International Student Mobility Research Articles

Safe Spaces for Disruptive Learning in a North–South Research Partnership Context: International Mobility of Doctoral Students

This article spans issues of international student mobility, inequalities in higher education, and spaces for transformative learning for sustainable development. We tracked PhD alumni of an international Swiss research program in 2012 and 2017 and found that students from the global South experienced a significant, immediate career boost; most graduates decided to remain in or return to their country of origin after graduation (brain circulation). Career advancement among global North students took longer to develop. In-depth interviews with selected graduates gave students a voice: they felt empowered by networks, new friendships, and working relationships across disciplinary boundaries. The “safe spaces” or “Third Spaces” created in the program—encompassing inter- and transdisciplinary approaches, institutional and cultural diversity, and a real-world focus—were key for transformative learning, supported by an unconventional teaching and research strategy. To support disruptive learning leading to changes in mindsets and to reduce inequality in higher education, Western universities must question their own privileged position.

Growth all along the road? Personality development and international contacts of (in)experienced sojourners

International student mobility (ISM) is an important educational means to promote the international (job market) potential of university students. Beyond that, it constitutes a context of personality development in young adulthood. With the present research, we tried to integrate the perspectives of applied and personality research in addressing the following questions. First, we scrutinized the robustness of ISM effects on personality development as we controlled for effects of sociodemographic characteristics and implemented a waiting group design ( N = 3070). Second, we explored ISM anticipation effects as well as the moderation of ISM effects by previous international mobility experiences. Finally, in view of the public discourse on the benefits of “Erasmus crowds”, we assessed the roles of international and host relationships with regard to the personality development of sojourners. The results largely corroborated the robustness of ISM effects on personality development. No ISM anticipation effects occurred, and effects of current ISM engagement were largely unaffected by previous international mobility experiences. Finally, international contact experiences were associated with personality development above and beyond effects of host country contacts. Implications for the understanding of personality development and potential inferences for the organization and improvement of ISM programs are discussed.

Brokers of international student mobility: The roles and processes of education agents in China

AbstractThe study on which this article reports explored the role of education agents in international student mobility, developing a better understanding of how they operate, behave and think when dealing with the admissions processes of universities overseas. The behaviours and reasoning, the modus operandi, and positioning of education agents are analysed using agency theory; specifically, the information‐asymmetric relations that they have with the principals they serve. The context analysed was characterised by two types of admissions practices: (a) direct admissions to the university without the need for any preparatory courses and (b) dual admissions involving enrolment in the host universities' preparatory language centres before university enrolment proper. Students and their families are principals in both types of admissions processes, whereas universities overseas serve as a principal in the dual admissions process. The findings demonstrate a mix of transparent practices and those that border to unethical practices in international university admissions services, as well as student dependence on service providing agents who operate free from accountability. Agents are identified as a cog in the machine of international higher education, which increasingly works as a mechanism of socioeconomic reproduction.

Trends and strategies towards internationalisation of higher education in India

PurposeThis study aims to explore what are the past trends in internationalisation of higher education (IoHE) in the country and how India's higher education (HE) internationalisation strategies are aligned to make India a regional education hub and a storehouse of global talent pool.Design/methodology/approachThis paper relies heavily on secondary sources of information. Document analysis and policy reviews to analyse the internationalisation strategies as well as quantitative data analysis to map the trends have been used.FindingsAt present, internationalisation in India is lopsided and may become a drain on Indian economy if not balanced soon. India is now focussing to correct its adverse inbound–outbound international student (IS) mobility in order to become attractive for international HE community; India aims to strategically “prepare to host,” which is subject to institutional abilities to implement new schemes and programmes. International credibility of Indian HE rests largely on quality augmentation.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is based purely on secondary sources. It would be interesting to augment further with primary-level interactions with both policymakers and practitioners.Practical implicationsIt is a mix of academic and non-academic factors leading to improved quality of teaching, learning and competency-building in the higher education institutions (HEIs) rather than financial doles and incentives that should draw international academics to India in order to make the global traffic two way and financially viable for the country. IoHE to become viable and financially sustainable requires more comprehensive institutional efforts and mechanisms to bring in fee-paying ISs, research grants and multinational industry endowments.Social implicationsWith more fee-paying outbound students and more non-fee-paying or highly subsidised inbound student growth, the situation is already critical in terms of financial implications. This can have long-term implications of societal divide arising out of “global academic impoverishment” of majority Indian students unless state-supported assistance to ensure equitable access to international opportunities is provided to the needy students in the country.Originality/valueThis article is an analytical update on India's HE internationalisation and can be a valuable resource for policymakers, analysts as well as researchers.

