Searching for ‘a third space’: a creative pathway towards international PhD students’ academic acculturation

Abstract

Undertaking a PhD is a challenging endeavour. Pursuing a doctoral education in a 'foreign' context tends to increase the demands of this intellectual venture. The nature of research-based PhD programmes, often characterised by a lack of formal curricula where academic supervision lasts several years, may add another layer of complexity. Drawing upon an extended version of Urie Bronfenbrenner's bio-ecological theory of human development, this paper attempts to offer a greater understanding of both academic and non-academic concerns confronting international PhD students with a view to highlighting their implications for institutional policy and practice. Underpinned by a visual metaphor approach, our research findings advocate embedding the use of 'a third space' as a creative pathway and strategy for maximising students' chances of achieving a successful PhD academic acculturation journey.

Internationalisation and Transnationalisation in Higher Education

“…Bengtsen, 2016;Marambe, Vermunt & Boshuizen, 2012). In the same vein, in our recent study of international doctoral students, their educational sojourn is portrayed as a mixture of serendipity and amusement as well as puzzlement and challenges (Elliot et al, 2016a). In examining further the complexities entailed by the sojourn as well as the hidden opportunities it presents, it would be best to delineate one after the other.…”

“…Arguably, only through reflection on and appreciation of their nature and then evaluating their strengths and weaknesses can we effectively appreciate where we are in the educational sojourn and what we require to do as we endeavour to complete the journey successfully. This can then lead to learners managing the influences generated by the two ecological systems with a view to benefiting from both (Elliot et al, 2016a(Elliot et al, , 2016b(Elliot et al, , 2016c, and avoiding cognitive dissonance. Consideration of the effect of each ecological system, particularly in meeting new objectives that have further implications for personal or professional growth and development, may therefore involve courageous negotiation and management of these influences.…”

“…As we argued elsewhere, since family, relatives and friends from one's home country are at a distance, the sojourn then provides learners with a golden opportunity for finding and nurturing new relationships, initially in the new microsystem and mesosystem. This can lead not only to shared activities with one's new inner circle, but also to establishing meaningful relationships that can be sources of personal and psychological strength (Elliot et al, 2016a(Elliot et al, , 2016b(Elliot et al, , 2016c. Likewise, the feelings of estrangement and foreignness arising from unfamiliar environments, culture and surrounding communities encourage the prospect of finding niche communities (e.g.…”

Capturing visual metaphors and tales: innovative or elusive?

“…This accords with Prosser and Schwartz's (1998) proposition that a theoretical framework should guide the analysis and interpretation of photographic data since photographs are recognised as 'data in their own right' while also being 'sources of data' (Banks 2007, 12;Rose 2014). A synthesis of the connections between the superordinate themes and subthemes helped create a schematic model of international students' academic acculturation experiences (Elliot et al 2015a;2015b;Elliot et al 2016). …”

Conceptualizing Internationalization at a Distance: A “Third Category” of University Internationalization

“…Much literature has outlined the personal and professional benefits of obtaining a full or partial higher education qualification abroad for both individuals and their institutions (see, for example, Jindal-Snape & Rienties, 2016;Elliot et al, 2016;Gu et al, 2010;Potts, 2015). Over the last half century, a wide variety of research has also focused on the multifaceted academic, social, and emotional transition experiences of students studying in other countries (for a summary, see, Jindal-Snape & Rienties, 2016;Zhou et al, 2008).…”