Antecedentes sobre la tutoría en el ámbito universitario

The theme of a safety net emerged during the expectations phase. Many participants expressed their willingness to return to the host country or to another country should things not work out as expected in New Zealand. Since the theme had emerged, this was also explored in the experiences phase. It was useful to understand whether participants were now committed to living in New Zealand in the long term, or whether they were seriously contemplating a move elsewhere at some stage. Participants generally did not rule out moving from New Zealand in the future, although most were not actively planning such a move at by the time of the second interview. Participant 20

#!

%*)

expressed this commonly held view, fuelling the theme that the safety net that emerged in the expectations phase was still present:

We’re committed to staying for a number of years, but at this point, six months in, we would never say we would never leave here. We’re committed to being here now and we want to make it work, but it’s a lot harder than we imagined. We feel like our disposable income and our lifestyle have definitely been impacted, but we’ll definitely stay for a couple of years. But I’ve still got my house in London and we could go back, so it’s never forever, is it? Well, not for us anyway. (20, female, UK 5 years)

In the cases where participants did not fit the ‘safety net’ theme, this tended to be due to restrictions on visas or their children’s mobility:

If it was just me it would be a totally different story, but it’s not, so yeah, no chance of returning to live in Europe. Visa-wise I can’t do it anyway. So that’s just not an option, which I think is kind of sad, and I think it’s the end of a chapter, and it was a big part of my life. You make the most of what you’ve got. I have a house with an amazing view, and you look outside and you say it’s good, and that’s why I’m here, and that’s best for everybody at the end of the day. (11, female, UK 2 years)

In addition, people tended to feel that they had invested a lot in returning to New Zealand, and wanted to make a go of it before deciding what to do. The decision to move abroad again could be just as difficult as that taken to repatriate to New Zealand.

#!

%**

Indeed, Participant 19 felt she should live elsewhere in New Zealand before taking any plunge to move abroad again:

There were days when I thought, oh my God I’m going back, this is terrible. But I haven’t given it a huge amount of thought yet, because I wanted to really settle in here first. But I would try somewhere else in New Zealand first, because the main reason I came back was to be closer to my family. So rather than go, it’s just a binary decision: I have to go back to London if I don’t like it here, I could try and go to Wellington. But also, I just don’t know about going back. I think going back to London now just wouldn’t be the same. (19, female, UK 16 years)

5.6 Conclusion

This chapter presented the findings of the second phase of this research; the expectations of SIR New Zealanders. First, information on movers and non-movers was discussed. Twenty-seven of the 32 participants repatriated as planned, while the remainder were not living in New Zealand at the time of the second interview. In four cases they had not yet moved to New Zealand, while in the final case the participant had repatriated and then left for Australia.

Findings relating to work as well as non-work experiences were also presented in this chapter. In terms of work, participants generally reported relative speed and ease of finding appropriate employment in New Zealand. The number of participants who perceived a negative reception to their skills and experience from abroad was outnumbered by those reporting experiencing positive reception three to one. However,

#!

%*+

the job search was a commonly cited cause of frustration for participants, especially in relation to treatment by recruitment agents.

In terms of remuneration, all but one working participant was now earning the same or more than expected. Work culture readjustment processes caused difficulties for six participants; the remainder found settling in easy or manageable. In addition, only two participants reported deterioration in work-life balance compared with the host country.

Findings relating to non-work experiences covered lifestyle, cost of living, general readjustment and social reintegration. The majority of participants perceived a positive New Zealand lifestyle after repatriation. However, the cost of living was seen as high by most, especially when considered in relation to income. Many emphasised they knew this before repatriating.

Non-work readjustment was viewed as easy by most, with the difficulties reported relating mostly to the smaller scale of life in New Zealand compared with life abroad. In addition, issues with partners’ adjustment or finding work tended to affect participants’ assessment of repatriation success. In terms of social lives, most participants who commented on this found it relatively easy to reconnect with friends and expand social networks. Conversely, many participants were already missing friends abroad.

Finally, participants were asked to reflect on the factors enabling a successful – or indeed difficult – repatriation experience. Findings here also related to work and non- work elements. Realistic, informed expectations were generally viewed as easing

#!

%*,

repatriation, while employers and colleagues who had also worked abroad tended to be perceived as valuing international experience more highly than those who had not. Participants were generally committed to staying in New Zealand in the short term, but did not rule out moving abroad again in the future.

In the next chapter, the findings from the two phases of the study are drawn together, to explore the level of congruence between participants’ pre-move expectations and their post-move experiences. In doing so, the similarities and then the differences between the two phases are summarised. These are the foundations of much of the theory development presented in Chapter Seven. The potential enablers of successful repatriation as well as factors that may contribute to difficulties are also discussed in the next chapter.

%*-

Chapter Six

Expectations – Experiences Congruence

Expectations in themselves possess no predictive power for either psychological or socio-cultural outcomes; however, their relevance is increased

when assessed in conjunction with experiences. (Rogers & Ward, 1993, p. 192)

6.1 Introduction

Findings in each of the two phases of this study have been presented in the preceding two chapters. In Chapter Four, it was concluded that participants generally had pre- move expectations that had been informed by an unbroken connection with New Zealand during expatriation. In addition, participants had taken proactive steps to gather information while still abroad. They had generally reconciled pessimistic work- related expectations with positive lifestyle expectations during the process of making the complex - and yet still frail - decision to return.

In Chapter Five, findings from the second phase, the post-move experiences, were presented. Participants generally found work quickly and with relative ease, despite significant frustrations with recruitment agents as well as potential employers during the job search. Meanwhile, they had generally positive experiences of the New Zealand lifestyle despite perceptions of a high cost of living and missing some elements of their expatriate lives.

This chapter connects the findings of both phases, thereby extending the analysis presented earlier. It also bridges the findings and discussion chapters, by exploring the

!#!#!

%+$

specific similarities and differences found between the expectations and experiences phases. These degrees of similarity and difference are termed ‘congruence’ here. This chapter is viewed as a prerequisite to theory development, which will be presented in Chapter Seven.

The chapter begins with sections detailing the similarities and then the differences between participants’ expectations and their experiences. Then, potential reasons for the magnitude of congruence identified, which have emerged from the data, are considered. In addition, participants’ attributions of their repatriation successes and challenges are discussed, and their advice to others considering or undertaking SIR is presented. Finally, the conclusion is prefaced with reflections on the individual nature of the repatriation experience.