Dr Siqi Zhang

Teaching Fellow (MSc Education)

Background

Dr. Siqi Zhang received her PhD degree in Sociology from the University of Edinburgh in 2019. She is based at the Institute of Education, Community and Society in Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh. Her PhD research explores the ways in which gender and cultural capital are closely linked with international students’ transnational educational choices and their transnational study experiences during their stay in a Scottish university. Her research interests include sociology of education, gender, cultural capital, transnational educational mobility, social inequality in education and student experience in international higher education.

Qualifications

PhD in Sociology, University of Edinburgh

Msc in Sociology, London School of Economics and Political Science

Responsibilities & affiliations

A Member of British Sociological Association;

A Member of British Association for Chinese Studies;

A Member of Network for Research Into Chinese Education Mobilities;

A Member of Comparative Education and International Development Research Group

A Member of Higher Education Research Group

A Member of Gender Politics Research Group

A Member of Edinburgh BAME Network

A Member of Race Equality Network 

 

Reviewer & Examiner Role:

PhD first-year board paper progression examiner, University of Edinburgh

Reviewer, Migration Study Forum of the 2022 Young Scholar Summit, Imperial College London

 

Peer Reviewer for Journals

Cambridge Journal of Education;

Studies in Continuing Education;

Comparative Education Review;

Asian Ethnicity

 

Postgraduate Supervision and Tutoring:

Personal Tutor

Postgraduate student dissertation supervisor  (successfully supervised 29 Master students, completed and awarded) 

Co-coordinator for the MSc CEID postgraduate virtual mentoring programme

Postgraduate teaching

Msc Education (All Pathway) Dissertation (Course Organisor)

Qualitative Data Research (Course Organisor)

Education Policy and the Politics of Education

Comparative Education and International Development

Source of Knowledge

Conceptualising Research: Foundations, assumptions and praxis

The Nature of Inquiry 

 

 

Areas of interest for supervision

Siqi welcomes to discuss topics in areas of sociology of education; social inequality in higher education; gender/cultural identity; cultural capital;  transnational mobilities; transnational higher education; Qualitative methodologies: Ethnography; Participant observation, Interviews and Desk-based studies.

Project activity

PhD research: 'Gender, Cultural Capital and Transnational Mobility: Chinese Female International Students' Transnational Aspirations and Transnational Lives in the UK' supported by University of Edinburgh SSPS Research Fund and Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Financed Students Abroad

2019-2023,  Co-Investigator, The National Social Science Fund of China (350,000 RMB) supported project ‘Cultural Innovation in Chinese Social and Cultural Context’.

2020-2021.07, Researcher in a research team, Scottish Funding Council Global Challenge Research Fund  supported project ‘Universal Secondary Education in the Asia Pacific Region’.   University of Edinburgh.

2020.05-now, Principal Investigator, 'International Students' Experience during pandemic', University of Edinburgh

2020.03-now, Researcher, in a research team, ‘The National Social Science Fund of China (350,000 RMB)’ supported project ‘A case study of students and teachers’ experience in Chinese higher education’

 

Honour and Awards:

2021 & 2022    University of Edinburgh EUSA Teaching Award Nominee (In the Category of Student Tutor of the Year & Personal Tutor of the Year) ; 

2018 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Financed Students Abroad;

2018 Travel Grant of Young Scholar Forum Organised by East China University of Political Science and Law;

2017 ‘Annual Outstanding International Students of the Year Award',  awarded by Nouvelles D' Europe 

          (Ranked as the top 3 student among  the ten awarded outstanding students in vote in final round of competition)

2016-2017 University of Edinburgh SSPS Research Fund

Conference details

Zhang, S. (2022) 'A Cultural Capital Perspective on Chinese International Students’ Mobility', Invited Opening Speech, Migration Studies Forum, Young Scholar Summit, Imperial College London, 12th of Dec, 2022.

Zhang, S. (2022) 'Cultural Capital as Class Strength and Gendered Educational Choices of Chinese Female Students in the United Kingdom', Invited Talk, Cambridge Chinese Migration Studies Group, the Centre for Study of Global Human Movement, University of Cambridge, 24th of Nov, 2022.

Zhang, S. (2022) 'International Students' Construction of Global Citizenship', Conference Proceedings, Citizenship and Education in Contemporary Chinese Societies, the Education University of Hong Kong, 21st of Jan, 2022.

Zhang, S. (2021) 'Conducting Observation for Qualitative Research', Student Experience Project Training Session, Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Ediburgh. 3rd of May, 2021.

Zhang, S. and  Xu, C. L. (2021) Guest Lecture , 'The Making of Transnational Distinction: an Emobodied Cultural Capital Perspective on Chinese Women Students' Mobility' to the Ontario Institute Studies in Education, University of Toronto. 17th of April, 2021.

