Journeys across educational and cultural borders ...

British Journal of Sociology of Education

ISSN: 0142-5692 (Print) 1465-3346 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cbse20

Journeys across educational and cultural borders: international postgraduate students with young children Judith Loveridge, Stephanie Doyle & Niusila Faamanatu-Eteuati To cite this article: Judith Loveridge, Stephanie Doyle & Niusila Faamanatu-Eteuati (2017): Journeys across educational and cultural borders: international postgraduate students with young children, British Journal of Sociology of Education, DOI: 10.1080/01425692.2017.1351867 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2017.1351867

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Date: 09 August 2017, At: 22:05

British Journal of Sociology of Education, 2017 https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2017.1351867

Journeys across educational and cultural borders: international postgraduate students with young children Judith Loveridgea, Stephanie Doylea and Niusila Faamanatu-Eteuatib School of Education, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand; bVa’aomanu Pasifika, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

Downloaded by [Victoria University of Wellington] at 22:05 09 August 2017

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ABSTRACT

There is substantial research about international postgraduate students but little research about their experiences as parents or their children’s experiences. We focus on four postgraduate international students with young children navigating early childhood education and care in New Zealand. A narrative analysis, informed by socio-cultural understandings of learning and post-structuralist understandings of identity, revealed emotional complexities, stress and transformation as parents and children made many transitions. Parents wanted their own culture respected and their host culture decoded. Families experienced tensions around the use of home and host languages as they juggled children’s present and future linguistic needs. Supporting international students in their family identity has positive effects for them, their children and their doctoral studies, and hence for universities. Further research about the experiences of international students who are parents and of their children could assist in the formulation of policies to effect such support.

ARTICLE HISTORY

Received 12 September 2016 Accepted 4 July 2017 KEYWORDS

International students; narrative; early childhood education; parents; policy

Introduction There is a substantial body of research on mobility flows and on the social and academic experiences of international students. Typically the international student is constructed as young and single (for example, Montgomery 2010). Although there is some reference to accompanying spouses in the literature focused on postgraduate international students, there is little research about the experiences of international postgraduate students as parents (Brooks 2015; Pinter 2013). The situation of international students with families varies, depending on the immigration and related policies of host countries (Doyle, Loveridge, and Faamanatu-Eteuati 2016). Their access to employment, health, education and welfare services differs from locals, permanent residents and those on work visas. Postgraduate international students frequently juggle study, employment, family and financial responsibilities. In their home countries, some enjoyed status and access to economic and social resources that they lack in their host countries. It is not known how these different circumstances impact on the lives of international postgraduate students and their families; the

CONTACT Judith Loveridge

[email protected]

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experiences of international students as parents are in the main invisible and the experiences of their children are largely absent. This lack of information about the familial situation of international students does not bode well for the formulation of policies to support international students and their children whilst they live and study in their host countries (Doyle, Loveridge, and Faamanatu-Eteuati 2016). Our interest in this topic emerged from discussions with international students studying in New Zealand about their experiences and decision-making with regard to their children’s care and education. We realised how complex the decisions were and how decisions were revisited as the material and social conditions of the families fluctuated, and as educational needs changed as children became older. The parents recognised that their children were making linguistic, cultural, social, educational and emotional journeys similar to their own. As we reflected on their experiences, our experiences of our own cultures and societies were ‘translated’ (Cook-Sather 2007), providing insights into the values, practices and assumptions within our own families, communities and education systems. Research into the experiences that international student-parents and their children have regarding their children’s education in host countries is important because it will provide evidence that can contribute to formulation of policy and practice in countries and universities hosting international students and their families. In this article we present findings from an exploratory narrative study of three families’ experiences navigating education and care for their pre-school children within the host country, New Zealand. We use the term international student to refer to a student with a temporary visa to live in another country to engage in higher education study (Andrade 2006; Montgomery 2010). In reporting our research, we use the term partner to include husbands, wives and common-law partners of international students. In reviewing the research of others, we use the terms they have used.

