Bridges to the future: Mobility experiences of early-career researchers

Year 2022, , 162 - 207, 31.03.2022

Gülşah Taşçı

https://doi.org/10.30828/real.1010307

Cited By: 1

Abstract

The aim of the study is to investigate the meaning attributed by early-career researchers to academic mobility, the sources of motivation for mobility, and the difficulties and opportunities faced by these researchers during their academic activities. The present study employed the qualitative research method in order to understand the participants' experiences more deeply. A semi-structured interview form was used for the study, and was carried out on 11 early-career researchers. The participants expressed their motives for mobility, their research experiences, and the difficulties they faced. The findings revealed the earlycareer researchers’ sources of motivation for mobility and the difficulties and opportunities they encountered in this process.

Keywords

International mobility, Internationalization, Earlycareer researchers, Experience, Career development, Human capital theory, Pull-push factors

References

• Ackers, L. (2005). Scientific migration within the EU: Introduction to the special issue, innovation. The European Journal of Social Science Research, 18(3), 75–276.
• Ackers, L., Gill, B., & Guth, J. (2007). Doctoral mobility in the social sciences. NORFACE ERA-NET. https://www.norface.net/wpcontent/ uploads/2017/09/Doctoral_Mobility.pdf
• Ackers, L. (2008). Internationalisation, mobility, and metrics: A new form of indirect discrimination? Minerva, 46, 411–435.
• Altbach, P. G., & Knight, J. (2007). The internationalization of higher education: Motivations and realities. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11(3–4), 290–305. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315307303542
• Appelt, S., Beuzekom, B. V., Galindo-Rueda, F., & Pinho, R. D. (2015). Which factors influence the international mobility of research scientists? OECD Science, Technology, and Industry Working
• Avveduto, S. (2001). International mobility of PhDs. In innovative people: Mobility of skilled personnel in national innovation systems (pp. 229–242). OECD Publishing. https://www.oecd.org/sti/inno/2096794.pdf
• Baláž, V., & Williams, A. M. (2004). ‘Been there, done that’: International student migration and human capital transfers from the UK to Slovakia. Population Space and Place, 10(3), 217 – 237. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.316
• Barblan, A., Ergüder, Ü., & Gürüz, K. (2008). Higher education in Turkey: Institutional autonomy and responsibility in a modernising society. Bononia University Press.
• Barnett, G. A., Lee, M., Jiang, K., & Park, H. W. (2016). The flow of international students from a macro perspective: A network analysis. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 46(4), 533-559. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2015.1015965
• Bauder, H. (2015). The international mobility of academics: A labor market perspective. International Migration, 53 (1), 83–96. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2435.2012.00783.x
• Bauder, H., Hannan, C. A., & Lujan, O. (2017). International experience in the academic field: Knowledge production, symbolic capital, and mobility fetishism. Population, Space, and Place, 23(6), 1–13.
• Bauder, H., Lujan, O., & Hannan, C. A. (2018). Internationally mobile academics: Hierarchies, hegemony, and the geo-scientific imagination. Geoforum, 89, 52–59. Research in Educational Administration & Leadership 7 (1), March 2022, 162-207 198
• Becker, R., & Kolster, R. (2012). International student recruitment: policies and development in selected countries. http://www.nuffic.nl/internationalorganizations/docs/niem/documen ts/international-studentrecruitment.pdf
• Bennion, A, & Locke, W. (2010). The early career paths and employment conditions of the academic profession in seventeen countries. European Review, 18(1), 7-33.
• Byram, M., & Dervin, F. (2008). Students, staff and academic mobility in higher education. Cambridge Scholars Publishing; Unabridged edition.
• Conchi, S., & Michels, C. (2014). Scientific mobility. An analysis of Germany, Austria, France and Great Britain. Fraunhofer ISI discussion papers innovation systems and policy analysis No 41. https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/94371/1/780555376.pdf
• Costello, K. (2018). University internationalization as a method of human capital development (Unpublished Theses). https://via.library.depaul.edu/business_etd/4
• Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage.
• Çetinsaya, G. (2014). Büyüme, kalite, uluslararasılaşma: Türkiye yükseköğretimi için bir yol haritası. Yükseköğretim Kurulu. Delicado, A. (2010). Going abroad to do science: mobility trends and motivations of Portuguese researchers. Science Studies, 23(2), 36-59.
• Eisemann, I., & Märdian, M. (2018). Gender equality network in the European research area performing in physics. Milestone M 4.2 Gender and mobility: Insights into the field of physics. https://genera-project.com/portia_web/M4.2- Gender_and_Mobility_2018.pdf
• Emilsson, H. & Mozetič, K. (2021). Intra-EU youth mobility, human capital and career outcomes: the case of young high-skilled Latvians and Romanians in Sweden (ed.). Journal of ethnic and migration studies, 47(8), 1811-1828.
• Enders, J. (1998). Academic staff mobility in the European community: The ERASMUS experience. Comparative Education Review, 42(1), 46-60.
• Franzoni, C., Scellato, G., & Stephan, P. (2014). The mover’s advantage: The superior performance of migrant scientists. Economics Letters, 122 (1), 89–93.
• Giorgi, A. (2009). The descriptive phenomenological method in psychology: A modified Husserlian approach. Duquesne University Press.
• Guthrie, S., Lichten, C., Corbett, J., & Wooding, S. (2017). International mobility of researchers a review of the literature. RAND Europe. https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_repor ts/RR1900/RR1991/RAND_RR1991z1.pdf
• Güngör, N. D. & Tansel, A. (2004). Türkiye’den yurt dışına beyin göçü: Ampirik bir uygulama. ERC (Economic Research Center) Working Papers in Economics, 4(02), 1-10.
• Gürüz, K. (2011). Higher education and international student mobility in the global knowledge economy (Revised and updated second edition). SUNY Press.
• Hayward, F., & Siaya, L. (2001). Public experience, attitudes, and knowledge: A report on two national surveys about international Research in Educational Administration & Leadership 7 (1), March 2022, 162-207 200 education. Washington, DC: American Council on Education. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED475087
• Harzing, A. W., Reiche, B. S., & Pudelko, M. (2013). Challenges in international survey research: A review with illustrations and suggested solutions for best practice. European Journal of International Management, (1), 112-134.
• Heotis, E. (2020). Phenomenological research methods: Extensions of Husserl and Heidegger. Int J Sch Cogn Psychol, 7, 221.
• Hoffman, D. M. (2009). Changing academic mobility patterns and international migration: What will academic mobility mean in the 21st century. Journal of Studies in International Education, 13(3), 347–364.
• Horta, H. (2013). Deepening our understanding of academic inbreeding effects on research information exchange and scientific output: new insights for academic based research. Higher Education, 65(4), 487–510.
• Ivancheva, L., & Gourova, E. (2011). Challenges for career and mobility of researchers in Europe. Science and Public Policy, 38(3), 185-198.
• Jon, J. E., Shin, Y. J., & Fry, G. W. (2020). Understanding study abroad participants’ career decisions and perspectives in US higher education. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 50(1), 53-70.
• Jöns, H. (2011). Transnational academic mobility and gender. Globalization, Societies and Education, 9(2), 183–209.
• Kehm, B. M. (2008). Germany. In M. Nerad & M. Heggelund, (Eds.), Toward a global ph.d.? Forces & forms in doctoral education worldwide (pp. 19-35). University of Washington Press.
• Kim, T. (2009). Transnational academic mobility, internationalization, and interculturality in higher education. Intercultural Education, 20(5), 395-405.
• Kim, T. (2017). Academic mobility, transnational identity capital, and stratification under conditions of academic capitalism. Higher Education, 73(6), 981–997.
• Khwaja, Y. (2002). Should I stay or should I go? Migration under uncertainty: A real options approach. Department of Economics and Finance Research Discussion Papers. Brunel University, 02-10, 1-32. https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/902/1/02-10.pdf
• Kondakçı, Y. (2011). Student mobility reviewed: Attraction and satisfaction of international students in Turkey. Higher Education, 62, 573-592. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-011-9406- 2
