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Transnational Identities: Exploring the Complexities of Immigrant

Students in Canada
SJE1927H S LEC0101 20241: Migration and Globalization
Annotated Bibliography
Ziting Zhao
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Transnational Identities: Exploring the Complexities of Immigrant Students in

Canada

Introduction

Modern-day migration differs from traditional migration in terms of connectedness with

original cultures and nationalities. In the old days, people were almost completely cut off from

their home countries and cultures, and the only way to reconnect with one’s culture and country,

including family members, was to travel back. Therefore, while out of touch with their culture

and nation, they had little choice but to be completely assimilated into the new culture (Nagel &

Staeheli, 2004). Currently, technological inventions have kept people in touch with their roots

such that even after immigration, people are still very much connected to their previous cultures

and nation (Bradatan et al., 2010; Nagel & Staeheli, 2004). However, when people immigrate,

they settle among foreign cultures with very different social and political practices.

Consequently, they have to adapt to their new cultures in order to live a smoother life. With the

adaptation comes an adjustment of identity, which may or may not reflect the new cultural and

political influences. For students, this adaptation and consequent change in identity may be

influenced both in the educational and social context. This essay answers the question: How do

immigrant students in Canada experience life in terms of navigating and negotiating their

transnational identities within the educational and social contexts? As they pursue their

educational courses and interact with others of different nationalities, transnational students

express their identities in various ways based on their life encounters in Canada and the values

they hold dear.

Before diving into identity formation and identification of immigrants, it is crucial to

examine the factors that dictate identity formation as they are the lens through which these trans-
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nationalist students perceive themselves to belong. There are two great factors that dictate

people’s identities when it comes to migration and globalization. These are nationalism (the

nation) and culture. While these two may be separate, aspects of identity in terms of culture lies

in the broader context of the nation. While citing Jusdanis (2001), Bradatan et al. (2010) defines

nationalism as “the source of national identity, the adoration of nation, making people from the

same community believe they are related to each other and enforcing their feelings of being

connected and having a common destiny” (p. 170). From this definition, people from the same

nation place their sense of identity in relation to each other within a nation-state. Thus, an

immigrant student who lived a significant portion of their lives in China would identify

themselves as Chinese in relation to other members of their state. Moreover, different nations

have different values and preferences, which forms a national culture. For example in Western

nations in the old days, for an immigrant to be considered a true member of a nation, they must

have fully embraced the values and norms of the host nation (Bradatan et al., 2010). In this

sense, culture and the nation are uniquely intertwined and cannot be separated in the formation of

a person’s national identity. Together, they form what is known as national culture, which can be

measured according to language, arts, literature, sports, and so on. Nevertheless, culture on its

own, is a highly significant factor in the formation of an individual’s identity. This is culture

independent of state, reflective of a person’s tribe or community, religion, ancestry, language,

and family within their home nation.

For some students, to successfully navigate their social and educational environments,

they have to fully be assimilated into Canadian culture and assume a Canadian identity. Canada

has made policy changes that prioritize the recruitment of international students and their

subsequent integration into the Canadian workforce. This follows the proven benefits of a
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diverse workforce, which provides the country with skilled workers capable of improving the

country’s economy (Scott et al., 2015). The assumption driving the policy by the Canadian

government that strives to increase the number of international students’ retention in the

country’s workforce is that, after receiving Canadian education and training, international

students are better adapted into Canadian culture, having learnt at least one official language

(Scott et al., 2015). Therefore, complete adaptation requires integration into the Canadian

culture, for which some students choose to completely assimilate. Assimilation is defined as “a

process of adaptation whereby the migrant, or migrant group, takes on the customs, values, and

social attributes of the host society to the extent that the immigrant becomes indistinguishable

from the majority” (Walters et al., 2008). The reasons for assimilation may lie on the labor

market structure, as immigrant workers have been known to earn less that native-born workers.

However, as they become assimilated and the cultural differences disappear, their earnings

improve dramatically, and in time, may even surpass those of the native-born workers (Walters

et al., 2008). While this situations is more prevalent in countries like Australia and less prevalent

in Canada at present (Scott et al., 2015), it used to be a common occurrence and its effects still

propel some immigrant parents to encourage their children to be completely assimilated into

Canadian culture.