Background A prominent strand of the literature on international students focuses on psychological and socio-cultural adjustment, including predictive measures of stress (Smith and Khawaja 2011). Myers-Walls et al.’s (2011) interview-based research with 18 graduate student-parents and 13 non-student spouses each with at least one child is in this tradition. Contributors to stress include language difficulties, adjusting to a new culture, feeling depressed or overwhelmed and financial pressures. Interestingly, they highlight the stress from balancing multiple roles (graduate assistant, student, parent and spouse) alongside adjusting to the academic culture, finding childcare and worrying about a non-student spouse. Recently, Brooks (2015) conceptualised the international postgraduate student within a transformative framework paying attention to the family of the student. In Brooks’ study, the ways in which international students’ lives are changed by study overseas is gender differentiated. Most men in the study claimed that their move to study in the United Kingdom resulted in them spending more time with their partners and children, but few of the women interviewed made this claim. Women students noted the weakening of informal and formal support for care of children and domestic work because they did not have access to extended family or affordable domestic labour. Although the care of children is referred to in this study, it is mainly in reference to who cares for children or delivers and picks them up from childcare.


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Educational experiences of school-age children are to the fore in research in the United Kingdom about how international student-parents make sense of their children’s adjustment processes during the first year and how they attempt to support them as they settle into school (Pinter 2013). Parents supported their children linguistically and academically. Without textbooks, parents found it difficult to know what children were learning but nonetheless endeavoured to help them understand the curriculum in English and their home language. They were concerned as to how children would adjust to schoolwork when they returned home. Parents endeavoured to help their children make friends and supported their friendships. Pinter argues that there are considerable challenges for international student-parents as ‘processes of adaptation for these children are often negative during the first year, and these experiences translate directly into additional emotional and psychological burden for parents who are themselves going through a testing time’ (2013, 65). An emerging body of research emphasises the invisibility of domestic student-parents (Brooks 2013; Marandet and Wainwright 2010). A UK national study of student-parents highlighted ways in which the lack of finance impacts on student-parents, including in relation to paying for childcare (National Union of Students [NUS] 2009). Where data have been collected about children in these studies the focus is on parents’ role in caring for them rather than their care and education more broadly. An outstanding feature of the NUS report is the sense it conveys of student-parents as passionate learners motivated by the desire to improve their own and their children’s futures. Many of the NUS findings are echoed in Marandet and Wainwright’s (2010) study, in which they explore the learning needs and experiences of students with dependent children. Included in the range of motivations of student-parents for studying was becoming a role model for children. Time was the greatest barrier faced by parents. Parents needed to balance time, find time and juggle conflicting time demands for study, for domestic life and for employment. Financing fees and childcare was the second most common barrier for the students. Childcare posed many difficulties; finding childcare, affordability, availability of places, flexibility (e.g. to cover late lectures or placements) and suitability. It is likely that many of the barriers found by Marandet and Wainwright would be shared by international student-parents. Overall, research on international students and domestic students as parents pays little attention to children’s experiences. Where attention is given to children it focuses on the care of young children. Within this theme, a number of shared concerns are identified such as finding available, suitable, flexible and affordable childcare (Myers-Walls et al. 2011; Brooks 2013; NUS 2009; Marandet and Wainwright 2010). The weakening of familial, informal and formal supports for international students as parents was noted (Brooks 2015). It is interesting that neither the research about international students or domestic students as parents has considered the education of young children. While stress is a theme in research about international and domestic student-parents, it is clear that both types of parents report transformative aspects of this stress and consider their own study as important for improving the lives of their children (Brooks 2013; NUS 2009; Marandet and Wainwright 2010). International students and accompanying family members are not the primary focus of many of the policies and regulations related to their immigration status, and internationally considerable variation exists on their access to visas, employment, education, childcare and health benefits. The pattern is for doctoral students to have access to a wider range of benefits than other international students. A 2015 study of provisions in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States highlighted the power of such policies

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to support or burden international students with accompanying family (Doyle, Loveridge, and Faamanatu-Eteuati 2016). Our study is located in New Zealand where the partners of international doctoral students are able to apply for work visas, and their children to access schooling and early childhood service on the same basis as domestic students, but not to access medical and dental services. From three years of age until starting school at five to six years of age, all children living in New Zealand are entitled to up to 20 hours free early childhood education and care (ECEC). Full fees are charged for children younger than three years old attending early childhood centres (Ministry of Education 2017). Parents primarily access centre-based provision through early childhood centres (colloquially known as childcare or crèche) which provide full-day education and care or kindergartens which may provide either part or full-day education and care.

