EXPECTATIONS AND STRUGGLES OF STUDENTS ON STUDY ABROAD: A NARRATIVE INQUIRY

Abstract

Student mobility is rapidly growing in the recent years in Nepal. Every year thousands of students leave the country to pursue their higher education to the different developed countries across the world. However, they undergo through the financial, social, cultural and personal challenges during their educational journey in the international universities and colleges. Despite these adversities, few of them return to Nepal with experiences.Additionally, this study outlines the process of students’ mobility and their achievement after completion of abroad study. Considering the youth trend of study abroad, this study addressesthe research question: how do the Nepali students narrate their stories of the process and outcome of abroad study?Applying youth anthropology as a theoretical referent theresearch analyzes the experiences of youth mobility. For this, I employed narrative inquiry assuming that the stories of student mobility and its outcome challenge the educational and employment aspirations of youth in Nepal. I narrated the stories of participants in third person blending the interpretive and critical paradigms to generate meaning of their stories. I generated the ii meaning from their stories into three main chronological orders: a) to depict their struggles for going abroad and their efforts to go to abroad, b) how their expectationsshatter and revive, and c) to address the issues of youth culture complexity. These youth seemed to be excited, and full of expectations while preparing for studying abroad. The youth take study abroad not only for their higher education but also for the carrier development. Thus, the abroad journey is full of excitement and expectation. However, they face challenges in the initial days, gradually adjust unexpectedly encountered environment abroad. They normally face challenges such as course requirement, course selection, visa documentation and college life, accommodation, part time job, and so on. Finally, they returned experiencing both the pain and gain, planning their possible future in place of origin. Those who completed their higher education in abroad and returned back to the country are found engaged in the origin of the place. Hence, this research has illuminated leaving trend of the young talent from the developing countries on the one hand, and the other hand, it showed thesuccessstory of young talent who came after their higher education from the developed countries.