Title: Chinese students’ mothers in Thailand: transnational education and migration
Author: Miss Shan Li
Year: 2025
Keywords: Transnational education, migration, Chinese mother, Thailand
Theme: Migration
Advisor(s): Premjai Vungsriphisal
The full thesis available here.
Abstract: This research focuses on Chinese mothers accompanying their children to study in Thailand, exploring their life experiences, identity transformation, and social adaptation within this transnational educational migration phenomenon. A mixed research method (questionnaire survey and interviews) was employed, systematically analyzing data from 151 questionnaires and 13 interviewed mothers. Results show that these accompanying mothers generally possess high levels of education and economic capability, with most abandoning their original professions for their children's education, forming a transnational family structure of husband remaining in China, wife accompanying her child in Thailand. While this model reinforces traditional gender roles, it also encourages women to demonstrate a certain degree of autonomy and re-creation in a cross-cultural environment. The study found that they face challenges such as language barriers, identity disparity, and psychological stress during the migration process, but they also achieve self-development and social integration through learning Thai, participating in the community, and engaging in side jobs. The findings not only enrich the theoretical discussion on transnational educational migration of East Asian women but also provide empirical references and policy implications for Thai-Chinese educational cooperation and family immigration policies