Methodology Theoretical framework informing research The research methodology and methods drew on three theoretical frameworks: socio-cultural theory, post-structural conceptions of identity and narrative analysis. Socio-cultural theory offers tools for understanding how people learn and develop through participating in socio-cultural activities in their communities (Rogoff 2003). People learn and are changed through participating in their communities. Furthermore, as they participate in socio-cultural activities and processes they contribute to the transformation of those activities and processes. These ideas are useful for thinking about how international students who have been parents in their own communities may find participation in their host communities transformative, and in turn may transform both their home and host communities. Post-structural theories of identity recognise that individuals are discursively constituted as subjects through multiple discourses and can be understood to have multiple subjectivities across different sites of identity. Whilst being positioned by discourses available in the social realm, individuals are seen as active participants in the construction of their own identities and in the regulation of others’ identities (Robinson and Jones Diaz 2006). These ideas are useful for thinking about the ways in which international students as parents are constituted by multiple discourses across different sites of identity (family, work, community, educational settings, etc.) within both their home and host communities and how this might contribute to conflict and tensions, and ultimately changes in practice and identity. Narrative inquiry is interested in the stories that people tell about their lives as a vehicle for understanding and representing people’s experiences and actions (Clandinin and Connelly 2000; Polkinghorne 1995). It is a productive way of researching the temporal aspects of life as it is lived, with changes occurring over time. Lemley and Mitchell argue that the distinction between qualitative research in general and narrative inquiry is ‘that narrative inquiry includes the participants actively throughout the research process’ (2012, 221). In light of the lack of research in this area, it is appropriate to use a method of inquiry to explore experiences and actively engage the participants to represent those experiences. Recruitment We recruited participants from within our own university through sending an email with an attached information sheet and consent form (approved by the University’s Human Ethics


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Committee) to all international postgraduate students in one faculty. Snowballing widened the pool of participants beyond one faculty and university. We ensured that liaison with and interviewing of a participant did not involve their supervisor.


Data collection and analysis Each participant was interviewed one to three times and interviews lasted between 60 and 120 minutes, using a loosely structured interview schedule. Participants were encouraged to share their stories in a way that they determined and made sense in terms of their experiences. A narrative was constructed from each interview transcript. These narratives were given back to the participants to amend, add to and ensure that the narratives reflected their experience. Some participants emailed additions to their narrative after they returned to their home country and their children entered their education system. The narratives were analysed thematically, looking for commonalities and differences. The themes identified were then discussed by the team, with researchers returning to both narratives and interviews to clarify and deepen understanding. Themes that contradicted each other or were based on one family were examined closely to check that the biases of the researchers were not prevailing and that the diversity of the experiences of the participants was reflected in the themes. Participants This article is based on the narratives of four participants from three families drawn from a wider study. There were 14 international postgraduate students in the wider study, including 12 women and two men, who came from across the globe including the Middle East, the Pacific, South East Asia, South Asia, South America and sub-Saharan Africa. The participants had 25 children between them, most having one child, and the numbers of children ranging from one to five. Six participants discuss experiences related to ECEC, nine related to primary school and six related to secondary school. Two participants discussed experiences with children in all three settings. The four participants we focus on here were the parents of a single child, whereas the other two participants with a child in ECEC had four and five children respectively. The latters’ narratives focused on the experiences of their older children, with little attention paid to the ECEC experiences so have not been included here. The situations of the families differed, and we detail their circumstances before proceeding with the analysis of the themes that emerged from the interviews. This level of detail highlights the factors that contribute to the complex and ongoing decisions these families faced concerning the education and care of their young children. To protect participants, country names have been replaced by regional names. While problematic (Sawir et al. 2009), in keeping with other research (for example, Campbell and Li 2008), to protect the identities of the participants we use the umbrella term of Asia to refer to participants who came from different countries within Asia. Alicia’s family The experiences of Alicia’s family were recounted in a single interview with her mother, Zara, following three and half years of doctoral study in New Zealand. Zara came alone to New Zealand, leaving her baby, Alicia, with her father and grandparents. The intention

