Introduction
The article, authored by Naseem (2019), discusses the job transition challenges that immigrant students encounter before entering the job market. The findings developed from the investigation highlight the potential of using demographic tools of analysis to explain the transition process for immigrant students from college to the labor market. Identity and socioeconomic factors are used to explain the challenges and opportunities that immigrant students face when transitioning from college to the labor market (Strinić et al., 2022).
Current debates and issues related to this area of inquiry include immigration and the need for greater diversity in the management of the UK’s political and social affairs (Striebing et al., 2022). These issues represent two sides of a polarizing debate. On one hand, a group of people believes that immigration inflow into the country should be regulated. In contrast, others argue that it needs to be further deregulated to enhance diversity, as the UK still has progress to make in making the country more inclusive.
The current article, authored by Naseem (2019), was submitted for review in February 2019 and accepted for review in June of the same year. It was later published in September 2019. The article was published by the Department of Education and Social Justice at the University of Birmingham, Birmingham.
The theoretical framework adopted in the review is based on the works of Bourdieu, who investigated class struggles and upward social mobility in society (Grenfell & James, 1998). His theory is based on the idea that children from working-class families may struggle to achieve high levels of success in college or their careers unless they undergo a process of acculturation (Heymann et al., 2021). The theory further explains how material factors, as well as social and cultural norms, play a significant role in determining children’s achievement and success in society.
The target audience for this article is educationists and policymakers involved in developing guidelines related to immigration policies and educational curriculum development (Murji & Neal, 2011). Immigration officials and the families of immigrant students could also benefit from understanding the circumstances that shape the struggle of immigrant students to find employment (Cheong et al., 2018). The current investigation reviews the present article, authored by Naseem (2019), in relation to its ability to achieve the goals above.
The analysis is structured in three key sections. The first one provides a background to the article, allowing readers to understand its direction and focus. The second part discusses key concepts and terms used in the investigation, while the third section highlights conceptual problems and tensions associated with the publication. The fourth part of this review explains the educational implications of the study’s findings. At the same time, the fifth segment reflects on the findings before presenting a summary of the main findings in the last section.
Article Summary
The article authored by Naseem (2019) examined the experiences of immigrant students during their transition from higher education to the workforce. It included sampling and examining techniques to understand the experiences of British Pakistani and Algerian students in the UK. The central theme explored in the study is the experiences of these students in the labor market.
Stated differently, the author aimed to explore whether their experiences were positive or negative and identify factors that could contribute to such outcomes. Her primary concern was that social divisions might cloud the experiences of students during these transitions. Therefore, she adopted a detailed view of each stage of completion and its impact on the overall experiences of students.
The article’s structure was formatted to highlight the introduction, literature review, methodology, and findings sections in sequential order. A summary of the main findings was also provided at the end of the investigation. Key topics covered in the probe related to gender, class, and educational issues that influenced the acceptance of immigrants to the job market.
The data collected by the researcher was based on the survey method. Given that the sample was small, employing the interview technique could have been a more effective approach to gathering in-depth data. This suggestion is based on the idea that most researchers use survey methods to gather large volumes of data (Cheong et al., 2018). The current investigation involved a small sample of students, thereby deeming surveys inappropriate for the investigation.
Overall, this article contributes to the broader understanding of immigrant experiences during the transition from college to the job market. This is a critical part of career development and could play a significant role in determining where these students will work and live in the future. The blend of social and economic factors involved in examining factors that contributed to the success or failure of these transitions plays a pivotal role in ensuring that all classes of students get fair treatment in their pursuit of education and career goals (Cheong et al., 2018). This is a critical early-stage assessment of factors that would determine the achievements or challenges faced by groups of immigrant students in host countries.
Discussion of Key Concepts and Terms
The article by Naseem (2019) provides a detailed assessment of the experiences of immigrant students as they transition from college to the workplace. In this assessment, the concept of immigration needs to be effectively explained to understand the scope of students covered by this experience. The description adopted by Ndomo et al. (2023), which terms immigrants as non-natives, applies to the current probe. It describes the group of students covered in this assessment.
The concept refers to students from other countries who come to study in the UK. These definitions are essential for understanding the arguments and narrative presented by Naseem (2019) in the article, as the gist of her discussions centers on the well-being of immigrant student population groups and is linked to identity constructs. Their impact on social relations is equally discussed in this context of review and benefits from the interpretation of how the larger UK population views and treats immigrant students.
