Home and Abroad

International Student Experiences and

Graduate Employability

In this book, we explore the socio-political environment that impacts

international students’ employability and discuss student experiences of
employability development during and after their studies. The book also
aims to provide a holistic understanding of international student employ-
ability on a global scale, incorporating various higher education con-
texts, including the US, UK, Netherlands, Vietnam, and Japan. This book
includes both conceptualizations of international students who participate
in “internationalization abroad” through physically crossing the border
and those who participate in “internationalization at home’’. The COVID-
19 pandemic has potentially transformed international education as many
international students were forced to stay in their home countries and
resort to online education. The book looks into the bigger questions: How
do the institutions of higher education expand programs and resources for
international students and their employability? Is the internationalization
at home model going to be increasingly popular in the post-pandemic
world? Will employers be receptive to international graduates globally?

Editors
Xin Zhao (Skye) is a university teacher in the Information School
at the University of Sheffield (UK) and a senior fellow of HEA.
E-mail: [email protected]

Michael Kung is the Director of Global Education and the Program

Director for the Sustainable Design Master’s program in the College of
Design, Construction, and Planning at the University of Florida (USA).
E-mail: [email protected]

Krishna Bista is Vice President of the STAR Scholars Network and a

Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Advanced Studies,
Leadership and Policy at Morgan State University, Maryland (USA).
E-mail: [email protected]

Yingyi Ma is a Professor of Sociology, Provost Faculty Fellow, and the

Director of Asian/Asian American Studies at Syracuse University, New
York (USA). E-mail: [email protected]
STAR Scholars Network Titles

We seek to explore new ideas and best practices related to interna-

tional and comparative education from the US and around the world,
and from a wide range of academic fields, including leadership stud-
ies, technology, general education, and area and cultural studies. STAR
Scholars publishes some titles in collaboration with Routledge, Palgrave
MacMillan, Open Journals in Education, Journal of International
Students, and other university presses. At STAR Scholars Network, we
aim to amplify the voices of underrepresented scholars, epistemologies,
and perspectives. We are committed to an inclusion of a diversity of
racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds and are particularly interested
in proposals from scholars who identify with countries in the Global
South. More information at https://starscholars.org/open-access/

Recently Published Books

1. Chinese Students and the Experience of International Doctoral Study in STEM

2. Developing Intercultural Competence in Higher Education
3. International Student Mobility to and from the Middle East
4. Inequalities in Study Abroad and Student Mobility
5. The Experiences of International Faculty in Institutions of Higher Education
6. International Students at US Community Colleges
7. Critical Perspectives on Equity and Social Mobility in Study Abroad
8. Online Teaching, Learning and Virtual Experiences in Global Higher Education
9. International Student Support and Engagement in Higher Education
10. Impact of COVID-19 on Global Student Mobility and Higher Education
11. Global Higher Education During COVID-19: Policy, Society, and Technology
12. COVID-19 and Higher Education in the Global Context
13. Reimagining Mobility in Higher Education
14. Cross-Cultural Narratives: Stories and Experiences of International Students
15. Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at HBCUs
16. Delinking, Relinking, and Linking Writing and Rhetorics
17. Global Footprints in Higher Education
Home and Abroad
International Student Experiences and
Graduate Employability

Edited by
Xin Zhao (Skye)
Michael Kung
Krishna Bista
Yingyi Ma
 First Published 2023 Editors
Xin Zhao | Michael Kung | Krishna
by Bista | Yyingi Ma
STAR Scholars
In collaboration with
Open Journals in Education and ISBN: 978-1-957480-03-9
Journal of International Students © STAR Scholars
Category
Education/Higher Education
Library of Congress Control
Series
Number: 2021943754
Comparative and International
Education

COVID-19 and Higher Education

Typeset in Sabon
in the Global Context: Exploring
Contemporary Issues and Challenges
Series Editor
Krishna Bista Subject: Education/Higher Education
– United States | International
Typeset by Education | Student Mobility |
HBK Digital Comparative Education

Krishna Bista (series editor)

Library of Congress
US Programs, Law, and Literature
Division

Cover Design
Srdjan Marjanovic Cataloging in Publication Program
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, DC 20540-4283

Printed in the United States of America

Facts and opinions published in this book express solely the opinions of the respec-
tive authors. Authors are responsible for their citing of sources and the accuracy of
their references and bibliographies. The editor, series editor or the publisher cannot
be held responsible for any lacks or possible violations of third parties’ rights.
Praise for this book
Home and Abroad: International
Student Experiences and Graduate
Employability