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was for Alicia’s aunt to come to New Zealand to care for her, but visa restrictions meant this did not happen. Alicia arrived in New Zealand from Asia when she was almost two years old, and was four and a half years old when she returned. With a small scholarship and part-time salary it was difficult for Zara to pay for Alicia to attend an early childhood centre. Zara initially paid the wife of a co-national student to look after Alicia. When Alicia was age two, a friend introduced Zara to an affordable early childhood centre which Alicia attended daily for 18 months. When Alicia was three and a half years old, Zara had flexibility with her research and she enrolled Alicia in a kindergarten close to the university for the mornings and looked after her in the afternoons herself. When Zara and Alicia returned to their home country Alicia was enrolled in a pre-school near Zara’s office from 8.30 to 2.30 pm and then in a childcare centre for the rest of the afternoon. Tuan’s family Tuan’s family experiences were recounted by one interview with his father Dan and three interviews with his mother, Mai, over a period of three years. Both parents were academics at home. From birth Tuan experienced health issues, was thin and was prone to viruses. Initially Mai came to New Zealand on a scholarship, leaving Tuan with his father and extended family in Asia. Dan recognised both his son’s unhappiness being separated from his mother and that his wife was sad, alone and missing their son. He therefore applied for a scholarship to study in New Zealand. Then both parents were in New Zealand while their son remained with extended family. Dan missed his son and this affected his study. When Dan and Mai returned home for fieldwork they found their son in poor health and his language development delayed. They sought advice from a paediatrician and talked with friends who had taken young children to New Zealand. Although they valued the traditional things their son could learn from living with his extended family, Dan and Mai persuaded the extended family it would be in Tuan’s best interests to allow them to bring him to New Zealand. Mai and Dan enrolled Tuan at an early childhood centre recommended by a friend and close to their university offices. They expected their son to be eligible for 20 free hours of education and care but because he was not three years old one of their scholarships was used to pay for Tuan’s education and care. To supplement their finances Dan worked two part-time jobs and Mai one, first as a cleaner and then as an early childhood teacher. Once Tuan turned three years old, Mai and Dan transferred him to a kindergarten which he attended in the morning. Mai’s mother came to New Zealand to help care for Tuan and the household Samira’s family Samira’s family experiences were recounted in a single interview with her mother Kamila, a doctoral student from the Middle East. The family came to New Zealand when Samira was one year old. Kamila’s partner was employed full-time. At home Samira attended a crèche for five hours a day and was looked after by her grandmother and aunts. Kamila enrolled Samira in a university early childhood centre because she assumed it would be good quality. She was not sure where they would live so at least it would be near her place of study. At the time of the interview Samira had been attending her centre for nine months. Initially Samira attended the centre until 3.00 pm when Kamila took her home but then went out again to collect her partner from work. When more hours were needed to complete her proposal, Kamila made the difficult decision to extend Samira’s hours to 5.00 pm. Kamila


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worried about whether the longer hours were good for Samira but she hoped to decrease the hours once the proposal was completed.


Findings and discussion Here we focus on the findings that relate to these families’ experiences of their children’s ECEC. Given the paucity of research about international postgraduate students and their families, in interpreting and discussing our findings we have drawn on research about immigrant (Guo 2012) and refugee families’ (Broome and Kindon 2009; Mitchell and Ouko 2010, 2012) experiences of ECEC in New Zealand. Unlike immigrant or refugee families, the parents in this study expected to return to their home countries on completion of their studies. Like refugee and some immigrant families their finances were constrained. International student-parents’ opportunities to improve their financial situation are limited by the conditions of their scholarships or their visas, the high-stakes nature of their study and the need to care for their children and themselves. Furthermore, for those with children under age three the costs of ECEC were high. While aspects of their situations and our findings are similar to those from research with migrants or refugees, some aspects are specific to their status as international students. In the discussion that follows we attend to both commonalities and differences with these findings from refugee and migrant parents. The emotional complexities of multiple transitions and sites of identity It was evident that complex emotional ups and downs were experienced by parents, children and grandparents as transitions were negotiated across borders, education and care settings, and as parents juggled responsibilities across the different sites of their identities (family, work and education). Previous research with postgraduate international student-parents (Myers-Walls et al. 2011), student-parents (Brooks 2015; NUS 2009; Marandet and Wainwright 2010) and immigrant and refugee parents in New Zealand (Broome and Kindon 2009; Mitchell and Ouko 2012) has identified difficulties in accessing affordable, flexible, available and suitable ECEC centres. However, the nature and number of transitions children experience as parents arrange for their education and care, and the emotional impact of these transitions on both children and parents, are not evident in the literature. Parents reported that their young children experienced loss at leaving behind family, friends and familiar settings in making transitions from their home country and between education and care settings. Tuan spent his first month in New Zealand at home with his mother before he attended an early childhood centre. He cried a lot both during the day and at night for a long time. Mai felt he missed the relatives who had cared for and loved him, and her mother also missed him: ‘I’m the only child in my family and my son is the only grandchild she has, so she has missed us a lot and we had missed her. I wanted her to come and support us.’ At the early childhood centre Tuan could not communicate with the teachers or children, and his bad teeth meant he could not eat the food. Tuan was frequently sick and his parents perceived he was lonely. Similarly, Zara reported that Alicia missed her extended family and cried a lot when she started at an early childhood centre, but this passed: She was crying so I’m sure she was a bit scared at that time, it’s quite a different experience for her not having somebody who she really knew, everybody was a stranger to her and she was crying, it was difficult for me to leave her at the beginning … I think she was a bit in shock …

