Becoming professional researchers: An exploration of the experiences of Vietnamese doctoral students in Australia Lily Thi Ha Nguyen Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) September 2018 Melbourne Graduate School of Education The University of Melbourne A thesis submitted in total fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ABSTRACT Over the past two decades, a large number of Vietnamese students have travelled abroad to undertake advanced research degrees under a variety of scholarship programs, many of which are offered by the Vietnamese Government and its international partners. It is expected that their research training would contribute to the realisation of the national objectives of human resource development, towards attempts to industrialise and modernise Vietnam by 2020. Despite the growing number of students involved and the important role they play in the national socio-political development and scientific research capacity enhancement in Vietnam, little research has been done on this cohort. This thesis is an exploratory study of the lived experiences of Vietnamese international students who undertake their PhD studies in Australia. It focuses on the reconstruction of their identity as a result of their transnational experiences through and beyond doctoral education. Informed by theories of space, transnationalism and imagination, this thesis examines how the transnational experiences help the Vietnamese students in Australia to consider their studies, as well as their life and career into the future. Based on the data collected through semi-structured interviews with 38 Vietnamese doctoral students and recent graduates from various disciplines in Australian universities, this thesis thus explores how these students make complex meanings out of their transnational experiences. The analysis of this data is structured around the questions of how the students imagine their doctoral studies before coming to Australia; how they negotiate their living and learning experiences as international students; and how they use these experiences to imagine their personal and professional futures. The thesis reveals that the students go through a dynamic and on-going process of identity re-formation, inspired by an expanding, transnationalised social imaginary, and the ability to imagine multiple possibilities for themselves and their families. This re-formation involves a shifting understanding of belonging, an emboldened sense of agency, and the development of a complex professional identity. The thesis also indicates that the transnational space that these international doctoral students occupy is highly gendered; and for many students, it is highly conflicted and uncomfortable in a variety of ways. i DECLARATION This is to certify that: the thesis comprises only my original work towards the PhD, except where indicated in the Preface; due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used; and the thesis is fewer than 100,000 words in length, exclusive of tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices. LTHN Lily Thi Ha Nguyen ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the University of Melbourne, the Melbourne Graduate School of Education and the Central Organising Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam for granting me the scholarships that made it possible for me to embark upon this exciting journey. I am also deeply grateful to the voluntary and enthusiastic participation of the 38 Vietnamese doctoral students in my research, whose candid and rich narrations have deeply enriched my understanding of the world, of people and of higher education. My heartfelt thanks go to my supervisors Professor Fazal Rizvi and Dr. Victoria Millar for their invaluable support and trust all throughout the bumpy road of my PhD endeavour, paving a flourishing way for my learning to become a professional researcher. Fazal’s outstanding scholarly expertise, genuine sincerity and humility have been an endless source of inspiration for me. This project could not have been completed without his magnificent academic stewardship and care. For him, I am forever grateful. I am equally indebted to Victoria’s guidance, insights, moral support and encouragement through the years. She has provided my work with brilliant criticality of a scientist. This endeavour is even more rewarding for me to have the privilege of being her first PhD student. Equally helpful and kind has been my honorary supervisor, Dick Cotter. His insightful suggestions and valuable advice are much appreciated. My profound gratitude goes to my parents, who instilled in me a love for learning, perseverance and compassion; offered me every opportunity to grow and succeed in my life. This thesis is dedicated to them. I owe much to my parents-in-law