International Phd students’ first-year experiences: the case of students at the university of Kwazulu-Natal (UKZN).

Abstract

This study contributes to the literature on internationalization of higher education by adding to scholarship on students' destination choice on studying abroad and their expe1iences in host count1ies. South-south migration of students is an under researched field when compared to South-nmth migration. This study, couched in transnationalism, examined the reasons for international PhD students from com1tries in Afiica exiting their home count1y to study at the University of KwaZuluNatal (UKZN) in South Africa and their first-yeai· PhD expe1iences at UK.ZN. The study is unde1pinned by push-pull theories (Ravenstein, 1885; Lee, 1966; Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002) and the social capital themy of Bourdieu (1986). The study was qualitative using interviews and focus group discussions as date generation tools. Sixteen international PhD students from Africa, studying at UKZN were selected through convenience sampling. The findings indicate that international PhD students exit their home com1tiy because of several push factors, which collectively spur them to leaving their home cmmtiy to study at UKZN. International student migration to UKZN results in a brain gain for UKZN and a brain drain to the home com1tiy. The study advances theoretical insights into the push factors from other Afiican cmmt1ies, which were numerous; however the financial pull factors comprising fee remission and oppmtunities to tutor/ lecture at UKZN in SA ove1whelmingly propelled the mobility of international students from countries in Africa to UKZN in SA. The findings illmninate both positive and negative experiences about students' first-year PhD study at UKZN. The study fom1d that the students were accessing an array of social capitals at the host institution and within South Afiica. Positive experiences included academic tutoring/ lecniring and reseai·ch training towards completion of the PhD with initiatives such as the UKZN boot camps, workshops and the coho1t model. These expe1iences developed the hmnan capital of international students. Discursive positionality influenced students' expe1iences: the inability to speak isiZulu, Afrophobia, exclusion, and perceptions of 'being an outsider/foreigner. These created significant acculturative stresses for international students during the first year PhD. The study extends on the theo1ies of Mazzarol and Soutar and Lee. It makes a fiuther theoretical contiibution by providing a framework on the push-pull factors influencing international PhD students to study at UK.ZN and advances a framework on the provision of service quality. Several recommendations are provided to stI·engthen service delive1y for African international snidents to enhance the PhD students' experiences in their first year.