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Becoming a Mobile Student – a Processual Perspective on German Degree Student Mobility
Author(s) -
Carlson Sören
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
population, space and place
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.398
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1544-8452
pISSN - 1544-8444
DOI - 10.1002/psp.1749
Subject(s) - german , embeddedness , perspective (graphical) , narrative , study abroad , structuring , social capital , order (exchange) , sociology , psychology , social psychology , pedagogy , political science , social science , business , computer science , geography , law , philosophy , archaeology , finance , artificial intelligence , linguistics
A recurring question with regard to international student mobility/migration is why students go abroad. Most often, this question is answered by pointing out different factors, such as the students' stated reasons for going abroad, specific psychological traits, or differences in economic and social capital. This paper, however, takes a processual perspective by asking how students become geographically mobile, thus perceiving studying abroad not as the result of a one‐time choice but as the outcome of different long‐term biographical and social processes and events. The analysis is based on narrative biographical interviews with German degree mobile students who went abroad to another European country. By focusing on how previous mobility experiences, the students' social embeddedness, and the structuring force of the order and timing of events all further the occurrence of student mobility, this paper highlights crucial aspects of this process. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.