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The migration experiences of Nigerian Commonwealth Scholars educated in Great Britain: leave, learn and return?

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thesis
posted on 2023-06-21, 13:29 authored by Chidinma Okorie

This thesis examines why individuals who study abroad decide to stay abroad or return home after completion of studies, focusing on the diverse reasons for moving abroad for study, staying put in the place of study, or returning to the place of origin. To explore these dimensions, this thesis uses the case study of Nigerian Commonwealth Scholars (NCS) educated in Great Britain. Qualitative methodology in the form of interviews and focus group discussions that draw on the oral history interviewing technique is employed to collect rich and in-depth biographical data on the pre-, during and post-scholarship migratory phases of the NCS, which are termed as ‘Leaving home’, ‘Learning abroad’ and ‘Returning home’, respectively, in this thesis. In doing so, this thesis reveals migrants’ experiences and decision-making processes in relation to education, employment, and career development, as well as the underlying contexts of opportunities and obstacles at ‘home’ and ‘abroad’ that shape the migration processes and decision outcomes. Using the novel case study of NCS, the following contributions to migration scholarship are provided. First, the comparative perceptions and realities of studying at home and abroad, which underpin the migration experiences of the NCS, are revealed, specifically within the Nigerian-British context. Second, using the concepts of the immediate and late returnees, empirical insights are offered on the context of the NCS’ return post-scholarship, which is conceptualised as obligatory rather than the traditional binaries of ‘voluntary’ or ‘involuntary’ return. It is revealed that one of the implications of obligatory return is the unfulfilled migration aspiration to stay abroad, which in turn can spur the likelihood of re-emigration after return. By combining insights from both the ‘push-pull plus’ (van Hear et al. 2018) and ‘aspiration/ability’ (Carling and Schewel 2018) models to explain the migration experiences of the NCS, this thesis nuances structural push-pull explanations of international migration drivers by showing how that migration processes and decision outcomes are shaped by the complex interactions of structural influences and migrants’ subjectivities. Also, by introducing the perspective of (un)fulfilled migration aspirations, the empirical evidence from this thesis contributes to understandings of the adequacy and implications of return migration policies for possible future migration, which are relevant to wider salience of brain drain. It is concluded that these contributions are relevant in understanding more fully why individuals who study abroad decide to stay abroad or return home after completion of studies.

Funding

Loughborough University

History

School

  • Social Sciences and Humanities

Department

  • Geography and Environment

Publisher

Loughborough University

Rights holder

© Chidinma A. Okorie

Publication date

2023

Notes

A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University.

Language

  • en

Supervisor(s)

Darren P. Smith ; James Esson

Qualification name

  • PhD

Qualification level

  • Doctoral

This submission includes a signed certificate in addition to the thesis file(s)

  • I have submitted a signed certificate