On becoming a skilled migrant: towards habitus transformation through higher education

Research on the labour market experiences of highly skilled migrants has revealed the crippling employability challenges they face in the UK workplace resulting from the devaluation of their homeland qualifications and experiences. Studies on highly skilled migrants from Zimbabwe have revealed how m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Educational review (Birmingham) 2020-03, Vol.72 (2), p.242-261
Main Author: Thondhlana, Juliet
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Degrees
Bourdieu, Pierre (1930-2002)
Cultural Capital
Cultural Differences
Devaluation
Educational Attainment
Employability
Employment Qualifications
Foreign Countries
Habitus
Higher education
Immigrants
Individual Characteristics
Job Skills
Labor Market
Migrant workers
Migrants
Personality Traits
Qualifications
Resorts & spas
Semiskilled Workers
Skilled Occupations
Skilled Workers
Social Networks
Transformation
Unskilled Workers
Work skills
Workplaces
Zimbabwean
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Summary:Research on the labour market experiences of highly skilled migrants has revealed the crippling employability challenges they face in the UK workplace resulting from the devaluation of their homeland qualifications and experiences. Studies on highly skilled migrants from Zimbabwe have revealed how migrants have to resort to semi-skilled and unskilled work for survival. Little is known, however, about the education and labour market experiences of migrants who come into the UK without degrees and subsequently acquire a UK degree. Drawing on Bourdieu's theory of cultural capital and habitus, this article explores the higher education and labour market experiences of this group, as revealed by in-depth interviews with 20 participants. Findings reveal that these participants' habitus is a complex dynamic interaction of diverse (pre)dispositions and strategies which result in them reporting better labour market success than Zimbabwe-degreed migrants. Arguably, their experiences suggest the emergence of a new UK-based habitus for Zimbabwean migrants.
ISSN:0013-1911
1465-3397
DOI:10.1080/00131911.2018.1505712