Pathway from vocational education and associate degree to higher education: Chinese international students in Australia

Abstract

Understanding factors influencing international students' decision to engage in international education is essential for education providers to better cater for students' educational expectations and enhance their attractiveness to international students. Whilst there has been extensive research on the reasons why international students undertake cross-border higher education, international students' motivations for enrolling in vocational education and associate degree programmes are still underresearched. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 30 international students from China, this research found that pathway to higher education appears to be the most important factor motivating international students to undertake vocational education and associate degree programmes. In addition, prospect of immigration, English language proficiency, previous academic performance, agent's recommendations and relatives' and friends' advice are amongst the important factors that students take into account in their decision to choose vocational education and associate degree programmes. This research also examines why Chinese international students have chosen vocational education programmes in a dual-sector university over vocational education colleges. It found that the flexibility to articulate to higher education, international reputation of the programme, practical training and favourable location are key issues that these students draw on when making their decision to study in a dual-sector university.

Mobility as ‘becoming’: a Bourdieuian analysis of the factors shaping international student mobility

“…This participant's observation is supported by the World Bank (2012) report, which establishes that one of the critical problems facing East Asian countries is the disconnection between the education system and the labour market, with the paradox of a high unemployment rate among university graduates and unfilled positions in trades. Yet, despite this paradox, the main obstacle to vocational education choice seems to be associated with parents' attitudes towards vocational credentials or the social stigma associated with the image of vocational education and trades in many countries (Cao and Tran 2014;Kingston 2008). Based on a study with employers and parents in both developed and developing countries, Kingston (2008) found that many parents do not appear to support their children's pursuit of vocational education; instead, an academic route is more favoured.…”

“…The growing wealth and size of the middle class in a number of primary source countries, including China, India and Vietnam, is one of the important drivers of international student mobility. Pursuing international education can be a solution for children of middle-class families who fail to secure tertiary places in their home countries due to the gap between demand and supply in tertiary education (Cao and Tran 2014). In Vietnam, for example, the number of students who registered for kỳ thi đại học (the national higher education entrance examination) reached 1.8 million in 2012 (VnExpress 2012).…”

Factors for Chinese Students Choosing Australian Higher Education and Motivation for Returning: A Systematic Review

“…Academic requirement and attainments Xiao (2013) McCrohon and Nyland (2018) Y. Wang (2013) L. Cao and Tran (2015) J. Wu (2012) He (2017) Miao ( Australia can acquire knowledge, including job market information and entrepreneurial endeavor.…”

“…Wang, 2013). Although Australian higher education has relatively low entry requirements, Australia has abundant qualified education recourses (L. Cao & Tran, 2015). Looking into various university rankings, Australia has the third largest number of top universities, following the United States and the United Kingdom, indicating that Australian universities have good academic reputation in the world (Mazzarol, Soutar, Smart, & Choo, 2001;McCrohon & Nyland, 2018;C.…”

“…Due to its perceived academic reputation (Iannelli & Huang, 2013), Australia is a popular study destination for Chinese students. Many Chinese students also choose Australian vocational education as their educational pathway (L. Cao & Tran, 2015). Although Australian higher education is endowed with good reputation, Chinese students acquire less knowledge and have less satisfactory study experiencing in Australia than expected (McCrohon & Nyland, 2018).…”