Zhang, S. (2019) 'Chinese International Students’ Social Networks in a Transnational Context: A Qualitative Study on the Chinese International Students', School of Foreign Languages, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, June, 2019.

Zhang, S. (2018) 'Gender and Education: Challenges of Women students and staff in STEM subjects', Department of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, December, 2018.

Zhang, S. (2017) ‘The Changing Dressing Style of Female Student Migrants: A Case Study on Chinese International Students in Edinburgh’, Conference Proceedings, Age Agency Ambiguity - Gender and Generation in Times of Change: The Sixth Women and Gender Studies Annual International Conference, University of Oslo,  27-30th of July, 2017.

Zhang, S. (2017) ‘Identity Negotiation of Student Migrants in the Intercultural Education: A Study for Female Chinese International Students Studying in the UK’, Conference Proceedings, British Sociological Association Annual Conference, University of Manchester, Manchester, 5th April 2017.

Zhang, S. (2016) ‘The Different Consequences of Divorce to Men, Women and Children from a Global Perspective’, Conference Proceedings, Chinese Sociological Annual Conference, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 17th July 2016.

Zhang, S. (2016) ‘Cultural Exchange in Higher Education: The Study on the Experiences of Chinese International Students in the UK’, Conference Proceedings, Conference of British Association for Chinese Studies, PG Network for Chinese Studies, KCL, London, 24th June 2016.

Zhang, S. (2015) ‘The Transformational Effect of Higher Education to International Chinese Students Studying in the UK’, Conference Proceedings, New Direction Conference, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, 29th March 2015.

Peer Reviewed Journal Articles:

Zhang, S. (Accepted, 2023) ‘Constructing Global Citizenship Identity through Accumulating Cultural Capital: Chinese Women International Students’ Experiences at a British University’, Social Transformation in Chinese  Societies.

Zhang , S. & Tang. X (2021). 'Cultural Capital as Class Strength and Gendered Educational Choices of Chinese Female Students in the United Kingdom', Frontiers in Psychology, vol: 11, p.1-12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.584360

Zhang, S. & Xu, C. L. (2020). 'The Making of Transnational Distinction: an Embodied Cultural Capital Perspective on Chinese Women Students’ Mobility', British Journal of Sociology of Education,  vol: 41, no.8: 1251-1267. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2020.1804836   (one of the most cited articles published at BJSE in the last 3 years https://www.tandfonline.com/action/showMostCitedArticles?journalCode=cbse20

Zhang, S. (2018), ‘Power, Social Construction and Globalization: Media as Social Practice for Audiences’ (in Chinese), Journal of Huazhong Normal University, vol: 58, no. 4: 107-118.

Zhang, S. (2018), ‘Chinese International Students’ Social Networks in a Transnational Context: A Qualitative Study on the Chinese International Students at London School of Economics’ (in Chinese); Jianghan Tribune, no.1: 138-144.

Zhang, S. (2017), ‘An Enquiry of the Different Consequences of Divorce to Men, Women and Children from Western Sociological Perspective’ (in Chinese), Social Science Abroad, no. 2: 107-118.

Zhang, S. (2013) ‘Social Reality and Fairy tale: The Literary Art in the Creation of Harry Potter Novels’ (In Chinese), Hubei Social Science, no. 3: 136-139.

 

Book Chapters:

Zhang, S. & Mittelmeier, J. (forthcoming, 2023 summer) ‘Student Experience Intersecting with Gender’, Research with international students: Critical conceptual and methodological considerations, Mittelmeier, J., and Lomer, S. (Eds). London: Routledge.

 

Research Reports:

Grek, S., Zhang, S., Sabeti, S. & Gallagher, M. (2021) 'Complex and Intersecting Barriers to Access: Some Concluding Thoughts', In Smith, W., Viogt, A. & Zhang, Y. (Eds), Barriers to Secondary Education in the Asia Pacific Region: A Scoping Review of Four Countries. Research Report of the Scottish Funding Council Global Challenge Research Fund supported project ‘Universal Secondary Education in the Asia Pacific Region’. Edinburgh, UK: University of Edinburgh. https://www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/mh-ceid-ap-full-

 

Website Blog:

Zhang, S. & Xu, C. L. (2021) ‘Research Highlight Blog for The Making of Transnational Distinction: An Embodied Cultural Capital Perspective on Chinese Women Students’ Educational Mobility to the UK, posted Website of Network for research into Chinese Education Mobilities.  https://chineseedmobilities.com/2020/11/17/the-making-of-transnational-distinction-an-embodied-cultural-capital-perspective-on-chinese-women-students-mobility/