Paper short abstract:

This paper will draw on two studies of transnational mobility among young Canadians to consider the improvisations and unintended consequences that may attend educational migration.

Paper long abstract:

Educational migration highlights the blurred boundaries and overlaps between different forms of movement, statuses and life phases. An extended stay abroad for the purposes of study may overlap, more or less predictably, with tourism, family visits, work or settlement. A study of educational migration can thus be framed within the emerging field of mobility studies, which explores the convergences as well as distinctions between different forms of movement. This paper will make use of cases from two studies I have conducted of cross border mobility among young Canadians. The first study, which focused on international university exchanges considers the overlap of this kind of travel with longer term sojourns, tourism and settlement. The second study considers the interaction between inherited dual citizenship and mobility, including educational migration. This paper will draw on both studies to consider the improvisations and unintended consequences that may attend educational migration.