for their support for my career progress and assistance in caring my children over the past few years. I thank my sisters, nieces and nephews for their unceasing love and encouragement. I wish to express my utmost gratitude to my husband for his constant loving presence, being a strong pillar of support for me throughout the years and beyond. He has willingly taken extra burden on my behalf to take care of numerous familial tasks so that I can focus on doing research. The completion of this thesis marks our tenth anniversary of marriage which I have never had to question myself about. My deepest loving acknowledgement goes to iii our two sons, Minh Huy and Minh Phong, the biggest blessings in my life that keep me going. They have grown up with this thesis and unknowingly sacrificed for it. I do fully appreciate the generosity and friendship of Professor David Beckett, Associate Proferssor Kylie Smith, Associate Proferssor Ly Tran, Dr. Mahtab Janfada, Dr. Huong Nguyen, Dr. Nghia Tran, Dr. Anh Dang, Dr. Catherine McAuley, Jo Higginson and Angela McKenna for their contribution to my academic work and life; and of Diana Langmead for helping me with the final editorial tasks. I also want to thank all of my dear Vietnamese friends and colleagues in Vietnam and Australia and elsewhere, for sharing with me their moments and helping me through the challenging PhD journey. Special thanks to the peers on Level 7, their companionship and encouragement has made this journey an infinitely more fulfilling experience. iv Table of Contents ABSTRACT i DECLARATION ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii ACRONYMS viii Chapter 1 1 Introduction 1 Transnationalism and Imagination 4 Vietnamese doctoral students 6 Structure of the thesis 11 Chapter 2 15 Identity formation in transnational space 15 Introduction 15 The spatial turn 18 The transnational turn 21 The imaginative turn 27 Theories of identity and identity formation 32 Doctoral studies and identity formation 40 International doctoral students 47 Conclusion 52 Chapter 3 54 Methodology and Methods 54 Introduction 54 Qualitative research 55 Phenomenological approach 58 Case study 60 Internationalisation of higher education 62 Participants recruitment 69 Researcher reflexivity 73 Ethical considerations 76 Approach to data collection 78 v Approach to data analysis 81 Conclusion 85 Chapter 4 87 Imagining doctoral studies in Australia 87 Introduction 87 Imagining doctoral study 89 Doctoral study in Australia 104 Expectations of life and studies in Australia 115 Conclusion 121 Chapter 5 124 Negotiating Transnationality 124 Introduction 124 Living in transit 126 Connections with home and other locales 131 Shifting notions of home and sense of belonging 139 Conclusion 151 Chapter 6 153 Becoming a professional researcher 153 Introduction 153 Transnational learning spaces 154 Learning and transformation 160 Researcher identity reconstruction 173 Conclusion 176 Chapter 7 179 Imagined futures 179 Introduction 179 Becoming open to global possibilities 181 Constrained by circumstances 187 Reinforcing a global outlook 192 Competing imaginaries of the future 196 Future through transnational connectivities 205 Conclusion 212 vi Chapter 8 215 Conclusion 215 Summary of the study 215 Shifting identities 220 Gender matters 224 Narratives of imagined futures 229 Summing up 232 REFERENCES 237 APPENDIX 1 – Table of participants demographic information 268 APPENDIX 2 – Plain Language Statement 272 APPENDIX 3 – Interview Consent Form 274 APPENDIX 4 – Interview guide 275 APPENDIX 5 – Number of visa applications granted by top ten countries from 2016 to 2018 276 vii ACRONYMS MOET: Ministry of Education and Training (Vietnam) COCCP: Central Organising Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam AAS: Australian Awards Scholarships HDR: Higher Degree Research HASS: Humanities and Social Sciences STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics CAQDAS: Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software Vic: Victoria ACT: Australian Capital Territory QLD: Queensland NSW: New South Wales SA: South Australia WA: Western Australia viii Chapter 1 Introduction Since the early 1990s, graduate education, especially doctoral education, has received a great deal of attention in national and international, higher education, policy agendas (Nerad, 2010a; Thomson & Walker, 2010). Governments worldwide have seen good quality research training as essential to their national economic development which they have recognized as operating within a rapidly developing, global, ‘knowledge economy’ (Nerad, 2010a). The idea of a knowledge economy suggests that knowledge and innovations are crucial to national economic growth and increased prosperity. Specifically, it is argued that it is no longer natural resources but creative ideas