Vietnamese Immigrant Women's Learning in Taiwanese Higher Education

AbstractAccording to a sociocultural approach to adult learning, this study aims to explore the learning experiences of Vietnamese immigrant women in Taiwanese higher education. Based on the interviews of 11 married Vietnamese immigrant brides, it was found that all of the immigrant women emphasized the importance of pursuing higher education in Taiwan. With permission from their husbands, these immigrant women participated in higher education to develop the human and cultural capital to fulfill their expected responsibilities both in their homeland and in their host societies and to combat discrimination from Taiwanese. In the Taiwanese-centered higher education, immigrant wives continuously worked hard to prove themselves competent and negotiate their voice and cultural identity. Participating in higher education and even obtaining a Taiwanese master's degree empowered most of these women, gaining self-confidence and a voice in the family and facilitating their settlement into Taiwanese society. For these female immigrants, both their culture and early socialization in Vietnam and sociocultural life experiences in Taiwan affected their learning in their pursuit of Taiwanese higher education