“Underlining Factors in Deciding to Pursue Australian Higher Education in Singapore” – An International Students’ Perspective

摘要

The international demand for tertiary education has grown tremendously as enrolment increased from a mere 6.5 million in 1950 to 88 million in 2000 (Larsen & Vincent-Lancrin, 2002). Boehm et al (2002) predicted that by 2025, there will be 7 million students studying overseas compared to 1.4 million in the early 1990s. This research focus on identifying the underlying factors influencing the decision of students from China and India to pursue tertiary education at Australian institutes of higher education located in Singapore. The study expands the six factor model (Mazzarol, 1997) by incorporating variables relevant to Asian context. The research design adopts a mixed method approach in a survey of the literature and online survey of students from India and China. The findings include a statistical analysis of factors and considerations influencing the decision of these students, the role of education services agents in their home country and a discussion on the conceptual framework of the evoked set of factors influencing the decision of an international student. The study makes important recommendations to stakeholders in higher education sector in Asia-Pacific region.