Dr. CHEN Jiexiu Attended the British Sociological Association Annual Conference

Recently, SOE Assistant Professor CHEN Jiexiu attended the British Sociological Association Annual Conference (BSA) and shared her research progress on international student mobility. Founded in 1951, the BSA Annual Conference is the top conference in the field of sociology with the main goal of promoting the development of sociology in both policy and academic fields. The conference was conducted in an online mode.

Focusing on students who abandoned their study abroad programs due to the epidemic, CHEN's study explored the new situation and development of international education in the context of the global public health crisis. Based on qualitative interview data, the study examined how students' long-constructed expectations of mobility at various levels were shattered in the crisis under the impact of the epidemic. Based on a review of past relevant literature, the study found that students' expectations of international education were co-constructed under the influence of three levels: individual-institutional-macro. The public health policies during the epidemic and the corresponding responses of domestic and international universities have cut off the channels of mobility at all three levels, thus breaking students' long-planned routes to study abroad and causing many students to reconsider the meaning of international education. Second, as the respondents were mostly students at top universities in China, this study also explores how students adopted various strategies to cope with the fast-changing policy environment in times of crisis, to seek opportunities and to maintain their dominant position in the domestic competition. This study focuses on how the epidemic crisis had a profound and lasting impact on international education and mobility, thereby substantially affecting the individual experiences of students who moved internationally in such situations. After the presentation, CHEN also had a lively exchange and discussion with the participants on topics such as current trends in international student mobility.

Written by CHEN Jiexiu

Proofread and Edited by CHEN Ruoxi