This volume is very academically valuable as the authors collectively

addressed the complexity of international students’ mobility and
employability from various perspectives, such as current debates,
learning design, employer’s viewpoints and students’ experiences. This
volume is suitable for both academic and professional staff in all kinds
of internationalized higher education.
Jasper Kun-Ting Hsieh
Lecturer, School of Education, The University of New South Wales,
Sydney, Australia

Employability is one of most important issues that have been ignored in

the decades, so I am excited to witness the publication of this book that
focuses on international students’ employability and career outcomes.
Globalization is discouraged globally by the pandemic, geopolitics, and
Nationalism, international students’ career development therefore is
challenged by immigrant policies in host countries, reverse culture shock
in home countries, and the lack of career education in most universities.
This book offers great examples showing how students, teachers,
administrators, and scholars work together to make the world better.
Yanhao (Wolfgang) Wang
Department of Education Leadership, Management and Policy, Seton
Hall University, USA

This volume represents a critical contribution to scholarship on study

abroad programs by focusing beyond the in-country student experience
to explore short- and longer-term impacts of international study on
student outcomes. The research presented fills an existing gap in the
field by connecting study abroad experiences to career skills and future
employment opportunities and will be of interest to university leaders
and faculty members alike.
Kim Manturuk
Associate Director of Research, Evaluation and Development, Learning
Innovation, Duke University, USA
In the study of graduate employability, there are few things more
important than international optics. The authors of this much-needed
volume offer many fascinating conclusions stemming from research
projects conducted in countries as different as the US, Japan, or Vietnam.
Kamil Luczaj
Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Information
Technology and Management in Rzeszow, Poland

A must-read for faculty and administrators who care about

international education outcomes. Decisively setting itself apart, Home
and Abroad, poses the often-avoided question of how international
education participants genuinely benefit – employment-wise - from
their participation. The contributors respond with much-needed
thought, insight, clarity, and data. Beyond quantifiable results, the
reader also learns of the strategies that students use, and of proven
methods institutions can use today to better prepare their graduates for
employment marketplace success – wherever in the world that may be.
James E. Callaghan
Senior International Officer, Assistant Vice-President for International
Education, Georgia College & State University, USA
Contents

Acknowledgmentsix
Editorsxi

1 International Student Experiences and Graduate

Employability: Perspectives and Issues
XIN ZHAO, MICHAEL KUNG, KRISHNA BISTA AND YINGYI MA1

PART I:
Exploring International Student Enrollment and Employability:
Trends and Issues15

2 Stop Commercializing the Value of Study Abroad: The Lack

of an Effect of Study Abroad on Early Career Income of U.S.
Graduates
SUZAN KOMMERS17

3 From International Students to Global Human Resources: Can

Policies be the Matchmaker for Japan’s Future?
SARAH ASADA AND JUNG HYUN RYU31

4 The Role of Global Perceptions on International Student

Enrollments in U.S. Educational Institutions
CATALINA AMUEDO-DORANTES, MARY LOPEZ, AND ASHLEY MUCHOW47

PART II:
Embedding International Student Employability within the
Curriculum: Programs and Practices75

5 Enhancing Employability: Internship Opportunities and

Outcomes for International Students
ANITA GOPAL77
6 Understanding the Impact of International Student Mobility
on Students’ Employability through Internationalization at
Home Curriculum
CHRISTOPHE VAN PUYMBROECK, CHERYL GERRETSEN AND
JESSICA SHINNICK 95
7 Researcher Reflections: Using Visual Methods to Enhance our
Understanding of Employability
EMMA PARRY AND XIN ZHAO  109

PART III:
Demystifying International Graduate Experiences and Career
Destinations: Context, Culture, and Space121

8 Coming Home: Internationally-Trained Vietnamese English

Language Teachers’ Perceived Employability
LINH PHAM AND ANH PHAN 123
9 International Student Mobility and Employability: An
Employer Perspective on the Impact of Study Abroad
Experiences
YUZHEN ZHU AND XIN ZHAO  145
10 Accumulating and Utilizing Intellectual Capital: Chinese
International Students’ Post-Graduation Career Strategies
XIAOJIE LI 163
Acknowledgments