Since financial freedom and upward mobility are some major reasons for migration, it is

held in high regard among trans-national students and their families. Consequently, it makes

them get assimilated quickly into the host country’s customs and traditions. As Walters et al.

(2008) claim, when migrants travel to a host country with better economic resources than their

home country, the process of assimilation happens faster than if they were to move to a host

country with lower economic resources than their home country. This argument is echoed by
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Hou et al. (2016), who went further to claim that immigrants hailing from host countries with

similar economic power as their home countries were less likely to be assimilated, judging by

how often they returned home and the less likelihood of obtaining citizenship in their host

country. Consequently, some of the migrant students, faced with the reality of a better life that

depends on how well they are adapted to the host country’s values and practices, may choose to

go the whole way and get completely assimilated. They therefore assume an identity as

Canadians rather that people of their home countries. Moreover, Branadan et al. (2010) offer

further explanation as to why some immigrants choose to be assimilated into the dominant

culture or the host nation’s culture instead of staying loyal to their home country’s cultures.

According to their explanation, being part of a marginalized or a stigmatized group poses strong

challenges to people’s survival in host countries. Consequently, to escape the stigmatization and

its associated challenges, individuals may opt to quickly assimilate into the dominant culture or

the host country’s culture or altering the status of their group. For example, an individual from

the Caribbean would prefer to identify as Caribbean-Canadian rather than African-Canadian

since the African group is perceived as a low status ethnic group faced with lots of socio-political

challenges.

However, for some students, transnationalism has left them with a confused sense of

identity, in that they cannot tell which side of the world they belong to. In their social

interactions within the multicultural environment of their host country, these students have

experienced a shift in their view of self, and have found themselves questioning which of the

places to call home; the host or the parent country (Phelps, 2016). In Phelps’ study, one student

reported that since they left their home country, they do not fully belong (or fit in) back there to

some degree. Moreover, while in the host country, they are often referred to by their home
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country. For example people may say, “That Chinese guy” while referring to a person whose

home country is China. Consequently, these people do not feel like they belong to any of the two

countries, which interferes with their sense of identity. For another Asian student studying in

Canada, there is a similar case of confused sense of identity due to a lack of sense of belonging.

The student claims to visit their parents back in their home country every year and reports to be

feeling that they do not belong there entirely. Moreover, on coming back to Canada, during their

social interactions like parties, they feel disconnected from the music and party culture which

also creates a sense of un-belongingness (Phelps, 2016). For these students, navigating their

identities become difficult, and they experience feelings of loneliness, stress, and even

depression.

However, for transnational students who have lived with their parents in Canada for a

long time and are therefore second generation immigrants, their sense of identity usually lies

with Canada. They express themselves as Canadians and have little to no emotional attachments

to their home countries. For students whose parents were immigrants, their identity is connected

to Canada even if they have retained the language of their mother country. This is because, they

have little connection with the home culture, and are therefore less likely to identify with it. This

is exemplified by a response by one of the respondents in Phelps’ study who narrated her

experience raising a daughter while studying in Canada. The student-parent claims that having

lived in Canada for a very long time, her daughter has only ever known Canada as her home. For

the student, references to ‘home’ elicited pictures of her own country while for the daughter

home will always be the city they had lived in while in Canada for a long time. This creates a

feeling of anxiety as there is an identity disconnect between a mother and daughter, a situation

which is common among second generation immigrants and their families.