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leaving her dad in her home country and she was with her grandparents who were there for her all the time, now coming to live with me and I left her with somebody else.

The narratives reveal the multiple influences on the number of transitions the children experience between different ECEC settings and how these transitions impact on family well-being. These influences included finances, proximity to a parent’s workspace, the demands of doctoral study and the child’s changing needs. Finances were pivotal to education and care decisions. Financial issues are identified in research on student-parents (Moreau and Kerner 2013) and on international students (Myers-Walls et al. 2011), and it is clear that financial issues contribute to the stress which students with family experience. Similarly to Moreau and Kerner’s student-parents, the participants in our study underestimated living costs, particularly those for childcare. In two of the families, once the children were three years old and eligible for 20 hours of free ECEC the decision was made to move them to kindergartens where the children attended for half days. For Alicia, the kindergarten was closer to Zara’s laboratory, and as Zara had finished the intensive phase of data gathering for her PhD it was easier for her to care for Alicia in the afternoon. Whilst the move alleviated finances, Zara viewed the transition to kindergarten as enabling Alicia to be with children her age and enjoy activities and resources suited to her ‘stage of learning’. At first Alicia was crying: ‘She was freaking out to be honest … she didn’t want to be with them because she probably misses her old school’ (Zara). However, when co-national children from her previous centre moved to the kindergarten Alicia quickly came to enjoy the kindergarten and would tell her mother ‘I like my school, I like my teachers. I like my friends’. The transition of Tuan to kindergarten enabled Mai to resign her part-time job to care for Tuan in the afternoon while Dan continued to work part-time. Mai noticed that Tuan did not always play with children at his centre, and was tired at the end of the day so appreciated being able to care for him at home for part of the day. Interestingly Tuan did not find the transition to kindergarten difficult and soon played with other children. Although this arrangement worked for Tuan and eased finances, it limited Mai’s time for study: Tuan was at kindy and we had to spend a lot of time with him, picking him up for the afternoon and my husband undertook a part-time night job so he worked from 6.30 till midnight and sometimes later. So most of the house work and child care became my responsibility. He was eager to help, but I didn’t want to ask for a lot of help from him because it is hard work and he felt exhausted during the day and he also had to focus on his study. So it was a very bad time because I was very lonely at home, I could not focus on my research, I did not make progress at all with my research and for some time I did not know what to do.

Myers-Walls et al. (2011) found their international student-parents felt overwhelmed by the tasks and expectations of their diverse roles, noting that ‘The most salient source of feeling overwhelmed was child-rearing responsibilities’ (2011, 466). In Mai’s case the childcare problem resolved when Mai’s mother arrived to provide the support for childcare and domestic work that Brooks (2015) research identified as something which international student-parents miss. Studies of immigrant and refugee families (Broome and Kindon 2009; Mitchell and Ouko 2012) also reveal that parents miss the support and connection with extended family and home communities. For two of the families in this study another transition was recounted as they returned to their home countries. It is beyond the scope of this article to discuss this in detail but both


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families described a kind of ‘culture shock’ for their children as they entered pre-school situations very different from those they had experienced in New Zealand. The pre-schools were formal, authoritarian, used textbooks, set homework and expected that children could read and write. In both situations there was little opportunity for children to be outside and to play. Zara considered Alicia was expressive and extrovert in New Zealand but became more timid when she returned home. She felt that Alicia was scared of giving the wrong answer and her teacher saying something ‘nasty’, and she ‘was missing her New Zealand school so much’.


