Health and Employment Experiences of Chinese International Students in Australia

Abstract

Chinese international students represent a significant social, economic and cultural force in Australian society. Research has demonstrated that Chinese students enrich Australia not only through their economic contribution, but through soft diplomacy and cultural links. Despite this, and the recent rapid growth in the number of Chinese international students to the country, only a small number of studies have focused specifically on understanding the health and employment experiences of Chinese students in Australia. This paper examines interview data from an ethnographic study involving ten Chinese international students pursuing higher education in New South Wales, Australia. Topics concerning work rights and exploitation, migration, and cultural differences are touched upon within their health and employment experiences. This paper provides insights for those working with Chinese international students in the areas of health education and promotion, diversity and inclusion, employment and mobility studies. The results contribute to broader insights into the inward/outward mobility of higher education students and Australia’s National Strategy for International Education 2025.

Keywords:

• Chinese international students
• diversity and inclusion
• employment experiences
• health experiences
• mobility

Notes

1 A holistic view of health encompasses health as a multidimensional concept. Knowledge and values that stem from this perspective would enable people to develop capacity to act on those social, economic and political influences of health (Nutbeam 2000).

2 A strengths-based approach is a philosophical perspective that requires researchers and practitioners to re-orient how they perceive students so as to appreciate the importance of people’s environments and the multiple contexts that influence their lives. A key premise of a strengths-based approach is recognising what students know and can do, and, hence, acknowledging the resources existing within and around the student (Pang et al. 2018).