Betwixt and between: a qualitative review of the (re)acculturation of international students and returnees

ABSTRACT

Pre-pandemic, the international education marketplace was expanding rapidly along with cross-border educational mobilities. Researchers have explored the adaptions of international students to study destinations, notably within an acculturation framework. However, researchers have given less attention to adapting to life in the country of origin that international students encounter as returnees. It is commonplace for returning graduates to transition from higher education to employment. Despite such challenges, few studies have investigated how international students reintegrate into the job markets of their home countries. In this paper, we discuss the current state of relevant research on acculturation and reacculturation and provide a foundation for future research. Finally, theoretical and practical contributions in the field of counselling and guidance are provided.

KEYWORDS:

• International students
• returnees
• international higher education
• acculturation
• reacculturation
• job market

Data Availability Statement

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Katrine Sonnenschein

Katrine Sonnenschein is an Associate Professor in the Department of Leadership and Organisational Behaviour, BI Norwegian Business School, Norway. Her main research interests are professional socialisation, international education, career, work integrated learning, and tourism and hospitality education.

Cristina Michelini

Cristina Michelini holds a PhD in Tourism Management from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. Cristina’s main research interests are international higher education, student tourism, educational tourism and acculturation.

Brian King

Brian King is Professor and Associate Dean in the School of Hotel & Tourism at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. He teaches and researches on cultural tourism in Asia and on hospitality leadership. He is Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Tourism, Culture & Communication.