• Kondakçı, Y., Çalışkan, O., Bulut-Şahin, B., Yılık, M.A. & Engin- Demir, C. (2016). Regional internationalization in higher education between Turkey and the Balkans. Bilig, Journal of Social Sciences of the Turkic World, 78, 287-308.
• Kondakçı, Y., Çapa-Aydın, Y., Ertem, H. Y., & Oldaç, Y. İ. (2017). Türkiye’de uluslararası öğrenci hareketliliği: Uluslararası öğrencilerin yaşam doyumları ve yükseköğrenim için Türkiye'yi tercih sebeplerinin modellemesi. 1001 TÜBİTAKProje No: 114K721, Ankara. https://open.metu.edu.tr/handle/11511/50068
• Lambert, L., Lomas, T., van de Weijer, M. P., Passmore, H. A., Joshanloo, M., Harter, J., Ishikawa, Y., Lai, A., & Diener, E. (2020). Towards a greater global understanding of wellbeing: Research in Educational Administration & Leadership 7 (1), March 2022, 162-207 202 A proposal for a more inclusive measure. International Journal of Wellbeing, 10(2), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v10i2.1037
• Lee, E. S. (1966). A theory of migration. Demography, 3(1), 47-57.
• 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
• Lezzerini, M., & Hanks, C. (2016). Ph.D. student outward mobility: Perceived barriers and benefits, findings of focus group conducted in December 2016. https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-andanalysis/ reports/Documents/International/Phd-studentoutward- mobility-December-2016.pdf
• Li, M., & Bray, M. (2007). Cross-border flows of students for higher education: Push-pull factors and motivations of mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong and Macau. Higher Education, 53, 791-818. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-005-5423-3
• Maadad, N., & Tight, M. (2014) (volume editor). Academic mobility - international perspectives on higher education research (Volume 11). Emerald Publishing. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED601003
• Marginson, S. (2018). Higher education, economic inequality and social mobility: Implications for emerging East Asia. International Journal for Educational Development, 63;4-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2017.03.002
• Matanle, P., & McIntosh, E. (2020). International mobility for early career academics: Does it help or hinder career formation in Japanese studies? Japan Forum, 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1080/09555803.2020.1792534
• Mazzarol, T. (1998). Critical success factors for international education marketing. International Journal of Educational Management, 12(4), 163-175.
• Mazzarol, T. & Soutar, G.N. (2002) “Push-pull” factors influencing international student destination choice. International Journal of Educational Management, 16(2), 82–90.
• Mention, A., & Bontis, N. (2013). Intellectual capital and performance within the banking sector of Luxembourg and Belgium. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 14(2), 286–309.
• Moed, H., & Halevi, G. (2014). A bibliometric approach to tracking international scientific migration. Scientometrics, 101, 1987- 2001.
• 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
• Nerdrum, L., & Sarpebakken, B. (2006). Mobility of foreign researchers in Norway. Science and Public Policy, 33(3), 217– 229.
• Netz, N., & Jaksztat, S. (2014). Mobilised by mobility? Determinants of international mobility plans among doctoral candidates in Germany. Academic Mobility (International Perspectives on Higher Education Research), 11, 35-59. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED601031
• Nikunen, M., & Lempiäinen, K. (2020). Gendered strategies of mobility and academic career. Gender and Education, 32(4), 554- 571. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2018.1533917 Research in Educational Administration & Leadership 7 (1), March 2022, 162-207 204 OECD (2009). International mobility of doctoral students, in OECD science, technology and industry scoreboard 2009, OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/sti_scoreboard-2009-53-en
• Oosterbeek, H., & Webbink, D. (2011). Does studying abroad induce a brain drain? Economica, 78(310), 347–366. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0335.2009.00818.x
• Özoğlu, M., Gür, B. S., & Coşkun, İ. (2015). Factors influencing international students’ choice to study in Turkey and challenges they experience in Turkey. Research in Comparative and International Education, 10(2), 223-237. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745499915571718
• Özoğlu, M., Gür, B. S., & Gümüş, S. (2016). Rapid expansion of higher education in Turkey: The challenges of recently established public universities (2006–2013). Higher Education Policy, 29(1), 21-39. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1091160