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Still, other students choose to assume an identity that blends both their home and host

country cultures. They do this by adapting to the host country’s values and practices while

keeping touch with their home country’s culture. The two most significant motivators for cultural

adaptation and identity change for these students are the presence of stressors and coping

mechanisms. The stressors that initiate the adaptation and change include language barriers and

discrimination from the dominant cultural group (Bierwiaczonek & Waldzus, 2016). The process

of adaptation takes place at the psychological and sociocultural levels. Psychological adaptation

to the new culture deals with issues of an individual’s feelings of happiness and is gauged though

measures of depression (Scott et al., 2015). On the other hand, sociocultural adaptation deals

with the student’s ability to fit in by navigating the host country’s culture and values. For all

students, post-secondary education is usually accompanied by lots of stress due to heightened

expectations on the social, financial, and academic fronts (Scott et al., 2015). However, for

transnational students, this stress is magnified as they find it more difficult to adapt due to

differences in culture. Specifically, they encounter significant barriers in the forms of language

and communication that hinder meaningful interaction with students from the host country (Scott

et al., 2015). Creating relationships with other students from the host country plays an important

role in reducing stress and provides them with enough social support. Additionally, as they

interact, they share cultures and create better understanding about each other, which reduces

discrimination (Scott et al., 2015). With this understanding, some transnational students actively

reach out to other students from the host country and learns more about the country’s culture

through their interaction. Consequently, with time, they adopt some of these practices and from a

whole new identity that reflects their both their home and host countries’ cultural practices. They
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do not do this because adaptation is inevitable, but because it is key to their understanding of the

host country and improves their chances of survival therein.

Perhaps, cultural adaptation and hybridized identity formation by transnational students

can best be explained through the concept of creolization. Sheller (2020) describes the term

creolization as the process through which individuals create new homes as they migrate

throughout the globe, and continue finding new homes whenever they move to different places.

This implies that the process of identifying and defining what people call home is ever-changing

as long as one continues moving. While this is not true for all populations, it helps explain the

reasons for continued adaptation to host cultures; which is to establish a home within one’s new

locality. The term creolization was originally used in the Caribbean context, where global

migration of people led to the establishment of a unique Caribbean culture through the processes

of acculturation, transculturation, assimilation, etc. Shelley (2020) claims that the term represents

a sense of belonging founded in movement and differences which lead to transformation instead

of stagnation. Similarly, the section of Canadian transnational students who adapt to Canadian

culture undergo a form of creolization in that they transform from being entirely of their home

country to embracing the different Canadian culture. Just like the migrants who moved to the

Caribbean, forcefully or not, the students adapt to the dominant culture to increase their chances

of survival in a foreign place with foreign cultures. Thus, by assuming this hybridized identity,

the students can access the social privileges enjoyed by native Canadians. Additionally, another

aspect of creolization explained by Shelley that describes the ease with which some students

adopt a hybridized identity is the ‘creolization of the metropolis’. Shelley uses this term to

describe how the “Creoles” spread their Creole culture to different global cities and spread their

influence overseas. Thus, they transcended national and regional boundaries to initiate cultural
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changes elsewhere. Currently, diverse cities have sprung up everywhere, due to increased

globalization and migration. Therefore, more young people are getting exposed to diverse

cultures from all over the world, enabled by digital media platforms. For example, young people

in Asia, Africa, or South America may already have been exposed to aspects of Canadian culture

like music and art. Therefore, as they migrate to Canada as students, they find it easy to change

their identity to a hybridized one, as they had already been influenced by Canadian culture while

still in their home countries and cities.

As mentioned earlier, the nation is also a huge factor in identity. For transnational or

immigrant students, identity according to state depends on several factors including the legality

of their citizenship, and the sociopolitical environment of the host nation. In terms of the

sociopolitical environment surrounding citizenship, contemporary Canadian citizenship policies

have been adjusted in such a way that formal citizenship and national ideologies have become

less significant to individuals. Such policies include the acceptance of dual citizenship and

granting the rights of citizens to non-citizens. Consequently, with the provision of inclusionary

rights to minority groups without emphasis on citizenship, more people are free to identify with

their racial minority groups (Nagel & Staeheli, 2004). In Canadian universities, more students

are identifying with their minority groups. Between 2014 and 2017, about 30% of graduates from

Canadian educational institutions identified as members of visible minority groups, 54% of who

were first-generation immigrants (Brunet & Galarneau, 2022). The visible minority group refers

to the ethnic groups stipulated by the Employment Equity Act. The Act aims to get rid of various

socioeconomic disadvantages that might affect these groups (Brunet & Galarneau, 2022). This

policy seeks to empower these groups regardless of their identity status as Canadian citizens.

