Bridging Borders through Transnational Higher Education: A Convergent Mixed-Methods Study of Employability Outcomes in Sino-African Joint Universities

Bridging Borders through Transnational Higher Education: A Convergent Mixed-Methods Study of Employability Outcomes in Sino-African Joint Universities | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Bridging Borders through Transnational Higher Education: A Convergent Mixed-Methods Study of Employability Outcomes in Sino-African Joint Universities Enyiazu Franca Adanne, Chen Yongliang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7847299/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study examines how transnational higher education (TNE) enhances graduate employability in Africa, focusing on Sino-African joint universities. Drawing on Tomlinson’s Graduate Capital Model, Bourdieu’s theory of capital, and Mezirow’s Transformative Learning Theory, it investigates whether graduates from joint universities perceive themselves as more employable than their local peers and how international experiences mediate this relationship. Using a mixedmethods design, survey data from 800 graduates across four countries were complemented by 40 semi-structured interviews with graduates and administrators. Quantitative analyses revealed that TNE graduates reported significantly higher employability scores (p < .05), with language proficiency (β = .34, p < .001) and intercultural exposure (β = .22, p< .01) as key mediators. Chinese language proficiency added 5% additional explanatory power to employability outcomes. Qualitative findings showed that bilingualism and intercultural learning fostered career identity transformation, while institutional support determined the extent of benefit realization. The study concludes that TNE’s impact extends beyond technical skills, advancing employability through cultural, social, and identity capital formation, and calls for stronger institutional mechanisms to ensure equitable access to these advantages across African higher education. Special Education Sino-African higher education employability transnational education graduate capital international experiences mixed methods Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7847299","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":528724681,"identity":"3f23a2f3-fcd2-4dc6-873e-0a6ebbd1bfbe","order_by":0,"name":"Enyiazu Franca Adanne","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBAC9gYYixlEVIAYzA04FEMAzwEULWdADEZitYAAYxuYJKBF+vCzBz9qbPIMjjM//sw7rzaavx2o5UfFNtxa+NLMDXuOpRUbHGYzMObddjx3xmHGBsaeM7dxarHnYTCTZmA7nLjhMINBMu+2Y7kNQC3MjG24tfDwsH+TZvj3H6iF/cNh3jnHcucT1sJjJs3YdgCohcewmbehJncDEVrKJHv7khNnHuYpZpxz7EDuRqCWg/j8AnTYNokf3+wS+84f3/zhTU1d7rzzhw8++FGBWwscKBwAU4fB5AHC6oFAvgFM1RGleBSMglEwCkYWAAD1o1lPVB/uYwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8039-6196","institution":"Southwest University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Enyiazu","middleName":"Franca","lastName":"Adanne","suffix":""},{"id":528724682,"identity":"7bf45c5f-d65a-4f04-aca2-f518726de56f","order_by":1,"name":"Chen Yongliang","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0003-2820-614X","institution":"Southwest University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chen","middleName":"","lastName":"Yongliang","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-10-13 09:45:58","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7847299/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7847299/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":93477568,"identity":"54a38f39-299d-452d-867c-132f4cec9012","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-14 09:27:51","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1230141,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ManuscripBlindedCopySINOAFRICA.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7847299/v1_covered_cd6202bf-3817-470a-ae42-3510a86183cd.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBridging Borders through Transnational Higher Education: A Convergent Mixed-Methods Study of Employability Outcomes in Sino-African Joint Universities\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Southwest University","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Sino-African higher education, employability, transnational education, graduate capital, international experiences, mixed methods","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7847299/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7847299/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study examines how transnational higher education (TNE) enhances graduate employability in Africa, focusing on Sino-African joint universities. Drawing on Tomlinson’s Graduate Capital Model, Bourdieu’s theory of capital, and Mezirow’s Transformative Learning Theory, it investigates whether graduates from joint universities perceive themselves as more employable than their local peers and how international experiences mediate this relationship. Using a mixedmethods design, survey data from 800 graduates across four countries were complemented by 40 semi-structured interviews with graduates and administrators. Quantitative analyses revealed that TNE graduates reported significantly higher employability scores (p \u0026lt; .05), with language proficiency (β = .34, p \u0026lt; .001) and intercultural exposure (β = .22, p\u0026lt; .01) as key mediators. Chinese language proficiency added 5% additional explanatory power to employability outcomes. Qualitative findings showed that bilingualism and intercultural learning fostered career identity transformation, while institutional support determined the extent of benefit realization. The study concludes that TNE’s impact extends beyond technical skills, advancing employability through cultural, social, and identity capital formation, and calls for stronger institutional mechanisms to ensure equitable access to these advantages across African higher education.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Bridging Borders through Transnational Higher Education: A Convergent Mixed-Methods Study of Employability Outcomes in Sino-African Joint Universities","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-10-14 09:19:42","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7847299/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"0965f80e-6356-48aa-a623-3d08956f3128","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 14th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":56193481,"name":"Special Education"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-10-14T09:19:42+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-10-14 09:19:42","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7847299","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7847299","identity":"rs-7847299","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}