Does going abroad benefit my country? Views of highly skilled personnel from Sub-Saharan Africa on brain drain-brain circulation
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Date
2018
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Mkwawa Journal of Education and Development
Abstract
The debate on brain drain-brain circulation has been a longlasting phenomenon of interest among educators in the field
of education, in particular, international and comparative
education. This long-lasting debate triggered us to rethink about
the effects which the concept has on the source country as well as
the destination country. The study explored the perceptions of
Highly Skilled Personnel (HSPs) residing in Sub-Saharan Africa
on HSPs mobility. Respondents for this study comprised of 43
Sub-Saharan African scholars. Data were collected into two
phases. First, all the 43 respondents actively participated in a
four-day Online Focused Group Discussion (OFGD) moderated
by the researchers. The second phase involved online interviews
with 12 members who also participated in the first phase.
Findings indicated that the majority of respondents favoured
brain circulation. This implies a significant shift from brain drain
to brain circulation. The socio-economic and political contexts of
countries where respondents came from influenced their
responses. We suggest that in the current globalized world,
instead of restricting HSPs mobility, Sub-Saharan African
countries need to create attractive working environment as a
means to retain the best talents and motivate those who left to
come back. Furthermore, Sub-Saharan African countries must
work with diaspora to improve knowledge and business networks
that will enable these countries to improve their economies
thereby compensating the cost incurred in educating mobile
talents. Finally, brain drain-brain circulation agenda should not
be viewed in isolation rather as multidimensional in nature due
to its overarching countless influencing factors.
Description
Keywords
Brain drain; Brain circulation; Highly Skilled Personnel (HSPs); HSPs mobility; Sub-Saharan African countries