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Trapped in liminality: student mobility from China to Malaysia
10.1080/14631369.2025.2562564
2025-09-01
0
PRE
AI
Abstract
En 中文
A large body of literature has explored Chinese international student mobility. However, most of these studies focus on Chinese students in Western countries. This article examines why Chinese students are specifically drawn to Malaysia, and what difficulties they encounter there. The findings show that Malaysian higher degree studies have been widely promoted as an 'easy way' to get a PhD on Chinese social media. However, students in Malaysia often encounter unanticipated challenges in both daily life and academic work. Before returning to China, they also experience anxiety about potential public discrimination and marginalization in the domestic job market. This paper argues that these students are 'trapped', both in 'liminality' and even in an 'extended liminality' due to their experiences in Malaysia and then their expected marginalization when they return to China. In order to build up networks and seek mutual support, two resilient communities - the 'parallel societies' and 'communitas' - develop among this marginalized group, who craft their coping strategies at different liminal stages. This study thus seeks to shed light on the under-studied phenomenon of Chinese student mobility to Southeast Asia.
Keywords:
International student mobility
new Chinese migration
trapped in liminality
communitas
Chinese international students
Journal
A
IF:
0.8
Papers: 33
・
Citations: 0
Researchers
H
He, Zhongzhi
H-index:
0
Papers: 1
・
Citations: 0
Organization
No organization information available
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