This thesis examines the role of Australian-based skilled migrants from Nigeria in the capacity development of their country of origin. The dataset that formed the basis for the analysis was collected through semi structured interviews and surveys with two cohorts of skilled migrants. The first set of data is about the lived experiences of forty-five skilled migrants and two Nigerian diplomats in Australia. The trans-national activities, emotional ties, and social and professional networks that these sets of skilled migrants maintain across Nigeria and Australia are examined to ascertain their relevance for the capacity development of Nigeria through the transfer of professional skills. The second set of data consists of survey responses and semi- structured interviews obtained from twenty-two returned migrants who have gone back to Nigeria after their studies or employment in Australia. Underpinned by a qualitative approach to research design and a thematic approach to data analysis, the professional skills, and knowledge, economic, social, cultural and human capital of these skilled migrants are discussed as a form of migrants' social remittances and diaspora capital in the context of capacity development. Capacity development of Nigeria is discussed as an independent process that can be achieved with the contribution of migrants' diaspora capital. The thesis introduces the new concept of non-financial remittances, which marks its significance and contribution to research on migration and diaspora capital.

This thesis is important because it examines the lived experiences of Nigerian diaspora members in Australia, trans-migrants and return migrants who have returned to Nigeria after spending extended periods of time studying and working in Australia. The diaspora capital of these diaspora members and returned migrants is examined in terms of their contributions to capacity development through their transfer of skills for the capacity development of Nigeria. Diaspora capital in the context of this study is defined to have an encompassing meaning that entails several benefits that the Nigerian diaspora own and can be used to contribute to capacity development of Nigeria. This thesis looks beyond the argument of the negative effects of brain drain of skilled migrants by highlighting the idea that financial and social remittances can compensate for brain drain and migration of skilled migrants in developing countries. The diaspora option to enhance capacity development, migrant's social networks and trans-national activities are suggested as countervailing trends that may mitigate the negative effects of skilled migration from the homeland.

The framework of analysis for the study is built around Bourdieu, Putnam and Coleman's idea of social capital theory to examine migrants' bonding, bridging, linking and digital social capital and their effects on social network formation transfer of professional skills and capacity development. The research findings highlighted six major themes that include diaspora capital, modes of professional skills transfer and challenges that impede the use of diaspora capital for capacity development. Based on these analyses, the thesis argues that social networks, professional networks and transnational activities of skilled migrants such as professional visits to Nigeria, virtual online activities and volunteering can counter-balance the negative effects of brain drain and the exodus of skilled migrants on the capacity development of Nigeria. The study found that there are several inefficiencies and structural weaknesses that hinder the optimal utilisation of the skills of these groups of skilled migrants for capacity development. In the concluding chapter, the thesis provides policy recommendations on how the Nigerian government might more fully harness and utilise the skills of the Nigerian-born migrants of the diaspora.

Is Neo-Liberal Economic Rationalism the Panacea for Africa's Language Policy Dilemmas?

Kamwangamalu's innovative model of 'prestige planning' and the promises it holds for pushing the envelope of the African language policy debate into the domain of economics and development deserve being fully appraised and engaged with. Languages are among the key determinants of success and survival particularly in situations of intergroup competition for access and control of resources and (conquest of) state power. In typical multilingual contexts such as those we find in African countries, access to socio-economic and political opportunities largely depends on access to particular language varieties. This implicates the role and place of language in shaping intergroup relations as well as in determining people's educational, economic and political fortunes. Languages can determine who has access to schools, who has opportunities for economic advancement, who participates in political decisions, who has access to governmental services, and who gets treated fairly by governmental agencies, and who doesn't. Essentially, languages can determine who gets ahead and who gets left behind; they can affect the prospects for ethnic success – for ethnic groups and for individuals in these groups (Brown & Ganguly 2003, Ndhlovu 2013a).

This project investigates the nature and extent of educational inequalities or injustices that manifest in academic language testing evaluation regimes. The focus is on Fiji, a multilingual, multicultural country situated in the South Pacific. The major languages spoken in the country are Fijian (iTaukei), English, and Fiji Hindi. Other languages spoken in the community include Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu, Telugu, Tamil, Mandarin, and Cantonese. Due to the colonial history of Fiji, English has emerged as the main lingua franca among the various ethnolinguistic groups in the country. English is also the sole medium of instruction at all three universities in the country. The dominance of English in the context of tertiary education results in a sociocultural problem when students enter universities in Fiji from a variety of high school backgrounds. Some come from urban or semi-urban high schools, while others come from rural high schools, which are located in the interior of the country and on smaller islands. Depending on the school, students may acquire different levels of English proficiency, which may leave them ill-equipped for university study. This situation directly draws attention to educational inequalities that students face at the tertiary level due to the variable levels of English language skills provided to them at the primary and secondary levels.

Drawing on the review of the relevant literature and ethnographic research, this study uses grounded theory methodologies to gain insight into the underlying educational inequalities and injustices emanating from lack of epistemic access for those university students with inadequate English language skills. To this end, the study analyses the level of difference in writing abilities at the beginning and end of the first-year of study. The findings and conclusions from this study hold key insights for informing ongoing efforts towards ameliorating educational inequalities in Fiji. The study was conducted at a university in Fiji. The first-year enrolment number was 400 students. One hundred and twenty students (30% of the student cohort) were sampled at the beginning of the first year and at the end of their first year of university program. The same cohort of 120 students was tracked throughout the project, out of which 30 students were interviewed at the end of the first year to assess the writing interventions and to gauge the nature and extent of educational inequalities faced by the participants. The interviews were analysed using grounded theory methodology to generate themes from raw data.

The study uses the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) to evaluate student writing skills. The CEFR is one of the most comprehensive frameworks for language evaluation prevalent today, and has been widely used by language testing organisations in Western countries. However, since its introduction in Europe in 2001, the CEFR has so far not been applied to the unique sociolinguistic context of the South Pacific. This study is the first to do so, and gauges the framework's relevance and usefulness in a non-European multilingual context.

The outcomes of this research make significant contributions in informing policy discourse on reversing educational inequalities at the tertiary level. Firstly, it reaffirms the CEFR's capability in successfully gauging students' preparedness for English-language university study and work life. Secondly, it attests to the CEFR's suitability for use in the intensely multilingual (or plurilingual) South Pacific context. Most importantly, the study identifies four specific indicators of educational inequalities that Fijian students in higher education encounter from primary school through to high school and university that hinder the development of adequate academic English language skills. These include: (i) lack of teaching and learning resources, (ii) language barriers, (iii) problems with the medium of instruction, and (iv) shortage of experienced teachers. Although these indicators of educational inequalities are reported in comparable studies from other parts of the world, they are significant findings for this study, not least because the South Pacific is a geographical locale where individual nation-states such as Fiji consist of several islands with unique socio-cultural formations and complex linguistic landscapes.

The methodological contributions and the unique data set of the study will advance scholarly and social policy conversations on this topic. Through analysing the rich narrative stories of research participants and qualitative data, the study makes an original contribution to the body of knowledge on how grounded theory research methodologies can be applied to a longitudinal language testing research context. At present, language testing in higher education relies on data from conventional formative and normative assessments. Approaches such as grounded theory and longitudinal research design have rarely been used in intensely multilingual contexts such as the South Pacific. The findings of this study hold promise in informing higher education policies for improving support systems to enhance the smooth transition of multilingual students from high school through to university and into the workforce.