Housing trajectories of Chinese international students in Sydney, Australia Sarah Elisabeth Judd Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters by Research Faculty of the Built Environment University of New South Wales November 2013 Table of Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................. i List of Papers ........................................................................................................................................... ii List of Figures ......................................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................... vi List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................. viii Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Thesis statement ..................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Research questions ................................................................................................................. 4 1.4 Research significance .............................................................................................................. 4 1.5 Thesis structure ....................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 2: Conceptual Framework .......................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 6 2.2 Theoretical background .......................................................................................................... 8 2.3 Housing trajectories .............................................................................................................. 10 2.3.1 Housing careers, pathways and trajectories ........................................................... 10 2.3.2 Applications to relevant groups ............................................................................... 15 2.4 Structure and agency ............................................................................................................ 18 2.4.1 Structure .................................................................................................................. 19 2.4.2 Agency ..................................................................................................................... 20 2.4.3 Integrating structure and agency ............................................................................ 23 2.5 Housing outcomes and wellbeing ......................................................................................... 25 2.5.1 Housing outcomes ................................................................................................... 26 2.5.2 Wellbeing ................................................................................................................. 28 2.5.3 Housing outcomes and wellbeing ............................................................................ 30 2.6 Summary ............................................................................................................................... 33 Chapter 3: Methods ............................................................................................................................... 36 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 36 3.2 Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 36 3.3 Research focus ...................................................................................................................... 40 3.3.1 International students ............................................................................................. 41 3.3.2 Why Sydney? ........................................................................................................... 42 3.3.3 Why universities, and why UNSW? ......................................................................... 43 3.3.4 Why Chinese students? ........................................................................................... 44 3.4 Research methods ................................................................................................................ 50 3.4.1 Interviews ................................................................................................................ 51 3.4.2 Survey ...................................................................................................................... 54 3.4.3 Focus groups ............................................................................................................ 62 3.5 Summary ............................................................................................................................... 67 Chapter 4: Structural Factors ................................................................................................................ 69 4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 69 4.2 The internationalisation of higher education and housing context ..................................... 70 4.2.1 The internationalisation of higher education .......................................................... 71 4.2.2 The internationalisation of higher education in Australia ....................................... 73 4.3 Immigration policy and housing context .............................................................................. 75 4.3.1 Australian immigration policy and the Chinese international student population . 78 4.3.2 Chinese immigration policy and the Chinese international student population .... 80 4.4 Status, rights and entitlements and housing context ........................................................... 81 4.4.1 The status of international students in Australia .................................................... 82 4.4.2 The rights and entitlements of international students in NSW ............................... 83 4.5 Housing market conditions and housing context ................................................................. 87 4.5.1 Student housing options in Sydney ......................................................................... 88 4.5.2 Private rental market conditions in Sydney ............................................................. 92 4.6 Summary ............................................................................................................................... 95 Chapter 5: Resources and Constraints .................................................................................................. 98 5.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 98 5.2 Types of resources and constraints ...................................................................................... 99 5.3 Internal resources and constraints ..................................................................................... 102 5.3.1 Knowledge ............................................................................................................. 102 5.3.2 Experience ............................................................................................................. 107 5.3.3 Time ....................................................................................................................... 108 5.3.4 Financial resources ................................................................................................ 109 5.3.5 Ethnicity ................................................................................................................. 112 5.4 External resources and constraints ..................................................................................... 115 5.4.1 The internet ........................................................................................................... 115 5.4.2 Family and friends ................................................................................................. 120 5.4.3 Other students ....................................................................................................... 124 5.4.4 Agents .................................................................................................................... 126 5.4.5 University services ................................................................................................. 127 5.4.6 The Chinese community ........................................................................................ 129 5.5 Summary ............................................................................................................................