The editors of this book are extremely grateful to several teacher-schol-

ars, practitioners, and policymakers who have supported our project
since the COVID-19 global pandemic in January 2020. In particular,
we are most grateful to our colleagues at the Society of Transnational
Academic Researchers (STAR) Scholars Network, Maryland. We also
appreciate the support of colleagues whom we worked with over the
years at the Open Journals in Education, a consortium of the profes-
sional journals and the Journal of International Students, as well as the
Comparative and International Education Society’s (CIES) Study Abroad
and International Students (SAIS) SIG.
We would also like to acknowledge the help of all scholars and organi-
zations who were involved in this project. We also acknowledge support
from the authors and reviewers that took part in the review process.
Without their support, this book would not have become a reality. At
Morgan State University, Dr. Bista would like to thank his colleagues
for their encouragement and support including graduate students and
graduate assistants in the Department of Advanced Studies, Leadership
and Policy.
Special thanks to the following reviewers who assisted us in reviewing
manuscripts received for this book. It could not be possible to finalize the
selected chapters without their evaluations and constructive feedback.

List of Reviewers
Anita Gopal
Anthony Echezonachi Onyeama
Barry Fass-Holmes
Caitlin Lowery
Cherry James
Emma Parry
Hyejin Yoon
Kelly Benati
Li Wang
Melisa Valentin
 Mudi Hettiarachchi
Peggy Gesing
Per A. Nilsson
Rachel McGee
Roger Anderson
Siyin Liang
Vander Tavares
We would like to thank the following colleagues for their feedback on
the early draft of this book as well for their endorsements:

• Jasper Kun-Ting Hsieh, Lecturer, School of Education, The

University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
• Yanhao (Wolfgang) Wang, Department of Education Leadership,
Management and Policy, Seton Hall University, USA
• Kim Manturuk, Associate Director of Research, Evaluation and
Development, Learning Innovation, Duke University, USA
• Kamil Luczaj, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of
Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow, Poland
• James E. Callaghan, Ph.D., Senior International Officer, Assistant
Vice-President for International Education, Georgia College &
State University, USA
Editors

Xin Zhao (Skye) is a university teacher at the Information School of

the University of Sheffield and a senior fellow of HEA. Her inter-
ests include internationalization, digital pedagogy, and cross-cul-
tural communication. Dr. Zhao also delivers staff training courses
at national and international conferences and staff development
weeks at Linnaeus University, the University of Zadar, and Central
China Normal University. Among her many roles, Dr. Zhao is cur-
rently Employability Officer at the Information School and is
actively engaged in activities for student employability development.
E-mail: [email protected]

Michael Kung is Director of Global Education and the Program Director

for the Sustainable Design Master’s program at the College of Design,
Construction and Planning at the University of Florida. His research
interests include international education and culture and educational
technology, as well as sustainability and historic preservation. Much
of his research and international experience comes from regularly
traveling to countries in Asia, such as China, Taiwan, South Korea,
Indonesia, and Singapore, as well as the MENA region. Dr. Kung
has published and presented in North America and Asia and also
serves as a guest reviewer for multiple international journals. E-mail:
[email protected]

Krishna Bista is Vice President of the STAR Scholars Network and a

Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Advanced
Studies, Leadership and Policy at Morgan State University,
Maryland. Dr Bista is the Founding Editor of Journal of International
Students. His research interests include comparative and interna-
tional higher education issues, global student mobility, and innova-
tive technology in teaching and learning. His recent books include
Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (Routledge,
w/Chan and Allen), Global Perspectives on International Student
Experiences (Routledge), Higher Education in Nepal (Routledge, w/
Raby and Sharma), Rethinking Education Across Border (Springer,
 w/Gaulee & Sharma), and Inequalities in Study and Student Mobility
(Routledge, w/Kommers). E-mail: [email protected]

Yingyi Ma is a Professor of Sociology and Director of Asian/

Asian American studies at Syracuse University, New York. She
is the Provost Faculty Fellow, focused on internationalization
where she leads and supports culturally responsive pedagogy
and programs for international education and partnership. She
received a Ph.D. in sociology from Johns Hopkins University
in 2007. She is the author of her recent book, Ambitious and
Anxious: How Chinese College Students Succeed and Struggle
in American Higher Education (Columbia University Press).
E-mail: [email protected]
Call for Essays
Everyone has a memorable story of studying or working outside the
country of birth. What is your story about studying overseas? What
are your cross-cultural experiences from exchange programs or study
abroad? Are you a current or former international student? Tell your
stories of exploring the words, the world, and the wonders.

