ABSTRACT
Bourdieu (1986) and others have noted the importance of the intertwining of cultural capital, social capital and economic capital with international migration (spatial mobility) in the construction of careers (social mobility) from/within the higher education system (see also Ackers 1998; Walters 2001 and Chapter 8). For those pursuing professional careers migration may well be undertaken to acquire extra qualifications at postgraduate level, as with those pursuing careers in medicine (for a fuller discussion see Chapter 8). According to Walters (2001: 7) the acquisition of particular symbolic capitals requires both an understanding of the possibility of strategic self-fashioning (Mitchell 1997) and knowledge of the global distribution of cultural wealth (cultural competence) (Hannerz 1996: 103). Proficiency in English and a ‘western education’ (attending the right schools and universities, acquiring educational qualifications) are assumed to represent ‘the ultimate symbolic capital necessary for global mobility’ (Ong 1999: 90 cited in Walters 2001: 7-8) (see Chapter 1). The focus of this chapter is on the ways in which international migration is undertaken to secure symbolic/cultural markers and this can occur before and after household formation.
