Student destination choices in international education: exploring students' attitudes to study abroad

Abstract

In the context of increased cross-border education (Knight 2004, 2006, 2009), there is a growing body of literature about international student destination choice (Bodycott, 2009; Li and Bray, 2007; Mazzarol and Soutar, 2002; Padlee, Kamaruddin and Baharun, 2010; Wilkins and Huisman, 2011) including the push and pull model of international student choice (Mazzarol and Soutar, 2002). Furthermore, specific studies explore factors influencing the students' choice such as personal reasons, perceived educational benefits, quality of teaching, finances, culture and social perceptions (Cubillo, Sanchez and Cervino, 2006; Chen, 2007). Most studies are concerned with the movement of students from East to West with a slowly growing body of research about students moving from West to East. This paper reports the results of a mixed method research project to investigate the barriers and enabling factors involved in Brazilian students' decision making to study in the United Kingdom, as an example of the new movement of students supported by government initiatives. A number of perceived barriers are identified, such as the cost, and negative past relationships. Developing positive relationships with Brazilian institutions, promoting a contemporary view of life in the UK and addressing the misheld perception of the cost of study may help enhance an interest among the Brazilian students in studying in the UK.