International Student Mobility Aspirations: The Role of Romantic Relationships and Academic Motivation

The academic literature on the determinants of international student mobility so far has largely ignored the influence of romantic relationships and study motivation in the development of aspirations to participate in temporary learning experiences in another country. However, young adults might take considerations about investments in individual development (via academic training and thus study motivation) and romantic relationships into account in their decision-making process. Consequently, we apply a life-course perspective analyzing the relationships between having a romantic partner, study motivation, and aspirations to participate in an international exchange program among first-year university students, based on a survey conducted among 603 freshmen in Brussels. As female students are more likely to participate in student exchanges compared with male students, we pay special attention to gender differences. Our results show that a romantic relationship is negatively correlated with aspirations to participate in an international student exchange among female students. In contrast, intrinsic academic motivation is significantly associated with such aspirations among female and male students. Overall, our findings indicate the need for the consideration of different life-course domains in academic studies on international student mobility.

Effect of Learning Abroad on the Students’ Career Direction and Employability through Australian-Indonesian Student Mobility Programs

Among key features of the internationalization of higher education, student mobility has been given a big attention by universities and relevant stakeholder to achieve advance knowledge, intercultural skills, intellectual capital, and prospective labour market benefit. The increasing number of Indonesian students studying in Australian universities indicates the development of student mobility collaboration between both nations. Australia has become the most popular destination country for Indonesian students to pursue better education and Indonesia also become one of the destination countries for Australian students to participate in international student mobility program under the New Colombo Plan (NCP). Yet, little is known, about the impact of student mobility program or learning abroad on students’ career direction and employability within the context of both nations. This article is aimed to address this gap by examining the perspectives of participating students and other relevant stakeholders from both countries. It uses Bourdieu’s thinking tools of capital, habitus, field, and the idea of cultural and social reproduction, to capture the picture of how this student mobility program affects the students in relation to their career direction and employability. Findings generated from this research will be beneficial to HEIs and policy makers in Indonesia and Australia so that all involving parties can acquire expected outcomes of this student mobility program.

The quality of international mobility experiences, general self-efficacy and job search self-efficacy: A time-lagged investigation

Grounded on social cognitive career theory as a framework, the present research investigates whether high quality international mobility experiences of students enhance their general self-efficacy perceptions and improve job-search self-efficacy behavior (JSSE-B) and job-search self-efficacy outcome (JSSE-O) following graduation. Data was collected at two different time points from students who enrolled to an international mobility program. The first survey was conducted shortly after students returned to home country, and the second survey after 23 months on average following the first survey. The results revealed that the quality of international experiences had a positive and indirect effect on JSSE-B and JSSE-O and this relationship was mediated by general self-efficacy of participants. The findings suggested that both general self-efficacy and by extension job search self-efficacy could be enhanced through properly designed international student mobility programs, benefits of which are not constrained to a limited time span, but prevail after graduation, as well.

International Student Mobility: An Empirical Study Based on FEUP Mechanical Engineering Data

Students are formal learners seeking documented and recognized tertiary education. Student mobility in higher education can be inward (into a country) or outward (out of a country). Both types of mobility are educational processes offering different experiences and resulting in different outcomes. At least half of MIEM (Integrated Mechanical Engineering master degree of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal) students are driven to seek different institutions and different societies outside their known environment. During the academic year 2019/20 one hundred and forty MIEM students were engaged on exchange mobility projects distributed among inward Portuguese universities and a large number of outward European and non-European programs. This report focuses on MIEM student exchange aiming to share collected data based on numbers and experiences. A developed questionnaire addressing exchange mobility benefits on student educational progression as well as on the foreseen future career was handled to all 2019/20 mobility students and the collected data are reported here. Results of the survey show that 90% of the responding students consider that the engaged exchange program will turn into a positive influence on their career and a short 10% did not appreciate the mobility experience.

