Factors affecting students to continue study abroad

Abstract

Continuing to study abroad is currently an effective option for exploring deeper into the field of expertise. Enriching life experience, increasing competence, and self-cultivation emerged as the most prominent personal motivation. The aims of this study are (1) to find out the development of research study abroad during the last two decades; (2) to analyze the distribution map of study abroad publications based on co-authorship; (3) to analyze the distribution map of study abroad publications based on co-citation; (4) to analyze the distribution map of study abroad publications based on citations; (5) to analyze the distribution map of study abroad publications based on co-occurrence; and (6) to explore the factors that influence students to continue their studies abroad. The method used in this study is a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative methods. The results obtained are (1) publications on the topic of study abroad have increased on average over the last two decades; (2) collaboration between countries, authors, and sources based on co-authorship analysis; (3) collaboration between countries, authors, and organizations based on citation analysis; (4) collaboration between authors and sources based on co-citation analysis; (5) keyword relatedness based on co-occurrence analysis; and (6) several factors that influence study abroad participation such as quality of education, intrinsic motivation, cross-cultural competence, social motivation, and financial or grant program availability. The implication of this research is to provide insight into the level of interest and various factors that can influence students to continue their studies abroad so that later they can be taken into consideration by the students themselves