Studying Abroad as a Second Chance?: Transnational Migration for Educational Success and its Risks

セカンド チャンス ト シテ ノ カイガイ リュウガク キョウイク タッセイ ノ タメ ノ トランスナショナル ナ イドウ ト ソノ リスク

シバノ, ジュンイチ

Shibano, Junichi

オオサカ ダイガク ダイガクイン ニンゲン カガク ケンキュウカ キョウイクガクケイ

Department of Education, Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University

教育達成

セカンドチャンス

トランスナショナルな空間と移動

studying abroad

educational success

second chance

transnational spaces

transnational migration

This paper explores the transnational migration of the upper-middle class in pursuit of educational success, based on fieldwork research and in-depth interviews of Japanese international students in Guam. The results are threefold. First, in this case study, international students who are studying abroad before enrolling higher education migrated to Guam to seek a second chance at success. This choice was also influenced by their parents’ education strategy. Second, the students initially visualized their “success story”. ―they dreamed of returning to Japan and enrolling in famous universities with a valuable capital (English skills and the “experience of being an overseas educated student”) that could be gained only after studying abroad. However, the reality was not so easy, as these students faced up the fact that this achievement was too hard for them. After realizing this, they were still under pressure to gain “success,” and fi nally, their dream was destroyed. Finally, some students were able to rewrite their “success story” and sought instead the place where they could be successful; that is, they sought another chance at success in transnational spaces. These results show the risks of transnational migration in order to pursue educational success, which previous studies did not reveal. In addition, we still need to highlight that transnational spaces leave the door open for upper-middle class families to achieve educational success.