Gaining by Losing: The Daily Living Experience of International Female Doctoral Students in Aotearoa New Zealand

This Straussian grounded theory study explored how female doctoral students from South East Asia managed their daily occupations while studying in Aotearoa New Zealand. Twenty-three participants who were living or had lived in Auckland, one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s metropolitan cities, completed semi-structured, in-depth interviews on their experiences of occupation in that context. Data were also collected via participant observations. The analysis of data through open, axial, and selective coding yielded a substantive theory: Gaining by Losing, which entailed a three-stage process of Choosing to be International Students, Meeting Challenges, and Returning Transformed. Each stage was characterised as being in dynamic tension of initially exploring opportunities/making sacrifices, then encountering difficulties/making adjustments to daily occupations while studying, and ultimately living with their choice/experiencing changes. The findings revealed that temporarily moving to a city with a high cost of living elicited changes in the way they performed daily occupations, such as studying, cooking, shopping, caring for children, and so forth.