• Pasztor, A. (2015). Careers on the move: International doctoral students at elite British University. Population, Space and Place, 21, 832-842. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.1875
• Puustinen-Hopper, K. (2005). Mobile minds: Survey of foreign Ph.D. students and researchers in Finland (Report). Academy of Finland. https://www.aka.fi/globalassets/awanhat/documents/tiedostot /julkaisut/1_05-mobile-minds.pdf
• Radloff, A. (2016). Mapping researcher mobility: Measuring research collaboration among APEC economies. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). https://research.acer.edu.au/higher_education/51
• Roberts, P. (2021). Class dismissed: international mobility, doctoral researchers, and (Roma) ethnicity as a proxy for social class? Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 42(1), 142- 154. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2020.1855569
• Rostan, M., & Höhle, E., A. (2014). The international mobility of faculty. In Huang, F., Finkelstein M., Rostan M. (Eds.), The Internationalization of the Academy, The Changing 79 Academy - The Changing Academic Profession in International Comparative Perspective, 10 (pp.79-104). Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7278-6_5
• Saint-Blancat, C. (2018). Making sense of scientific mobility: How Italian scientists look back on their trajectories of mobility in the EU. Higher Education Policy, 31, 37-54. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-017-0042-z Schultz, T. W. (1961) Investment in human capital. American Economic Review, 51, 1-17. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1818907
• Skakni, I. (2018). Reasons, motives, and motivations for completing a PhD: A typology of doctoral studies as a quest. Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, 9(2), 197–212. https://doi.org/10.1108/SGPE-D-18-00004
• Studyinturkey; (2021). Türkiye’deki Yabancı Uyruklu Öğrenci Sayıları. https://www.studyinturkey.gov.tr/StudyinTurkey/_PartStatistic
• Taşçı, G., & Arslan, H. (2019). The American dream of Mongolian students. In C. Ruggiero, H. Arslan, and G. Gianturco (Eds.), Contemporary approaches in social science researches (pp. 111- 121). E-BWN - Bialystok, Poland.
• Teichler, U., & Cavalli, A. (2015). The diverse patterns and the diverse causes of migration and mobility in science. European Review, 23, 112-126.
• Teichler, U. (2017). Internationalisation trends in higher education and the changing role of international student mobility. Journal of International Mobility, 1(1), 177-216. https://doi.org/10.3917/jim.005.0179
• Van Manen, M. (2007). Phenomenology of practice. Phenomenology & Practice, 1, 11-30.
• Vidotto, J. D. F., Ferenhof, H. A., Selig, P. M. & Bastos, R. C. (2017), A human capital measurement scale. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 18(2), 316-329. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-08-2016-0085
• Yang, R. (2020). Benefits and challenges of the international mobility of researchers: The Chinese experience. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 18(1), 53-65. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2019.1690730
• Welch, A. R. (1997). The peripatetic professor: The internationalisation of the academic profession. Higher Education, 34(3), 323–345. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3448260
• Wildavsky, B. (2012). The great brain race: How global universities are reshaping the world. (The William G. Bowen Series). Princeton Press.
• Wilkins, S., Shams, F., & Huisman, J. (2013). The decision-making and changing behavioral dynamics of potential higher education students: The impacts of increasing tuition fees in England. Educational Studies, 39 (2), 125-141. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2012.681360
• Wiers-Jenssen, J. (2008). Student mobility and the professional value of higher education from abroad. Oslo: Unipub.
• Wohlert, J., Norn, M. T., Seidelin, C. A., & Klöcker-Gatzwiller, A. (2016). From quantity to quality in international mobility and networks - International outlook of Danish research. Part I. København: DEA. https://www.datocmsassets. com/22590/1586173438-mobilityandnetworksweb.pdf
• Wulz. J., & Rainer, F. (2015). Challenges of student mobility in a cosmopolitan Europe (43-58). In Curaj A., Matei L., Pricopie R., Salmi J., Scott P. (Eds), The European Higher Education Area. Springer: Cham.