Transformed understandings of children’s learning and development Our participants appreciated ECEC pedagogical practices, and their understandings about how children learn and ECEC were transformed. Zara explained: ‘The way they introduce the learning to the kids is very interesting, like how the kids develop their interests in the area they like’. Zara recognised Alicia developing an independent and exploratory way of learning and to be expressive. She valued that Alicia learned to be with other children. Kamila also liked the focus on children learning through play and exploration. She was initially alarmed that children were allowed to play with water and paint and be wet and dirty, and feared Samira getting sick. Her partner encouraged her to let Samira be like New Zealand children so she would adapt and not get sick. Mai talked of learning to value children being educated in a way that they become: independent and discover themselves … and respect each other … I find it interesting to let children learn and develop through playing, and being exposed to a variety of activities, and I appreciate that here teachers pay attention to children’s individual differences. (Mai)

Furthermore, Mai thought that these ideas about learning could be helpful for her professionally in her work in teacher education in her home country: I think this is something that can help me to learn and reflect about our own education, and maybe in the future I can share this with my colleagues or my students because I also work in teacher education.

Dan was concerned initially about the curriculum and that teachers were not focusing on international children, but later he came to understand the way the teachers worked ‘and let the children develop in what they want to’. He felt his son was developing well. He valued that children engaged in outdoor activities and ‘can discover the natural environment’ and find out about real things in the community, like having experience of ‘a fire machine’. There was a sense that the parents were interested in and connecting their own experiences of encountering new pedagogical approaches to those of their children In contrast, research with immigrant and refugee families in New Zealand has revealed that parents did not understand the pedagogical practices in ECEC centres and would have preferred a more academic approach. Guo (2012) conducted research with 10 Chinese immigrant families about their experiences of early education in New Zealand early childhood centres and found that the parents felt that they did not know a lot about the centres’ practices and that academic learning was not valued. Likewise, an expert early childhood educator in Broome and Kindon’s (2009, 42) study argued: ‘It has to be explained … it’s unpacking and making explicit the pedagogy and the approach to learning we have in New Zealand’.

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Respecting and decoding culture


Whilst expressing positive interactions with teachers about education, two of the families reported difficulties in communicating about the care of their children. On the surface these concerns are about different care practices, but they also reflect different cultural values and health beliefs. Mai had difficulty convincing the teachers at Tuan’s first centre to take her concerns about his health seriously; to keep him inside and out of the wind when he was sick and to make sure he was warmly dressed when outside. Tuan was often sick and cried at night. This impacted upon Mai’s health and studies: I feel like our culture and our expectations were undermined … And I tried to explain but it seemed they couldn’t get the point. And they kept telling me their values, and their philosophy, to respect the child preferences. Like if the child prefer to stay outside then it’s good for them, and being under the rain, when it’s just a little rain, will help build up their immune system. And I really understand that point but I think it depends on the child and physical situation and condition. And I don’t think it applies to my son … And it is part of our culture that we protect the child.

Similar concerns about teachers taking children out to play in cold weather have been expressed in New Zealand research with immigrant and refugee families (Broome and Kindon 2009; Mitchell and Ouko 2010). Kamila had difficulties getting teachers to take her concerns seriously about Samira eating sand and crayons, despite talking about it many times: ‘They just start laughing like ah ok, we tell her, and I think they didn’t take it as seriously as I need’. She was left unclear how to communicate with them: ‘If I want to explain my opinion, should I be so clear, just tell them what I think or do I need to be nice?’ Kamila feared that Samira would not learn to show the respect expected in the Middle East to older people and teachers. Kamila herself found it difficult to call the teachers by their first names, and hoped that such practices would not affect Samira’s attitudes with elders. In research with Congolese refugee families, Mitchell and Ouko (2012) found that parents were concerned that their traditional values of respect for parents and elders were being eroded in the New Zealand education system and what they perceived as an emphasis on children’s rights at the expense of adult’s rights in New Zealand society. The Congolese felt they were losing their children and their culture. To help children maintain their culture, our participants suggested that teachers could acknowledge the culture of the international children by teaching children’s songs from the countries that they come from. Dan suggested that centres provide ‘more variety of food for Asian children’. Mai acknowledged that the teachers had activities to help parents and children learn about other cultures but made the point that they did not make Kiwi (New Zealand) culture explicit: They appreciate and value different cultures the kids come from and bring to childcare but sometimes, like for our situation, we need to learn about Kiwi culture so my son can get along with Kiwi kids.

