Be prepared for the unexpected: The gap between (im)mobility intentions and subsequent behaviour of recent higher education graduates

Abstract

Research on the relationship between mobility intentions and actual mobility behaviour is scarce. This study analyses the factors explaining the gap between (im)mobility intentions and behaviour of recent higher education graduates in the Euregio Meuse‐Rhine, a cross‐border region spanning the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. The analysis is based on mixed methods, including survey data collected in 2015 and 2017 as well as semistructured interviews to find out more about respondents' personal mobility trajectories and the extent to which their behaviour reflects their actual (im)mobility preferences. The findings indicate that location‐specific capital impacts the probability to realise one's (im)mobility intention, as do other forms of capital, such as previous mobility experience and an internship during the study. Furthermore, personality traits and unexpected events, such as a change in relationship status, influence if respondents realise their initial (im)mobility intention.

Population geography I: Epistemological opportunities of mixed methods

“…Some recent publications are more explicit about epistemology and argue in favour of mixed methods to give power of explanation. Hooijen et al (2020), for example, examine the contradictions in mobility intentions and behaviours for recent higher education graduates taking a realist epistemological approach. They use primary longitudinal survey data combined with semi-structured interviews, complementarily and in triangulation, and suggest ‘a more nuanced understanding’ after adopting mixed methods (2020: 15).…”

Why Do Migrants Stay Unexpectedly? Misperceptions and Implications for Integration

“…van den Berg and Weynandt (2013) …nd that age and the feeling of being disadvantaged because of one's origins contribute to explain the gap between return intentions and actual stay. Hooijen et al (2020) argue that recent university graduates are less likely to realize their intention to leave the region of study if they accumulated location-speci…c capital.…”

Psychological Factors of Youth Emigration Intentions: A Review of International Studies

“…При изучении психологических факторов эмиграционной активности одни зарубежные ученые держат в фокусе внимания разнородные выборки (Andresen, Margenfeld, 2015), другие изучают отдельные возрастные и/или социальные когорты (De Jong, Fonseca, 2020;Hooijen et al, 2020;Remhof et al, 2014;Van Mol, 2016;Williams et al, 2018). Целый пласт исследований в зарубежной психологии посвящен эмиграционным намерениям молодежи (Agadjanian et al, 2008;Begović et al, 2020;Boneva, Frieze, 2001;Bryer et al, 2020;Cairns, Smyth, 2011;Canache et al, 2013;De Jong, Fonseca, 2020;Gajdošová, Orosová, 2019;Hooijen et al, 2020;Marsiglia et al, 2011;Orosová et al, 2018;Paulauskaitė et al, 2010;Remhof et al, 2014;Tartakovsky et al, 2017;Tong et al, 2020 и др.).…”

“…При изучении психологических факторов эмиграционной активности одни зарубежные ученые держат в фокусе внимания разнородные выборки (Andresen, Margenfeld, 2015), другие изучают отдельные возрастные и/или социальные когорты (De Jong, Fonseca, 2020;Hooijen et al, 2020;Remhof et al, 2014;Van Mol, 2016;Williams et al, 2018). Целый пласт исследований в зарубежной психологии посвящен эмиграционным намерениям молодежи (Agadjanian et al, 2008;Begović et al, 2020;Boneva, Frieze, 2001;Bryer et al, 2020;Cairns, Smyth, 2011;Canache et al, 2013;De Jong, Fonseca, 2020;Gajdošová, Orosová, 2019;Hooijen et al, 2020;Marsiglia et al, 2011;Orosová et al, 2018;Paulauskaitė et al, 2010;Remhof et al, 2014;Tartakovsky et al, 2017;Tong et al, 2020 и др.). Такое внимание не случайно и связано с тем, что наибольшее стремление к эмиграции демонстрируют именно молодые образованные люди (Thulin, Vilhelmson, 2016), студенты и выпускники университетов (Bernardini-Zambrini et al, 2011;Gajdošová, Orosová, 2019;Remhof et al, 2014), особенно при переходе от высшего образования к трудоустройству (De Jong, Fonseca, 2020;Hoppe, Fujishiro, 2015;Ossai et al, 2020).…”