The Academic Mobility of Students from Kazakhstan to Japan: Problems and Prospects

Abstract

Background: Despite the internationalization of higher education (IoHE) in Kazakhstan and it being among the top 15 countries sending students abroad, the level of student mobility between Kazakhstan and Japan and factors influencing it have not been well analyzed. Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore outgoing student mobility from Kazakhstan to Japan and the reasons underlining this situation. Methods: A descriptive study, involving a literature review and an analysis of data from the two largest universities in Kazakhstan together with those from the Bolashak international scholarship scheme, was performed. Results: The analysis suggested that outgoing student mobility from Kazakhstan to Japan remains at a stable but low level. The mobility of students is mainly a matter of the initiative of universities or the students themselves. The main reasons are the dependence of the policy of the IoHE on the foreign policy of Kazakhstan; the low level of pull factors for students such as affordability, recommendations from acquaintances, or lack of awareness about the country; and absence of a supportive legislative basis for the development of cooperation on higher education between the two countries. Conclusion: Given the areas of common interest economically and politically between Kazakhstan and Japan, there is potential for significantly more student mobility than there is at present.

Students’ readiness for international academic mobility programs: Evidence from Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNUHCM

“…Khramova et al (2013) state that international academic mobility goes with a number of problems associated with its realization such as: development and implementation of individual educational trajectories, creation and development of joint educational programs of several institutions of higher education, sources and mechanisms of financing, status, rules of distribution and recognition of documents, the language of teaching and academic communication. Having similar concerns, in a recent paper by Rustemova et al (2020) one of the most important pull factors influencing the decision-making of international academic mobility programs reported is cost, including accommodation, tuition, travel, etc. Besides, affordability, recommendations from acquaintances, or lack of awareness about the country; and absence of a supportive legislative basis for the development of cooperation on higher education between the two countries are among the obstacles that prevent institutions from establishing international cooperation and implement academic mobility programs (Rustemova et al, 2020).…”

“…Having similar concerns, in a recent paper by Rustemova et al (2020) one of the most important pull factors influencing the decision-making of international academic mobility programs reported is cost, including accommodation, tuition, travel, etc. Besides, affordability, recommendations from acquaintances, or lack of awareness about the country; and absence of a supportive legislative basis for the development of cooperation on higher education between the two countries are among the obstacles that prevent institutions from establishing international cooperation and implement academic mobility programs (Rustemova et al, 2020). In addition to this, Monastyrskaya and Medvedeva (2019) studied this issue and their results showed that the main factors that limit international academic mobility include a high competition to participate in the programs (23.1%), need for extra self-financing (21.4%), insufficiency of information about programs (17.8%).…”

“…Firstly, in terms of obstacles, the main factor that prevents the faculty from operating international academic mobility programs is the limited budget. This was also mentioned in Albuquerque (2013), Khramova et al (2013), Monastyrskaya andMedvedeva (2019), andRustemova et al (2020). Because of this hindering factor, though faculties and students in many institutions are well aware of the values of international academic mobility, not many of them can make the programs work.…”

“…Over the past decades, academic mobility has been commonly known as the most critical dimension in the internationalisation of higher education (Iosava, 2019), and the number of students and academic staff participating in academic mobility programs has increased rapidly (Maadad & Tight, 2014;Rustemova, Meirmanov, Okada, Ashinova, & Rustem, 2020;Siekierski, Lima, Borini, & Pereira, 2018). Academic mobility is known as a growing phenomenon that goes with a source of knowledge creation and brain circulation all over the (Albuquerque, 2013).…”

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“…Вызывают интерес более точечные исследования, так, например, студенческую мобильность между странами, в особенности между Казахстаном и Японией рассмотрели в своей статье (Rustemova et al, 2020). Они показали, что исходящая студенческая мобильность из Казахстана в Японию остается на стабильном, но низком уровне.…”