The concepts and definitions of terms used in the current probe are drawn from several disciplines. For example, based on an assessment of Savage’s (2015) works, one could conclude that the concepts and definitions used in the current probe stem from the fields of psychology and sociology. Social policy development, history, and cultural studies are other disciplines that have created a context for understanding the main findings presented in the document. In terms of theoretical review, theories of race and racism are equally documented in the article by Naseem (2019). They are used in the context of understanding historical social patterns that have limited economic opportunities for immigrants.
Discussion of Conceptual Problems and Tensions
The arguments presented by Naseem (2019) are domiciled within the fields of social psychology and cultural studies. They argue that historical patterns of socioeconomic design have shaped the experiences of immigrant students as they transition from college to the labor market. These arguments could be criticized from two perspectives.
The first one is based on the subjective nature of people’s lived experiences. Indeed, it is challenging to claim that the immigrant population has had exclusively negative experiences, while some of their counterparts have had the opposite result (Heath et al., 2022). The second line of criticism lies in the small sample of respondents used to generate the findings. This weakness has not been highlighted as a limitation of the study. Therefore, it could signify a lack of awareness regarding its impact on the population sample and its implications for the practicality of adopting the findings.
The researcher mentioned the combination of identities as a problem in the research because it makes it difficult to establish the true identity of the respondents. To recap, she used Algerian and British Pakistani women as informants. However, she grouped the Pakistani women with other South Asian minority groups, thereby making it difficult to quantify their experiences or identities within the strict and traditional confines of Pakistani social identity.
Acknowledging this problem is a positive step for the research; however, the failure to recognize the implications of having a small sample should also have been featured among the list of limitations acknowledged by the researcher. The small sample of informants makes it challenging to generalize the findings beyond the characteristics of the target population. Therefore, it may be equally challenging to use the same findings to extrapolate the collective experiences of immigrant student populations. Similarly, the skewness of the data towards the experiences of female students alone equally makes it challenging to generalize the findings to the male population as well.
Based on the small sample of respondents highlighted above, the main weakness of the author’s findings is the inability to make inferences about the results of the investigation beyond the characteristics of the respondents sampled. This limitation could affect the reliability and validity of the findings, especially if they are used to represent the collective experiences of student immigrant groups (Kivijärvi, 2021). Comparatively, one major strength of the findings is the length of time it takes to observe the experiences of the respondents. Stated differently, the experiences provided by the informants were gathered after they had faced the challenges of securing a job. Therefore, the timing of the study allowed the informants sufficient time to internalize their experiences and provide a comprehensive response.
One counterargument that the author could consider when developing her findings is the impact that contextual factors have on the transition experiences of immigrant students in the labor market. For example, labor market dynamics and experiences are contextual to cities or various metropolitan zones (Heymann et al., 2021). The existence of disparities means that students’ views may vary across markets.
The same argument can be used to explain variations in labor market experiences among students who have pursued specific academic programs or possess unique qualifications compared to their peers (Heymann et al., 2021). These factors may outweigh one’s immigration status as the primary consideration for evaluating their transition from college to the labor market. Given that its effects are extensive, the author needed to respond to these concerns.
Educational Implications
The findings of the current review suggest that multiple factors influence a student’s transition from college to the labor market. The challenges and opportunities highlighted in the article related to the transition would help improve the quality of students’ experiences. The effects could be translated into policy improvements for legislative considerations (Guo et al., 2022). Particularly, issues relating to the legal status of immigrants as students and later as employees in the UK could be reviewed based on the merits of the findings advanced in the article. The goal is to develop a fairer system that would not penalize specific student groups and benefit others.
Reflections
The findings presented by Naseem (2019) reflect an ineffective system that still contains biases and limitations, impeding the opportunities for immigrant students to maximize their educational and academic potential. I find that the experiences conveyed by the students in the study reflect current societal tensions around racism and class issues. In this regard, further societal change is necessary to ensure that the socioeconomic opportunities available to students are fair and based on merit, rather than social inclinations and identity politics.
Conclusion
This article review has focused on highlighting challenges that immigrant students encounter when transitioning from college into the labor market. The insights generated from the probe are informative in highlighting the journey of an immigrant student through the social and economic barriers that characterize the UK society. The likely outcomes of their engagement with the labor and education systems in terms of well-being and development have been similarly discussed.
The findings are primarily reflective of the experiences of ordinary students and accurately depict the challenges they encounter during such transitions. Given that the researcher deems the process violent and harmful for the participants, authorities need to make further changes to the policy environment to make it easier for immigrant students to experience a smoother transition from the education sector into the labor field. To achieve this goal, student groups should be included in decision-making systems to validate their contributions when developing policies or guidelines that moderate their experiences of working and studying simultaneously.
References
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