Adding an International Student’s Voice to the Pandemic Discourse as Thinkers, not Subjects

As of this writing, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international higher education is continuously being documented, drawing enough, if not too much, attention towards international students. However, the voices of international students remain muted such that much of what has been said about their experience do not directly come from them but from those who claim to speak on their behalf. In this essay, I attempt to add an international student voice to the pandemic discourse by shifting attention to international students not as subjects but as thinkers and co-producers of knowledge in their own right, in hope of also contributing to the broader conversation about ethics and responsibility surrounding international education and international student mobility research and practice. I do so by sharing my own reflections on the crisis and its critical relation to power, stillness and humanness.

Diversification of International Student Base

Underlying the goal of diversifying the sources of international students in post-secondary education is a naive logic: The portfolio of international students is controlled by the recruitment efforts of host countries and universities. Given this logic, the host countries and universities decide on where their international students are from and how diverse their international student population is. The logic results in an overestimate of the value of recruitment efforts by host countries and universities. It tends to overlook a whole range of other macro factors that determine international student mobility more significantly than recruitment efforts. Most notably, certain macro factors are beyond the control of host countries and universities, and their diversification efforts are futile and a waste of resources.

International mobility of students in Italy and the UK: does it pay off and for whom?

More and more European higher education students decide to take part in international student mobility (ISM). However, not much is known about the actual benefits of studying abroad. This paper assesses UK and Italian students’ returns from ISM. Three research questions are addressed. First, does international student mobility increase graduates’ employment probability and postgraduate study uptake? Second, do the returns to ISM differ according to the socio-economic background of graduates? Third, do the returns to ISM vary between two countries with contrasting labour market and education systems? Results, based on propensity score matching, indicate that mobility is positively associated with a higher employment probability. Mobility abroad is likewise linked with a higher likelihood of enrolling in postgraduate studies in Italy. The benefits of mobility in terms of employment do not differ significantly across socio-economic groups. However, mobility is particularly effective in boosting the uptake of postgraduate studies among mobile Italian graduates with a low socio-economic background. In Italy, ISM returns are substantially higher than in the UK, which could reflect that the skills accumulated and the signals sent to potential employers through ISM are greater in Italy.

COVID-19 pandemic providing a window of opportunity for higher education: Case study of a three-country teaching-learning experience

Aim: Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has been causing unprecedented challenges to higher education by disrupting traditional face-to-face teaching as well as international mo-bility of students, faculty and staff. The factual knock-out of established modes of teaching and learning and the restriction of international travel called for rapid action and a shift towards remote learning and teaching. Methods: Within the framework of a pragmatic approach, global health faculty from Fulda University of Applied Sciences in Germany and York University in Canada, including a small group of public health students from Cluj in Romania, established a globally networked learning environment. Between November and December 2020, a total of 147 students participated in joint virtual lectures and international collaborative group projects. To capture the ac-ceptance and effectiveness of the innovative didactic experience, a semi-structured student sur-vey was conducted directly after the last session. Results: The overall rating of internet-based cross-university teaching-learning was positive: Students reported benefits of an enriched learning experience through the sharing of different perspectives, approaches and debates with international professors and peers. Success and overcoming challenges for collaboration among students depended strongly on the level of coordination relating to time differences and expectations. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that transnational inter-university teach-ing-learning is feasible, provides a beneficial pedagogic option and points promising ways to the future. © 2021 Poirier et al;.

