Abstract
International student mobility (ISM) has historically followed a pattern of movement from developing regions to developed countries. However, in recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of Chinese students pursuing doctoral studies in Southeast Asian developing countries, an area that has received relatively little research attention. To address this gap, this qualitative exploratory study conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 Chinese doctoral students to investigate their learning experiences in Southeast Asian developing countries, focusing on Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. Drawing on Bourdieu’s concepts of field, capital and habitus, this study revealed three key phases in their doctoral journeys. In the initial stage, many students seemed to become ‘fish in simulated water’ as they adapted to a ‘floating field’ in these Southeast Asian developing countries. During the learning journey, they encountered challenges (e.g. unfamiliarity with international academic norms, difficulties with academic writing, ‘unspoken rules’ and limited supervision) in adjusting to the new field, and they relied on their existing capital while (re)developing habitus to address these challenges. As a result, they completed their doctoral journey with a sense of disappointment and uncertainty about the value of their doctoral degree. This study contributes new insights to the literature on ISM from the Global South–South context and extends Bourdieu’s theory, enriching our understanding of how capital, habitus and field interact in the context of international higher education.