International student mobility decision-making in a European context
Talitha Dubow, Katrin Marchand & Melissa Siegel
#2020-031
This paper contributes to existing theoretical and empirical
understandings of international student mobility (ISM) decision-making.
Drawing on interview and focus group data from 115 current and former
'student migrants' in the EU (from both EU and non-EU countries of
origin), it provides an in-depth, international comparative analysis of
ISM decision-making. It addresses three questions: 1) What motivates the
decision to study abroad in the EU, and how do these motivations vary
across different countries of origin?; 2) How does the decision to study
abroad relate to the student's initial aspirations (i.e. formed prior to
starting their foreign study programme) regarding their post-study
(im)mobility?; and 3) How are post-study (im)mobility aspirations
(re)shaped over the course of the student's foreign study programme? The
relevance of existing theorisations of ISM decision-making is tested in
relation to student inflows from different countries of origin. The
results highlight the ways in which individual decisions to study abroad
do not necessarily align with a single decision-making model but are
rather often determined by multiple and interacting considerations. The
findings further existing knowledge on: 1) the ways in which
international student decision-making relate to the social, cultural,
economic and political environments in which these decisions are made;
and 2) how international student decision-making relates to the
student's broader and evolving life aspirations.
JEL Classification: F22, I23, 126, J15, J24, J61, O15
Keywords: Higher education, migrant decision-making, student mobility, EU mobility