Essay Categories
International Student Experience (long-term/degree seeking programs/
experiences)
Study Abroad /Exchange Program Experience (short-term/program
experience)
Faculty/Staff Experience (International faculty, study abroad mentors,
Fulbright scholars)

Languages
You can write your story/essay in any of the following eight languages:
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hindi, Russian, Spanish

Essay Writing Suggestions

Share a story: Focus on moments, encounters, and experiences that
shaped your journey as an international student. Tell a story that no
one else could tell. Your story can be about friendship, service, freedom,
discrimination, injustice, activism, belonging, family, courage, resilience,
citizenship, academics, spirituality, parenthood, discovery, inclusion,
self-discovery, growth, etc.
Tell your challenges and lessons. Flavor your writing with idioms
and figures of speech from your language. Paint the picture. Be concrete
about what you have seen in your travels, academic encounters, woes,
and wows!
Format Requirements
A story or essay of 1000-1,500 words; Typed in 12-pt size, Times
Roman font; double-spaced; 1-inch margins on all sides; includes page
numbers. We accept Microsoft Word files only.
More guidelines and sample essays: https://starscholars.org/
lanterns-across-the-sky/
Open Journals in Education (OJED) publishes high quality peer
reviewed, open access journals based at research universities. OJED uses
the Open Journal System platform, where readers can browse by subject,
drill down to journal level to find the aims, scope, and editorial board
for each individual title, as well as search back issues. None of the OJED
journals charge fees to individual authors thanks to the generous support
of our institutional sponsors. OJED journals benefit from the editorial,
production, and marketing expertise of our team of volunteers.

Explore our journals at www.ojed.org

Higher Education Politics & Economics
Journal of Comparative and International Higher Education
Journal of Underrepresented & Minority Progress
Journal of Human Services
Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education
Journal of Development Education
Journal of Trauma Studies in Education
Journal of School Administration Research and Development
Journal of Global Literacies, Technologies & Emerging Pedagogies
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Perspectives in Higher
Education
Related Titles

“This book serves as an important resource for international educators

and practitioners at a critical time when institutions are grappling with
inequality issues in Study Abroad and student mobility. It offers both
practical and research-driven insights that can guide institutional policy
and practice in promoting diversity, empathy, and inclusive internation-
alization on campus.”
Ravi Ammigan, Associate Deputy Provost
University of Delaware, USA

“Inequalities in Study Abroad and Student Mobility sheds light on a

critically important issue that has been far too often ignored, namely,
social inequality in study abroad. Utilizing a comparative cross-national
approach, this edited volume offers a highly welcomed examination of
a gnawing concern for all of us engaged in international education.”
William I. Brustein, Vice President
West Virginia University, USA
“A must-read for all interested in the quality of higher education at an
HBCU. Internationalization has long been an integral part of the HBCU
history at institutions like Hampton University. This is a timely platform
to share the unique ways that the HBCUs have built their institutions on
the value of the inclusion of a global population.
JoAnn W. Haysbert, Chancellor and Provost
Hampton University, Virginia, USA

“HBCU students deserve the best opportunities and internationalization

of the curriculum and campus is essential to their growth and future
opportunities. In Reimagining Internationalization and International
Initiatives at Historically Black College and Universities, Bista and
Pinder provide a road map for rethinking internationalization at HBCUs
and doing it with purpose, a nod to culture, and an innovative spirit.”
Marybeth Gasman, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair in
Education &
Distinguished Professor, Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA

“This timely book explores the outstanding legacy of global engagement

to be found at the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities.
Higher education leaders at all types of institutions will find the discussion
of best practices for internationalization and international initiatives at
HBCUs to be both useful and inspiring.”
Freeman A. Hrabowski, President
University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA
Call for Nominations
The Society of Transnational Academic Researchers (STAR) Scholars
Network is committed to promoting transnational research, or col-
laborative research between scholars of two or more countries (e.g.,
joint publications, research partnerships, etc.) that impacts humanity
positively beyond national borders. The Global Connections Awards
recognize scholars for their achievements and distinctive contributions
to transnational research that demonstrates the very best of scholarly
collaboration among scholars around the world. Due: September 30
More information https:// starscholars.org /a-noam-chomsky-global
-connections-awards/

Submit your application for this year at https://starscholars.org/millen-

nium-scholars/