Exploring career advantages of highly skilled international migrants: a study of Indian academics in the UK

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Abstract

We draw on Bourdieu's theory of practice to examine a group of Indian academics' accounts of their careers in a research-intensive university. Using the concepts of habitus and capital, we argue that international staff are very well placed to craft a career in the increasingly market driven UK academic context, challenging the discourse of disadvantage associated with the careers of international academics as well as other highly skilled migrants. Central in our analysis is the transferability of capitals between different fields and the importance of understanding capital as part of the multiple fields that agents belong to. However, drawing attention to the changing rules of the research-intensive university system, we also suggest that these academics' career trajectory may not continue to yield positive results.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1277-1298
Number of pages21
JournalThe International Journal of Human Resource Management
Volume27
Issue number12
Early online date21 Aug 2015
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016

Keywords

  • Bourdieu's theory of practice
  • career
  • highly skilled migrants
  • international academics

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