‘Giving back’ to one’s country following an international higher education scholarship: comparing in-country and expatriate alumni perceptions of engagement in social and economic change in Moldova

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study explores how graduates of Western higher education view their contributions to their home country’s social and economic development by comparing groups of international scholarship alumni who have returned to live in Moldova and expatriate alumni. Results indicate that country of residency influences one’s perceived contributions to the home country: alumni regard those living in Moldova as being more effective in creating change and that living abroad diminishes one’s influence. Notably, some graduates equate daily life contending with Moldova’s difficult conditions with contributing to national development. Moreover, ‘cyclical mobility’ – short-term engagements in Moldova – is proposed as a promising approach to affect change from abroad. Finally, respondents report that mobility decisions are strenuous, as they consider multiple factors other than desire to ‘give back’. Findings provide insight and nuance to the long-term efficacy of international higher education, and scholarship programmes specifically, to spur development in low- and middle-income countries.

KEYWORDS:

• International student mobility
• higher education
• human capital development
• social and economic development
• Moldova
• Eastern Europe

Acknowledgements

This article summarises a portion of findings from the author’s doctoral dissertation, completed at the University of Minnesota. The author would like to acknowledge her advisor, Dr David W. Chapman, and dissertation committee – Drs Frances Vavrus, Christopher Johnstone and Carol Carrier – for their advice and guidance during this study. Thanks also go to the Educational Advising Center in Moldova and to those who agreed to participate in and support this study. Finally, the author would like to acknowledge Dr Meggan Madden and John Schaidler for their important feedback on this article and Dr Katherine Punteney for her advice on visa regulations.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. However, the authors noted that the study team plans to interview expatriate alumni at a later date.

2. The starting date of 1996 is appropriate for this study due to the fact that many scholarship programmes had the explicit aim to assist the development of the newly independent states following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1992, and it was several years before these programmes reached their operating capacity.

3. As participants had pursued a Master’s degree at a US institution, it was assumed all are proficient in English.

4. This does not include those alumni who are serving under contract for the Moldovan government at the time of interview.

5. For further discussion of Moldovan alumni employment, see Campbell (2017).

6. Two of these three subsequently left their government posts to work in international organisations in Chisinau.

7. There are certain exceptions, such as the G-1 diplomatic visa. J-1 visa holders may also seek waivers, although Moldovan interviewees noted these are fairly uncommon.

8. For those interviewees who had participated in a scholarship partially funded by the Moldovan government, their commitment is for three years of government employment upon completion of their degrees.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by a fellowship through [IREX (International Research & Exchanges Board)] [Individual Advanced Research Opportunities (U.S. G)]with funds provided by the United States Department of State through the Title VIII Program. Neither organisation is responsible for the views expressed herein.