Student mobility reviewed: attraction and satisfaction of international students in Turkey

Abstract

Building on international migration theories and the literature on the dynamics of student mobility, this study sketches a two-dimensional framework and examines its utility to understand the rationales of in-bounding student mobility in Turkey. The empirical part of the study was conducted with 331 international students studying in public universities of Turkey. The results suggest that private rationales are prominent for students coming from Western and economically developed countries. In contrast, economic and academic rationales are prominent for students coming from Eastern and economically developing countries. The study suggests three insights which are instrumental in re-interpreting the position of the countries in the periphery in international student mobility. First, the nature of cultural, political, and historical proximity between home and host countries determines the size and direction of in-flowing student mobility in economically developing countries. Second, for developing countries pre-departure pulling rationales at private level are more prominent than public rationales. Third, despite the general trend that student mobility flows from economically less developed toward economically developed countries, this study suggests that in the periphery there are regional hubs attracting students largely originating from other countries of the periphery.

Turkish University Students' Perceptions towards Their Syrian Classmates

“…The internationalization of higher education has recently been on the agenda of both international (De Wit, 2002;Altbach, 2007, Knight, 2015 and national (Kondakçı, 2011;Erdoğan, 2014aErdoğan, ,2014bErgin, 2015) researchers. Although it does not have a definition agreed by all the researchers, it can be defined as "internationalization at the national/sector/institutional levels is the process of integrating an international, intercultural or global dimension into the purpose, functions or delivery of higher education at the institutional and national levels" (Knight, 2008, p. 21).…”

Regional, continental, and global mobility to an emerging economy: the case of South Africa

“…This widely cited framework has proven useful in explaining global mobility, particularly to the most resourced countries in the West, but does not fully capture the emerging growth of regional mobility taking place in other parts of the world. With such broadening of international destinations, many have worked to draw attention to the role of less-studied countries or regions (e.g., Kondakci 2011;LeeandKim 2010;Liand Bray 2007;McMahon 1992;Sehoole 2011). …”

“…There has also been an emerging and significant body of research that differentiates educational migration from the perspective of non-Western and economically developing countries (Cantwell et al 2009;Kondakci 2011). Previous research has also shown that the motivations for and experiences of those migrating to nearby versus distant countries reportedly differ.…”

“…They found that international students from North America and Europe frequently sought short-term international study in Mexico for reasons related to learning about its culture; in contrast, Latin Americans were more oriented toward the intention of obtaining a degree in the country. Kondakci (2011) correspondingly found that students from developing countries chose to study in Turkey, rather than in western countries, for financial and aca-demic quality reasons. Similar findings held true in a case study of international students in South Korea.…”

Key Determinants of Satisfaction among International Business Students in Regional Context

“…Kondakci (2011) argued that the satisfaction of international students with universities abroad is affected by different factors related to the country of origin. In this study, the majority of participants were young, with little experience, having lived in non-democratic countries, and raised and educated in a different value system.…”