What’s next? Career planning experiences of Indian International Students

• In Event: Roundtable Group 8
  In Refereed Roundtable Session: Equity, access, and diversity in the college student experience

Proposal

Students embark on a study abroad experience with the aspiration to hone their unique
skills and to improve their prospects for future employment (Brooks, Waters, & Pimlott-Wilson, 2012). However, there has been a dearth of literature focusing on the career planning process of
international students (Singaravelu, White and Bringaze, 2005). This could be attributed to the assumption that international students come to the US with clear educational and career goals (Carter & Sedlacek,1986; MacArthur, 1980). However, DeAntoni (1972) warns that the students may just have an underdeveloped reasoning for their career choices. Also, there is a stronger proclivity for international students to alter their career plans upon being introduced to a different curriculum and ways of living (Arthur, 2008). Thereby, the purpose of this study is to understand how Indian international undergraduate students at a Midwestern R-1 Research University go about creating a career plan during college.

Lillyman and Bennett (2014) point out that much of the literature on the international student experience focuses on their perceived deficiencies. To counter such harm, the current study will l be using Yosso’s theory of Community Cultural Wealth as it’s theoretical
framework. The Community Cultural Wealth theory challenges dominant narratives by centering the experiences of racial minorities and by highlighting the unique cultural assets that they bring with them. In doing so, the theory provides a strength-based model as opposed to a deficit narrative that is often attached to minoritized populations (Yosso, 2005). Since the current study plans to adopt an asset based approach to explore the career aspirations and plans of Indian international undergraduate students, the Community Cultural Wealth theory provides a rich theoretical understanding of the strengths that international students can identify and nurture while developing their career plans.

The current study will understand how Indian international undergraduate students go
about creating a career plan by using a narrative inquiry approach. Narrative inquiry focuses on stories as a primary tool to understand the experiences of its participants. By centering storytelling, participant stories become a way of knowing, allowing the researcher to understand how participants understand the world and make meaning of their experiences through their stories (Bhattacharya, 2017). For this study, a narrative inquiry will be employed using the career mapping approach. Tinsley (1984) shares that participants can partake in career mapping using different modalities including essays, maps, charts, and other creative mediums. While discussing their career plans, the process of career mapping allows participants to reflect on intrinsic factors such as their values and beliefs as well as extrinsic influences such as relationships and immigration policies. Moreover, career mapping uses a processual approach to recognize individual strengths of the participants as well as the inequitable barriers facing them (Anandavalli et al., 2022). Therefore, the career mapping strategy would align well with the Community Cultural Wealth theory in providing a rich understanding of how Indian International Undergraduate students go about creating a career plan.

Author

• Sadiq Mohammed, Michigan State University