The role of social networks in the transitional experiences of international African doctoral students at one university in South Africa

dc.contributor.authorHerman, Chaya
dc.contributor.authorKombe, Charity L. Meki
dc.contributor.emailchaya.herman@up.ac.zaen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2019-05-02T08:30:39Z
dc.date.issued2019
dc.description.abstractInternational doctoral students’ sojourn encompasses three transitional processes: to the new country, to the university and to a new academic identity as a researcher in a specific discipline. This article examines the role of social networks in facilitating these transitions for international doctoral students at one South African university. It is based on qualitative interviews conducted with 23 international PhD students representing eight different disciplines and various countries in Africa. The findings suggest that students are involved in a number of social networks, which all, apart from the academic network, exclude local students. This close-knit co-national network, while providing international PhD students with a well documented survival mechanism, may hinder their international experiences and limit the acquisition of the inter-cultural skills necessary for global citizenship in the twenty-first century. The findings also indicated that family networks back home played a role in instilling worries and doubts among students related to xenophobic attacks against foreigneren_ZA
dc.description.departmentEducation Management and Policy Studiesen_ZA
dc.description.embargo2020-06-18
dc.description.librarianhj2019en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cher20en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationChaya Herman & Charity L. Meki Kombe (2019) The role of social networks in the transitional experiences of international African doctoral students at one university in South Africa, Higher Education Research & Development, 38:3, 508-521, DOI: 10.1080/07294360.2018.1556618.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0729-4360 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1469-8366 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1080/07294360.2018.1556618
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/69019
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherRoutledgeen_ZA
dc.rights© 2018 HERDSA. This is an electronic version of an article published in Higher Education Research and Development, vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 508-521, 2019. doi : 10.1080/07294360.2018.1556618. Higher Education Research and Development is available online at: http://www.tandfonline.comloi/cher20.en_ZA
dc.subjectInternational doctoral studentsen_ZA
dc.subjectSocial networksen_ZA
dc.subjectSouth Africa (SA)en_ZA
dc.titleThe role of social networks in the transitional experiences of international African doctoral students at one university in South Africaen_ZA
dc.typePostprint Articleen_ZA

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