Full Description
As global migration reshapes communities and economies, the promise of opportunity often collides with the realities of settlement and integration. Accessibility, Participation and Agency explores the complex pathways of immigrants, refugees, and international students in Australia, as they seek employment, belonging, and a better life in their new home.
Bringing together scholars from education, migration studies, psychology, human resource management, sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and IT, this volume offers a rich, interdisciplinary lens on the lived experiences of mobility groups. Drawing on diverse empirical methods, the chapters examine how accessibility, participation, and agency intersect to shape transition-to-work journeys.
With a focus on the Australian context and insights that resonate globally, this volume highlights structural barriers, and celebrates stories of resilience. It is essential reading for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners committed to social justice and inclusive futures.
Contents
Chapter 1. Accessibility, Participation and Agency in the Transitional Experiences of Migrants, Refugees and International Students in Australia: An Introduction; Zuocheng Zhang, Ly Thi Tran, Toni Dobinson, Wei Wang, and Meredith Marra
Part 1. Accessibility
Chapter 2. Accessibility of Public Communications to New Mobility Groups: Linguistic Landscape and Implications for Settlement and Work in Regional Australia; Wei Wang
Chapter 3. Refugee-Background African Australians: Educational Attainment and Employment Trends; Tebeje Molla
Chapter 4. Host Community Attitudes and Refugee Employment in Regional Areas; Susan E. Watt and Cameron Goodall
Chapter 5. "How Did I End up Being an Unpaid Middle Manager?" Institutional and Shadow-Work in New Migrant Communities; Sally Lamping, Toni Dobinson, Sonja Kuzich, Julian Chen, Stephanie Dryden, and Paul Mercieca
Part 2. Participation
Chapter 6. From Agency to Action: Job Search Behaviours as Drivers of Skilled Migrants' Employability; Thi Tuyet Tran
Chapter 7. Ukrainian Migrant Teachers' Professional Transition in Australia: Factors Supporting and Impeding Their Agency, Access and Participation; Larysa Chybis
Chapter 8. Assemblage Theory: A Novel Approach to Understanding International IT Graduates' Experiences of Employability in Australia; Thuan Nguyen, Jane Southcott, and Christopher Thompson
Part 3. Agency
Chapter 9. The Education-Migration Nexus: A Longitudinal Case Study of an International Student's Journey from University to the Workplace in Australia; Zuocheng Zhang
Chapter 10. International Students' Agency in Their Use of AI Tools for University Studies: A Qualitative Enquiry; Huifang Li
Chapter 11. Converting Capital into Employment Outcomes: How Do International Graduates from Australian Universities Leverage Employability Skills, Knowledge, and Experiences to Access the Labour Market in Vietnam?; Ly Thi Tran and Huyen Bui
Chapter 12. Epilogue: Speaking to and with the World About Employment, Education and Societal Participation; Meredith Marra
