Antecedents of short-term international mobility programs: a systematic review and agenda for future research

Abstract

ABSTRACT Short-term international mobility programs are being increasingly adopted by universities to achieve internationalisation, secure international accreditation and prepare graduates for global careers. A plethora of beneficial outcomes of student participation in short-term mobility education programs [Roy, A., A. Newman, T. Ellenberger, and A. Pyman. 2019. ‘Outcomes of International Student Mobility Programs: A Systematic Review and Agenda for Future Research.’ Studies in Higher Education 44 (9): 1630–1644; Waibel, S., H. Ruger, A. Ette, and L. Sauer. 2017. ‘Career Consequences of Transnational Educational Mobility: A Systematic Literature Review.’ Educational Research Review 20: 81–98] has motivated governments and universities to fund such programs [Pfotenhauer, S. M., J. S. Jacobs, D. J. Newman, and D. T. Roos. 2013. ‘Seeding Change Through International University: The MIT-Portugal Program as a Driver of Internationalization, Networking and Innovation.’ Higher Education 26: 217–242; Quan, R., A. Pearce, and Y. Baranchenko. 2017. ‘Educational Mobility in Transition: What Can China and The UK Learn from Each Other?’ Journal of Management Development 36 (6): 828–843; and Sin, C., O. Tavares, and G. Neave. 2017. ‘Student Mobility in Portugal: Grappling with a Adversity.’ Journal of Studies in International Education 21 (2): 120–135]. Scholarly work on student mobility in education has grown phenomenally in the last two decades. However, the specific study of antecedents of student participation which shape a student’s decision to participate in short-term mobility programs has not received adequate attention in literature. The need to study antecedents of student participation in mobility is highly relevant and critical to the creation of student opportunities for participation in such programs. With this aim, our paper undertakes a comprehensive review of scholarly works thus far on antecedents of student participation in short-term mobility programs classifying antecedents into personal and contextual antecedents. We identify areas of study needed to enhance scholarly understanding of antecedents of student participation and propose an agenda for future research complemented with recommendations for studying antecedents to short-term mobility participation.