Особенности образовательной миграции китайской молодежи

Migration or the movement of people from one region to another has been going on for centuries. At the same time, educational migration is a relatively new form of migration, whose roots go back to the time when the countries of Asia and Africa were under colonial rule. A limited number of young people were selected to study in the higher educational institutions of the cities of the Empire, with the aim of their further work in the administrative centers of the colonies. Often, studying abroad is seen as a step towards migration in the future. International students, especially from developing countries, often stay in the host country after graduation. A foreign degree is often seen as an investment in finding a job after graduation, either in the host country or at home. Many host countries are interested in hiring talented foreign young people who have graduated from their universities. The article examines the dynamics of educational migration of Chinese students and the impact of the threat of the spread of the "coronavirus" on student migration from China. China is one of the leading countries that send students to study abroad. By the end of the last decade, the number of Chinese students abroad had become the largest group of international students in the world. The coronavirus outbreak has had a major impact on the mobility of international students. Australia, New Zealand, the US and Singapore were among the countries that have banned foreigners from leaving China since early February 2020, while thousands of Chinese students have returned to China.

El bagaje cultural y social de los estudiantes de movilidad internacional de tres universidades públicas del noroeste de México.

Este artículo estudia la influencia del capital cultural y social en la movilidad internacional de estudiantes de tres universidades públicas del Noroeste de México. Utiliza una metodología mixta con una muestra de 134 alumnos que realizaron estancia académica entre los años 2006 y 2016. Los hallazgos establecen que la transmisión de bienes culturales y sociales desarrollados desde la infancia ha sido una ventaja para participar en una estancia de movilidad internacional. Además, esta experiencia incrementó su capital teniendo un impacto positivo en su situación personal y profesional actual. Este estudio contribuye a la literatura sobre estudios cuantitativos-cualitativos en México en el tema de movilidad estudiantil internacional.

International student mobility, multiculturalism training within the framework of the core contents of a degree programme. The mobility experience between the University of Siena and Al Akhawayn University (AUI)

The essay illustrates the results of a university learning experience aimed at verifying the ways in which to manage international student mobility, in order to achieve learning outcomes in the field of multicultural education and radicalization prevention. To obtain this result and to make the acquired learning transferable in the curriculum of the university of origin, we have verified the usefulness of choosing and setting the educational targets within a reference framework consisting of a system of core contents expressed on the basis of the professional knowledge fundamental for their job prospects. The educational actions that characterized the proposed mobility model and the respective components analysed in the essay (pre-mobility, mobility, post-mobility, assessment) are described according to the expected learning outcomes. The results of the experience are also accompanied by elements of evaluation of satisfaction and effectiveness starting from the statements by the students and a Moroccan teacher involved in the planning and implementation of the actions in situ. The mobility covered by the essay was implemented with Al Akhawayn University (AUI, Morocco) as part of the Forward project, and involved students of the Bachelor of Science of Education of the University of Siena

ПРОЦЕСС АКАДЕМИЧЕСКОЙ МОБИЛЬНОСТИ В КОНТЕКСТЕ ИНТЕРНАЦИОНАЛИЗАЦИИ ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ

Exporting education is one of the key areas of global higher education that has been hit hardest by the pandemic. This article focuses on the international academic mobility of students, which is one of the strategic sources of funding for universities in many countries of the world, which has significantly decreased since the beginning of 2020. According to the forecasts of experts, the higher education sector expects further significant changes in the number of foreign students, the demand for international education in different countries, as well as changes in the formats of education of foreign students. The study shows how student mobility has changed in Russia and in the world, and what are the expectations, challenges and forecasts for the export of education in the near future. The purpose of the study is to consider the concept of academic mobility, to analyze the impact of the pandemic on the process of academic mobility in Russian universities. The article uses the methods of theoretical analysis of sources, analysis of statistical data, the results of observations of the organization of international academic mobility. In this article, the process of academic mobility is considered as a general term referring to both groups of participants — students and teachers of higher education institutions. We live in an era of globalization, in which the internationalization of higher education refers to an overarching process of institutional transformation aimed at integrating the international and intercultural dimension into the mission and one of the core functions of higher education institutions. The process of globalization blurs the borders between countries, bringing together the education and science systems of different countries. Academic mobility of students and teachers is defined as crossing national borders for the purpose of studying or teaching in higher education or participating in research abroad. Through the development of the process of academic mobility of students and teachers, cooperation between universities will be strengthened, which is a prerequisite for achieving the internationalization of education.

