic benefits, enhanced social status, or greater political freedom or stability (e.g., Kim, Bankart, & Isdell, 2011;Zhou, 2015), for example.…”

“…In this methodologically-oriented paper, I argue why nexus analysis is a particularly compelling alternative for studying international doctoral researchers 1 , who typically are a very heterogenous group-something which is often ignored in the research literature (Choi, Nieminen, & Townson, 2012;Fotovatian, 2012). A feature that many of them share, however, is that they often have to navigate different types of social settings by using a language that is not their native one (Campbell, 2015;Ku, et al, 2008;Zeivots, 2020).…”

Metody sběru dat využívané didaktikou fyziky v mezinárodním prostředí

“…Danielsson, 2012), individuální hloubkové rozhovory (individual in-depth interview, např. Choi, Nieminen & Townson, 2012) a rozhovory vedené v rámci ohniskových skupin (focus groups interview/discussion, např. Buck et al, 2014).…”