She thought it would be good to have teachers explain aspects of New Zealand popular culture relevant to families: I myself don’t know many songs that children can sing at the kindergarten, or the popular movies that children watch at home, or some popular games, toys and things like that. So I think if we know about this we can also provide our son with these things so when he comes


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to kindergarten and when he plays with other kids he has a common understanding and he could have some common interests with the kids, so it helps his communication.

Mai thought this would help international student interacting with Kiwi parents at kindergarten evenings: It’s very hard for me to come and join them. Because I don’t get the point of what they are talking about and the interests and things like that, and so normally at these events some Asian parents get together.


Mai is drawing attention to how not having an understanding of local popular culture both creates a barrier to connecting with host country parents and brings the newcomers or Asian parents together. Caught between languages All participants commented on the tension between the need for children to be able to communicate in the host country language and in their home language. Two families chose to speak English at home to assist their child’s engagement in ECEC. From the start Zara thought it more important that her daughter spoke English than her home language in order that she could adjust to her ECEC centre. Zara therefore chose to speak English at home. Mai and Dan observed that Tuan had difficulty communicating his needs to teachers and that he usually played alone at the centre. So, although they had initially spoken to Tuan in his home language, they decided they should teach him basic English. Kamila expressed these tensions and identified that difficulties parents themselves were having in communicating in English may be influential in the decision to speak English at home. She and her partner had decided to speak Arabic to Samira at home but felt unsure about the decision: But recently I see that she’s started to speak English more than Arabic. I feel like this is good and bad at the same time, because we need her to speak English, and at the same time we need her to speak Arabic, and at the same time we feel like we are doing something really good for her, that we bring her to a country that is speaking English, because we feel it’s good for her future because this will give her more opportunities. And we feel how it’s hard for us now, for me and my husband to communicate and study, and for my husband to work without the language, so we feel like ok she’s not going to speak Arabic well, but we are doing something good for her to teach her English. (Kamila)

In research with immigrant and refugee parents in New Zealand the tensions between maintaining the language of the immigrant and refugee children whilst acquiring the language of the new and dominant culture is foregrounded (Broome and Kindon 2009; Guo 2012; Mitchell and Ouko 2012). This tension was evident in the study of international student-parents’ support of their school-aged children (Pinter 2013). More supportive and clearer communication of policies Two participants argued for supportive and consistent policies for international students and their families. Like refugee families accessing ECEC in New Zealand, they wanted transparent communication about ‘what they were entitled to or whom to turn to’ (Mitchell and Ouko 2012, 104). One family had learned from a co-national of the 20 hours of free early childhood education but they had not investigated the finer details of the policy. Their incomplete understanding created a difficult financial situation which impacted upon their

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studies, health and well-being as a family. Similarly, international students heard by the grapevine of accompanying family members being eligible for health or dental benefits but later discovered this was because an accompanying spouse had a work visa or the student was on a New Zealand Aid Scholarship (rather than a scholarship from a home country or from a New Zealand university). Tuan needed specialist support for his development needs. However, it took time to clarify the support for which his family was eligible. They were initially told that priority would be given to the children of New Zealand Aid scholarships, or those with work visas or permanent residents and citizens. After a lengthy process, the family received support. Mai advocated that early childhood centres should explicitly inform international student-parents whose children have special needs: … I think for me because I was aware of some issues in Tuan’s development, I talked to the teachers so I was lucky to get support for Tuan. International parents who are uneasy and not in education, sometimes they don’t think about this so they will miss the support they can have.