Nemzetközi hallgatói mobilitás a magyar felsőoktatásban

The study aims to review the processes of international student mobility towards Hungary, with particular attention to the time-series analysis of the number of international students studying in Hungary, the trends emerging from the data and the changes regarding the sending countries as well as their hypothetical causes in the period between 2001 and 2019. The study is based on the latest available statistical data for 2019/2020, which we used to analyse the distribution of international students by research field, level of training and the geographical distribution of the host universities in Hungary. Following the international trends, a significant increase can also be observed within Hungary, in the number of students coming from the East, more exactly from Asian countries including China, Iran, and Turkey. Many students from the neighbouring countries also choose Hungary as their place of study for historical and ethnic reasons. International students studying in Hungary participate in a remarkably high proportion (approximately 30%) in medical and healthcare degree programs. However, with the diversification of programs available in foreign languages the comprehensive universities in the countryside have come to the foreground and now they host the largest number of international students.

Impact of International Student Mobility on Their Entrepreneurial Potential

L’expérience à l’international constitue un enjeu important pour l’insertion professionnelle des jeunes diplômés. Aussi, l’article se focalise-t-il sur l’impact de la mobilité internationale sur le développement des potentialités entrepreneuriales à travers une approche quantitative longitudinale. Les auteurs, en mobilisant une grille de lecture du capital de mobilité internationale et de celle des potentialités entrepreneuriales, montrent qu’il y a une réelle plus-value en termes des composantes de motivations, d’aptitudes et de comportement. De telles plus-values varient suivant les motifs de mobilité et les déterminants personnels. Elles permettent d’envisager l’accompagnement à la mobilité internationale sous l’angle des compétences transversales et entrepreneuriales.

Moving Through and Moving Away

The existence of persistent and entrenched inequalities within the Hungarian education system is revealed in international comparison, thereby highlighting the strong link between students’ socio-economic background and educational outcomes. University entry and progression are patterned on student background, with a lack of systematic and robust support for disadvantaged students. Drawing on two rounds of the Active Youth survey of full-time university students (in 2015 and in 2019), this paper explores the diverse educational and career strategies of young people. After giving an overview of tertiary participation in relation to socio-economic background, it explores the financial experiences of university students, pointing to the related difficulties and mitigation strategies. The paper also looks at future migration plans, including their aim, planned duration, and key push and pull factors. The results point to social closure, along with large differences in student experiences throughout university, with international student mobility remaining the privilege of more advantaged students. The lack of equitable student pathways into, through, and beyond Hungarian higher education correspond to several policy areas. One conclusion is that the financial support system needs to be made more effective through better targeting and the provision of sufficient funding for students in need.

The influence of international mobility programmes on nursing students' personal and professional development

Introduction: Student mobility programmes have become a valuable instrument in student education as they enable the acquisition of essential knowledge, skills and attitudes, and equip the individual more effectively to work in the globalised world. The aim of the study was to examine the impact of international exchange programmes on the personal and professional development of undergraduate nursing students.Methods: A quantitative secondary analysis was conducted. The primary data were collected in 2016 as part of the study entitled International Nursing Student Exchange – Comparison Between Slovene and Foreign Students. The sample in the secondary analysis consisted of 73 nursing students from Slovenia and other European countries. The questionnaire included 20 statements which were rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1-strongly disagree to 5-strongly agree). The data were described on the basis of calculated mean values and the Mann-Whitney U test.Results: On the personal level, students stressed that mobility can improve their self-confidence (Z = –2.088, p = 0.037) and acceptance of other cultures (Z = –3.116, p = 0.002). On the professional level, they highlighted the need to upgrade students' professional competencies (Z = –3.116, p = 0.002), particularly in the field of culturally competent nursing care (Z = –2.391, p = 0.017).Discussion and conclusion: The benefits reported by nursing students seem to show that it is sensible to continue to support and promote international student mobility programmes.