Therefore, a student belonging to one of these groups is less likely to dissociate themselves from
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their ethnic identity since it is no longer a liability. Consequently, more students are likely to

embrace their ethnic identities and be less inclined to assume identities as Canadian citizens as

citizenship and individuality have ceased to be of high significance. Additionally, with dual

citizenship, provisions of social amenities do not depend on exclusive Canadian citizenship.

Therefore, transnational students can identify with their home countries without risks of limited

access to social services and economic empowerment. As a result, it has become common to

come across students who exclusively refer to themselves as Chinese, Nigerians, Indians,

Norwegians, among others, despite being Canadian citizens.

Ultimately, there are various factors that influence how transnational students may form

and express their identities. Factors like religion and discrimination by the host dominant group

also influence how the immigrants perceive themselves and their culture. However, other factors

like the earlier-mentioned visible minority status, political involvement with the host nation,

language proficiency, and the number of close acquaintances who share an ethnic identities with

the individual is a higher determinant of whether an individual identifies as a member of the host

country or not (Walters et al., 2008). This also applies to transnational or immigrant students.

Nonetheless, the study by Walters et al. (2008) reveals that the time of stay in the host nation has

the greatest impact on identity formation. This explains why second-generation transnational

students have developed and express identities that are congruent with the host Canadian culture.

While economic mobility may speed up the process of acculturation or assimilation, Walters et

al. (2008) argue that it is not a key determinant factor in identity formation of migrants or

transnationals.

Finally, in terms of academic identity, transnational students experience an identity

change as knowledge producers due to their interaction with the Western academic environment.
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The Western Academic culture places emphasis on critiquing and conducting research, which is

not the case for students from developing nations. For the students from developing nations,

being critical of academic concepts or sources, and especially in English, is an unfamiliar

concept and puts them in a difficult situation in which they must be forced to undergo an

academic identity change or risk failing (Phelps, 2016). For those students pursuing their PhDs,

the research-intensive culture of Western Universities poses a problem if they are to return to

their home academic culture that puts more emphasis on teaching than researching (Phelps,

2016). The study by Phelps (2016) reveals that international doctoral students experience an

identity change while in the global academic setting of Western universities. Judging by their

experiences, these students deliberately form new identities that transcend their national

boundaries as they move around during their studies and interaction with other academics within

the globalized academic environment of the Western universities (Phelps, 2016). Therefore, the

difficulties they face in their academic experiences in Western universities serve as the catalysts

for academic identity change.

Nevertheless, transnational student’s identity formation and adaptation to Canadian

academic culture may be hindered by a variety of factors related to language barrier and

communication. For some students, the presentation mode of lessons in Canadian educational

institution provide them with seemingly unsurmountable obstacles. Some students report that

with their limited English proficiency, presentation-style assessments prove to be quite

intimidating. Others reported having to adapt to some of the professors’ accents, leaving them

thinking they may never adapt to the academic environment. Additionally, their lack of language

proficiency may also hinder their ability to socialize with other students, who form a very
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important career network after school. Thus, they may end up feeling alienated and fail to adapt

to the country’s academic culture.

Conclusion

The Canadian universities have become increasingly global, with students from all walks of life

getting admitted to pursue their academic goals. The transnational students who throng these

institutions are always faced with a culture shock that prompts them to respond in different ways.

For some students, assimilation seem to be the surest way to ensure they survive the Canadian

educational and social environments. These students completely embrace the values and

practices of Canada, and assume an identity that completely reflect a Canadian heritage. For

others, a blend of the home culture and Canadian culture enable them to create a hybrid identity

that ensures they do not lose their home cultures even as they embrace Canadian culture. Still,

others want nothing to do with Canadian culture and values, and aided with the limited

importance accorded to citizenship as a form of identity by Canadian policies, they choose to

only be associated with their home cultures. Moreover, for doctorate students, identity change

also occurs at the academic front, in which the Canadian academic culture affects how they

approach academics; with more emphasis placed on research as opposed to teaching. For those

who find adaptation difficult, factors like language and communication barrier are great

contributors which hinder their identity change.

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