The participants’ doctoral work was impacted by stresses they encountered in their role as parents. These stresses were probably exacerbated by the invisibility to supervisors, institutions and policy-makers of international students as parents and of their need to meet the needs of their children. Mai and Dan were clear that their own capacity to study well was connected to the well-being of their child: I consider making a good decision for my child’s education and supporting his development is equal or sometimes more important than my own PhD. So I need to give this priority, and when things go wrong it then influences my study a lot. (Mai)

Mai suggested that attention should be paid to orientation programmes and to how supervisors can be attentive to the personal stresses that international student-parents may experience in areas such as childcare and support for children. Realistically such information will not be relevant to many at orientation but nonetheless needs to be provided through either web sites or specific sessions for students with accompanying family. One participant suggested that it is particularly difficult for international students to talk with supervisors about the stress they are under because they wish to show them respect and not disappoint them. Hence, further thought needs to be given to providing guidance to supervisors on recognising and responding to signs of stress in their international students.

Conclusion Overall a picture has emerged of children and parents living lives in networks of extended family, friendships and education and care relationships across borders and involving multiple transitions. As parents adjusted to a new culture, maintained their own culture, put daily life together for a family and attended to their own studies and the education and care of children, they told stories about interconnections, emotional complexities, transitions, stress and transformation. Their experiences were multifaceted and morphed over time as circumstances changed, as they met the fluctuating demands of their different identity sites and as children grew up. The findings of our exploratory research support Brooks’ argument that ‘Both social policy and academic scholarship need to move away from conceptualising the internationally-mobile student as footloose, independent and unattached individual … and pay closer attention to the social networks within which such students are embedded’ (2015, 211–212).



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The accounts of international student families share similarities with and differences from the experiences of other families who cross borders. Like immigrant and refugee families, these families experience stress and transformations. There are shared difficulties in finding affordable, flexible and culturally responsive ECEC centres. There are common concerns about retaining cultural and linguistic heritages. All three groups share a need for supportive policies that are clearly communicated. This exploratory study highlights the experiences of international student families that are specific to the status of parents as ‘international student-parents’ which warrant further research. Being in a host country for a fixed period and knowing the family is likely to return to the home country opens up possibilities of multiple transitions and particular concerns about conflicting experiences of education. In some cases, children were initially left with extended family and then after some time joined their parents. Because of financial constraints and the need for parents to meet obligations connected to study and maintain the well-being of each member of the family, children underwent a number of transitions in their education and care. These transitions were perceived by parents as having complex and emotional impacts on children, themselves and grandparents. Perhaps because of their own involvement in education, international student-parents were open to the educational opportunities afforded to their children in the New Zealand ECEC sector. They appreciated not only the benefits for their children but the way in which their own understandings of early education had been transformed. However, the return of children to education systems that were very different created distress for parents and children. The experiences of children as they transition back to their home countries requires further exploration. The complexities of the relationship between supervisors and international students warrants further thought and research. Whilst supervisors can be seen as a potential source of support and information for international students who are parents, as indicated in this research, students may also not wish to share stress that they are experiencing in their family life with their supervisors for fear of disappointing them. The accounts of these families suggest that governments and universities need to examine their policies to see whether they constrain or empower the lives of international students with children. In consideration of the invisibility of children in policy relating to international students (Doyle, Loveridge, and Faamanatu-Eteuati 2016), the findings of this study suggest it is important that policies concerning the children of international students are reviewed. In particular, they indicate a more active role for universities, faculties and supervisors to provide international students with comprehensive information about services and support available to them and their family members. Pre-departure or introductory university briefings should include highlighting to international students the specific challenges they may expect to face while living abroad with their children (Pinter 2013). Policies which support the lives of international student who have family members also have the potential to benefit governments and universities. One participant made the point: In my mind if the New Zealand government paid attention, a little bit with policy, to support international students it is a good way to attract more international students as they will tell their friends in their country about the education system being very good for children, so they will attract more. (Dan)

This view reinforces the argument that international students bring important economic benefits to national economies and higher education institutions (Baumgartner 2014; Doyle, Loveridge, and Faamanatu-Eteuati 2016).


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A limitation of the current study is that it reports the experiences of a small number of international students whose children were attending a small number of early childhood centres. However, the in-depth details that participants generously shared, in the hope of improving the situation for future students, indicate there is need and scope for more research in order to appropriately and humanely support international students and their families and so that universities will be successful in attracting and retaining international students. Pinter makes the point that if universities do not ‘explore and understand international families’ lives … there is a danger that they lose excellent quality PG students or these students cannot fulfil their true potential’ (2013, 65). In addition to doing research with international students about all stages of their families’ transitions as they leave, sojourn and return home, it is important that future research seeks out children’s voices about their experiences.

Disclosure statement No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

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