scholarly journals Move Abroad to Move Forward? Self-Assessments of Chinese Students and Undocumented Migrants in France

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florence Lévy ◽  
Yong Li

Migrants’ self-assessments refer to their perceptions of social mobility and positioning. These assessments are often ambivalent and counterintuitive for observers. To overcome contradictory first impressions, we propose a comprehensive approach to migrants’ self-assessments that goes beyond the opposition between objective and subjective social mobility and links the transnational context, various social spheres, actors’ migratory projects, and their reflexivity. The empirical materials in this article draw on two studies on Chinese migrants in France and confront the trajectories and viewpoints of undocumented migrants and international students. Beyond the differences between their experiences and their legal, economic, and social statuses in France and China, we highlight several common points: First, both groups considered migration a lever to improve their social status. Second, their evaluations link their regions of origin and destination as well as various social spheres. Third, in a transnational context, many factors at different scales influence migrants’ subjective self-assessments of the success or failure of their migration. The migrants’ assessments can vary according to their emphasis on professional, personal, or family trajectories, or on their choice of reference groups. They are shaped by the complexity of translations of status from one country to another and by rapid social transformation in China. Thus, many interviewees estimate that they are simultaneously in situations of social progression and regression.

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 183449092110031
Author(s):  
Xuyun Tan ◽  
Xuejiao Dou ◽  
Yue Zhang ◽  
Cai Xing ◽  
Baoyu Bai ◽  
...  

In the context of rapid social change, the perception of social stratification has far-reaching and complex influences on human psychology and behavior, including citizen participation. The current research explored the interactive influence of social status and subjective social mobility on citizen participation. Two studies used experimental methods to manipulate subjective social mobility and social status, respectively, to examine the interactive effect. Taken together, the results of both studies revealed that the interaction between social status and subjective social mobility had a significant influence on citizen participation: whereas citizen participation with high social status was not affected by subjective social mobility, citizen participation with low social status decreased with increases in subjective social mobility. This research established a combined dynamic and static analysis framework of social stratification structure, elucidating the current status of citizen participation under the influence of the interaction between social status and subjective social mobility, and providing a countermeasure reference for effectively promoting citizen participation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
D Costa ◽  
L Biddle ◽  
C Mühling ◽  
K Bozorgmehr

Abstract Background Changes in the subjective social status (SSS) of migrants, specifically between the pre- and post-migratory movement, can be a relevant determinant of their mental health condition. This study analyzed the effect of downward subjective social mobility to the mental health of asylum seekers and refugees (ASR) in Germany. Methods Through a random sampling procedure, 560 adult ASR (18+ years) were recruited across 58 collective accommodation centers in Germanys' 3rd largest state (2018). SSS was assessed with the MacArthur social ladder (10-rungs), in reference to the participants' position in the country of origin and in Germany. Quality of Life (QoL, measured with EUROHIS-QOL), anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder-2) and depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-2), were considered as mental health outcomes. Generalized linear regression models were fitted to measure associations between changes in SSS and each outcome. Results A loss of 3 or more steps in SSS from origin to Germany (compared to no-change) was significantly associated with poorer scores in QoL (B, standardized coefficient= -2.679, standard error, se = 1.351, p = 0.047), with more symptoms of depression (B = 1.156, se = 0.389, p = 0.003) and anxiety (B = 0.971, se = 0.432, p = 0.025), in models adjusted for SSS in the country of origin. The strength and direction of associations was unaltered after further adjusting for sex, age, educational level and time since arrival, although the coefficient for QoL was non-significant for those declaring a 3-step downward mobility (B= -2.494, se = 1.351, p = 0.066 for QoL; B = 1.048, se = 0.393, p = 0.008 for depression; and B = 1.006, se = 0.438, p = 0.022 for anxiety). Discussion The results suggest that interventions should focus on those experiencing social downward mobility and not only prioritize individuals with low social status. Early integration efforts and intersectoral measures to counter social downward mobility could prevent poor mental health among ASR. Key messages We analysed the impact to the quality of life and mental health of asylum seekers and refugees, of a change in subjective social status from country of origin to Germany. Asylum seekers and refugees residing in Germany, who perceived a downward social status mobility following their migration process, are at risk for poorer mental health.


Author(s):  
Isakov S.D. ◽  

The article discusses the sociological interpretation of the concept of social mobility, its generality with the concept of stratification and features of individuality. The emergence of social mobility with the change of social status and social role of the individual is also emphasized. The article also briefly discusses the classification of social mobility.


