Work, Learning and Transnational Migration

As the globalisation of migration intensifies, many countries have joined the international competition for the most talented, skilful, and resourceful workers. More recently, migration has shifted from international to transnational, characterised by its multiple and circular flows across transnational spaces rather than singular or unidirectional movement. When transnational migrants arrive in a new country, many of them face multifaceted barriers when it comes to transitioning into work and learning in the host society. Work, Learning and Transnational Migration examines the non-linear transition of work and learning for transnational migrants; the multiple barriers facing migrants in the process of transition; tensions between mobility, knowledge, and recognition; issues of language, power, and transnational identity; and how socio-cultural differences have been used to entrench social inequality in migrants' transition. The rich international contexts and global perspectives provided across all chapters enrich our understanding about the changing nature of work and learning in the age of transnational migration. This book was originally published as a special issue of Globalisation, Societies and Education.

Shibao Guo is Associate Professor in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada. He specializes in citizenship and immigration, race and ethnic relations, adult and lifelong education, and comparative and international education. He is a former president of the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (2009-2011), and currently serves as president of the Canadian Ethnic Studies Association and Co-Editor of Canadian Ethnic Studies.

1. Introduction 2. The changing face of work and learning in the context of immigration: the Canadian experience 3. Complicating the entrepreneurial self: professional Chinese immigrant women negotiating occupations in Canada 4. The making of the 'precarious': examining Indian immigrant IT workers in Canada and their transnational networks with body shops in India 5. Becoming transnational: exploring multiple identities of students in a Mandarin-English bilingual programme in Canada 6. Language, institutional identity, and integration: lived experiences of ESL teachers in Australia 7. Between the nation and the globe: education for global mindedness in Finland 8. Constructing a theory of individual space: understanding transnational migration through the experience of return Chinese immigrants from Canada in Beijing 9. 'Talent circulators' in Shanghai: return migrants and their strategies for success