International doctoral students’ academic socialisation in China: A social network analysis

ABSTRACT

This paper reports on a study that examined the process of two international doctoral students’ academic socialisation in Chinese universities. Drawing on the concept of academic socialisation and social network analysis, we analysed multiple types of data, including study-abroad social network questionnaires, concentric circles interviews, reflective journals, and observational field notes over six months. The analysis of findings revealed that doctoral supervisors acted as the most influential agents in guiding the participants’ academic socialisation. The participants also enacted agency to engage in a self-directed socialisation process during which they strategically appropriated resources to cope with various challenges. By unpacking the multi-layered relationships in the participants’ networks, this study provides insights into the dynamic and intricate processes of international research students’ academic socialisation. Implications are briefly addressed to support international students’ experiences in postgraduate research programmes for successful academic socialisation.

KEYWORDS:

• Academic socialisation
• social network analysis
• international doctoral students
• educational experiences

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Shanghai Social Sciences Research Grant [2020BYY019]; Shanghai International Studies University [RG203509].

Notes on contributors

Citing Li

Citing Li is Professor at the School of English Studies at Shanghai International Studies University. She holds a PhD from the University of Hong Kong. Her current research interests include language and identity, multilingualism and second language education. Her recent publications have appeared in Language, Culture and Curriculum, Language Awareness and Frontiers of Education in China.

Wenjun Kong

Wenjun Kong is a postgraduate student at the School of English Studies at Shanghai International Studies University. Her research interests mainly focus on doctoral students' academic socialization in study-abroad contexts.

Xuesong (Andy) Gao

Xuesong (Andy) Gao is Professor in Language and Literacy Education at the School of Education, University of New South Wales. He has published extensively on topics including language learning strategy, language teacher education and language education policy.