Alumni trajectories and the impact of Taiwan’s international higher education scholarship program on social change: achievements, challenges, and pitfalls

• In Event: Mapping students' pathways through and the outcomes of higher education

Proposal

International higher education enables social change and has played a pivotal role in training young leaders worldwide. Offering scholarships through international student mobility programs provides access to quality higher education and strengthens potential leaders from marginalized societies (Dassin, Marsh, & Mawer, 2018). Widening access to quality education, advocating social mobility, empowering individuals as an agent of social improvement, promoting networks of beneficiaries, and catalyzing collective action are the humanitarian outcomes of international scholarship in higher education. Against this backdrop, Taiwan’s government offers scholarships to international students from partner countries through the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF). Over two thousand young elites from 53 partner countries have entered Taiwan to attend university programs in various disciplines since 1997.
Gathering elite grantees in a well-designed program can heighten network immersion and cultivate a sense of shared purpose among young leaders who will potentially work toward building open societies (Campbell, 2017). Host institutions design, implement, and evaluate the inbound mobility programs as an effective means to nurturing individuals for social change in their post-study careers. To align objectives and expected outcomes, host universities often consider target recipients, subject disciplines, professional fields, student selection, marketing outreach, and global development trends. Successful programs can develop recipients’ technical skills, leadership competencies, and capacities for public service (Baxtar, 2018), enabling graduates as agents of social change in their subsequent employment (Campbell, 2018; Dassin & Navarrete, 2018). In specific settings where these scholarship beneficiaries are gathered and trained in their professional journey during the sojourns abroad, collective mindsets, shared values, and group identity are formed (Baxter, 2019). Subsequently, when these alumni attain influential positions, they become the principal channels of transference (Scott-Smith, 2008). The network of these like-minded talents facilitates exchanges of ideas and heightens the impact of social endeavors in their countries of origin (Martel & Bhandari, 2016).
Situated in the opinion-leader model (Scott-Smith, 2008), this study investigates the humanitarian outcomes of ICDF scholarship-based mobility programs. It explores the role of the host higher education institutions, alumni’s career trajectories, and their pathways to social change. Three research questions are: (1) How have universities designed and implemented the program to enhance alumni’s public service capacity and civic engagement? (2) How does the ICDF scholarship program impact alumni’s personal and professional development? (3) How have alumni applied their knowledge and experience from the ICDF scholarship program to advocate social change in response to the needs in their home countries?
This is a retrospective alumni study (Martel, 2018) of one case university. Data was collected from a prestigious national university that offers a master’s degree in educational leadership and management program. Research instruments include document reviews and in-depth semi-structured interviews with ten Latin American alumni, four academics, and four program executives. First, related documents were reviewed, including ICDF annual reports, program brochure, curriculum, course syllabuses, student theses, and alumni directories. Next, interviews with administrators and faculty members were conducted. Conversations concentrated on program objectives and implementation for administrators and course design and instructions for faculty members. Employing a purposive sampling technique, participant selection targeted alumni who are government officers or civil servants in the public sector. Last, with initial contacts by the program manager, ten voluntary informants with emerging leadership roles were invited to Zoom interviews. Participants’ theses were reviewed before each interview to ensure the depth of conversations. Coding and triangulation were adopted to increase the rigor of data analysis (Morse, 2015). Transcripts were coded and patterns were identified in an iterative process (Goetz & Lecompte, 1984). The data from the interviews with faculty and executives were triangulated with alumni’s responses and cross-referenced with program curricula, course syllabuses, and theses.
The empirical findings reveal the host institution as a venue of knowledge co-construction. The program has supported these potential leaders to accumulate first-hand experience and understanding of Taiwan’s education that can later be applied in their home counties. At an individual (micro) level, personal gains include increased professional capacity (Mawer, 2014), intercultural disposition (Asada, 2019), and leveraged career prospects (Mellors-Bourne et al., 2015). At an institutional (meso) level, in addition to training in educational leadership and management, this scholarship-based mobility program cultivates participants’ self-awareness, a sense of purpose, and commitment to social service. At a societal (macro) level, these young talents act as a vehicle to mobilize knowledge across borders to their home communities. The experiences honed during their study in Taiwan have equipped them to tackle the challenges, thus, advance their home countries’ education (Richmond, 2007). Barriers associated with inferior work contexts, such as limited infrastructure and inadequate resources, do not seem to deter their commitment to social causes. Sparse friendship networks of alumni are predominantly through social media and text messaging. While these alumni hold conviction in promoting social change and taking individual action to improve education systems and practices, there is little sign of joint civic participation in their home countries or across borders. The absence of formal mechanisms to cultivate alumni’s professional networks has seemingly inhibited their opportunities to take collective engagement in social issues. In terms of research networks, the primary research collaboration between faculty and these alumni in their post-graduation was not evident. Nonetheless, some alumni who work at the governments’ research institutes have developed their secondary research networks through their researcher roles.
The holistic goal of international scholarship programs is to foster participants’ potential in the workforce, the community, and ultimately society (Martel, 2018). The testimonies from this study have identified the achievements, challenges, and pitfalls of the ICDF scholarship program. Research and professional networks may not be naturally forged unless appropriate strategies reinforce graduates’ joint action for social engagement. The study recommends an intervention to turn individual activists into collective social contributors by establishing more viable alumni networks. Despite some setbacks, the host institution has prepared these young elites from underprivileged backgrounds to become sympathetic leaders who contribute to social development at home. Acting as change agents, they advocate social change, influence public opinions, and enhance policy adoption to create more just and equitable societies.

Author

• Warangkana Lin, I-Shou University