2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 1278-1292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huong Le ◽  
Jade McKay

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the voice of Chinese and Vietnamese international students through studying the similarities and differences in their learning experiences and the reasons underlying their experience. Design/methodology/approach In total, 57 Chinese and Vietnamese international students participated in focus groups and interviews regarding their experiences of higher education and their suggestions for improvement. Findings The findings show that Chinese and Vietnamese students had varying levels of challenges and different progress in the adaptation process and that Chinese students were more vocal and less satisfied with their experience of higher education than Vietnamese students. This is due to the mismatch in their expectation and the actual experience and the cultural influence. Research limitations/implications The sample size is relatively small. This study only looked at Vietnamese and Chinese students in one university, which might have limitations in relation to subjectivity and bias. Practical implications The findings provide useful implications for educators, institutional leaders and support staff to improve facilities, teaching quality and service to students. Originality/value In the current era of internationalisation, commercialisation and mobility in institutions around the world, this study advances current research and provides timely insight into the experiential differences of the Chinese and Vietnamese student experience and their voice.


1961 ◽  
Vol 11 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 239-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. K. Hopkins

The description Ausonius has given us of his family and of the teachers and professors of Bordeaux in the mid-fourth century is exceptional among our sources because of its detail and completeness. There is no reason to suppose that the picture he gives is untypical of life in the provinces and it makes a welcome change from the histories of aristocratic politics at Rome or Constantinople. It provides an excellent opportunity for a pilot study in which we may see how the conflicting elements of social status were in practice reconciled and applied. In the traditional, and still prevalent view, the society of the Later Roman Empire was ‘crushed … in the iron clamp of castes separated from one another by barriers which could not be passed’. The evidence of Ausonius suggests that this judgement should be qualified. The society of the fourth century may have been stable. It was not static.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 34 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Badger

The attention to fostering learners’ critical thinking and creativity skills in secondary school and college students is growing in Western and non-Western countries. This study investigated the integration of a creativity and critical thinking course in an Intensive English Programs (IEP) to determine how the same course may contribute to international students’ linguistic skills and analytic abilities in preparation for college. Perry’s (1970) conceptual framework was adopted to analyze Chinese students’ views of problems presented in a creativity and critical thinking course, and how the same knowledge related to the Chinese students’ prior educational experiences as well as connect to their future studies. IEP faculty and administrator’s perceptions provided an additional perspective into the purpose and learning outcomes of the same course. Findings from this research address a gap in the literature that seeks effective strategies and models for IEPs to foster international students’ analytic skills in preparation for college studies.


Author(s):  
S.N. Korusenko

This paper aims at reconstructing the genealogy of Siberian Tatars of Knyazevs (Western Siberia), identifying the origins of their surname, which is not characteristic of the Tatars, and at analysis of the influence of socio-political and socio-economical processes in Russia in the 18th through 20th centuries on the social transformation of the family. The sources were represented by the materials of the Inventory Revision Book of Tarsky District of 1701 and census surveys of the end of 18th through 19th centuries, which allowed tracing the Knyazev family through the genealogical succession and identifying social status of its members. In this work, recordkeeping ma-terials of the 18th–20th centuries and contemporary genealogical and historical traditions of the Tatars have been utilized. In the research, the method of genealogical reconstructions by archival materials and their correlation with genealogies of modern population has been used. The history of the Knyazev family is inextricably linked to the history of modern village of Bernyazhka — one of the earliest settlements of the Ayalintsy (a group of the Si-berian Tatars) in the territory of the Tarsky Irtysh land which became the home to the Knyazevs for more than three centuries. The 1701Inventory Revision Book cites Itkuchuk Buchkakov as a local power broker of the Aya-lynsky Tatars in the village. During the 18th century, this position was inherited by his descendants who eventually lost this status in the beginning of the 19th century in the course of the managerial reforms by the Russian gov-ernment. Nevertheless, the social status of the members of the gens remained high. In the mid. 19th century, the village moved — the villagers resettled from the right bank of the River Irtysh onto the left one. As the result, the village was situated nearby the main road connecting the cities of Omsk and Tara. At the same time, the village became the center of the Ayalynskay region. That led to the strengthening of the social status and property en-richment of the descendants of Itkuchuk Buchkakov. The Knyzevs’ surname first appeared in the materials of the First All-Russia Census Survey of 1897. Some of the descendants signed up under this surname later in the Soviet period. During the Soviet years, members of the Knyzev’s gens had different destinies: some worked in the local government, whereas the others were subjected to political repressions and executed. Knyazevs took part in the Great Patriotic War and seven of them perished. Presently there are no descendants of the Knyazevs in Bernyazhka as they spread over the villages of the Omskaya Region, some living in Omsk and other towns of Russia and abroad.


Author(s):  
María del Carmen Azpiroz

Since the beginning of the 21st century, international education has grown at an extraordinary rate, and even countries like Uruguay, which has not been a recipient country of a significant flow of international students, has experienced an important increase of students from other countries and cultures. L2 Spanish learners from several Chinese universities travel to a Spanish-speaking country in the third year of their major to attend Spanish and culture lessons during two academic semesters. The aim of increasing the knowledge of Chinese approaches to learning is part of the interest of researchers and teachers in expanding their understanding of individual differences in learning. This chapter summarizes the research carried out at Universidad ORT Uruguay that focuses on identifying and understanding L2 (Spanish) strategies to learning.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document