The Advantages Of Studying Abroad Education Essay
The development of the society is going towards a globalised world where the social, cultural and traditional differences between people are becoming less distinguishable. One of the key factors which has largely influenced in the development of people’s way of understanding and analysing social and cultural values is education which has taken an important place in the new century. Education is an essential foundation for personal, social and economic success in a globalised economy (OECD 2008). International studies are becoming the new trend of young people as a way to expend their education beyond their traditional education style and their everyday world (Spiering and Ericson 2006). Johnson and Mulholland (2006) consider international education as an opportunity to increase the awareness of the people about the culture of the world which can contribute in creating individuals with a broader understanding of issues concerning today’s society rather than limiting them in the scope of home educational system. In this point of view, studying abroad students gain the opportunity to learn more about world affairs and increase their acceptance of other countries regardless of the differences in culture or language.
Moreover studying in a foreign directly benefits in learning a new language. Pellegrino (1997) argues that study abroad is one of the most effective ways of becoming proficient in a new language. Students who chose to spend a certain amount of time in a country the language they are willing to learn is spoken, have the opportunity to interact with native speakers a fact which would directly influence in the improvement of their linguistic and sociolinguistic skills to achieve real communicative goals, and to experience the tangible and visible manifestations of the culture of the country (Pellegrino 1997). Individuals who have studied abroad in foreign language often demonstrate cognitive development, creative thinking which surpass the abilities of individuals who have educational experiences of their home country only (Kinginger 2007).
One of the reasons why studying abroad is becoming more important nowadays considering the effects of globalization, is the international job market. Qiang (2003) observes that there is a significant increase in the number of recruitments regarding the international workforce due to globalization process which has caused the education system, especially higher education, not to be strictly viewed in the national context. Mpinganjira (2009) analyses that the need of being competitive in the international job market has influenced many students to look to opportunities to enhance their career prospects through acquiring high quality education with qualifications that are recognised worldwide.
OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study is to analyse the advantages of studying abroad from the students point of view and to propose some new ways of thinking for students when evaluating the possibility of studying in a foreign country. The hypothesis to be studied is: students in the Southern and Eastern Europe think that high quality of studies can only be achieved through studying in a Western country. In addition the primary and secondary research will attempt to identify some of the factors that influence in the choice of students regarding their studies.
Some of the major objectives of this study are:
The guiding factors for young people toward choosing a university abroad rather than going in a local university
How important is the financial situation in deciding to study in a foreign university
What role plays the learning a new language in deciding in which university to go
Identify the opinion of students about the influence that a period of studies would have in their personal life and future career
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The research process was divided into two major parts which contributed in the collection and analyze of the data. The first part included secondary data collection from different sources related to the subject of research. Some of this sources are used in the paper in order to explain different facts regarding to the topic. The second part consisted of primary data collection through a survey which was designed in accordance to the characteristics of the population it was intended for (see Appendices Survey). The survey was distributed to young people (high school and college students) in Korca, Albania by e-mail. It resulted in 25 respondents out of 50 actually delivered or 50% response rate. In order to increase the number of respondents the survey was redistributed to students in Perrotis College completing the intended number of respondents, 50.
After the data were collected Microsoft Excel was used in order to organize the data in tables. Afterwards the data were imported to JMP 8 statistical software where the data were analyzed using tables, charts and other statistical analyses figures.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Characteristics of the population
From the analyse of the data using JMP 8 the characteristics of the population were identified. Table 1 contains the full characteristics of the population and the responses retrieved from the survey.
No. of partecipants
Gender
Factors in deciding where to study
Would you go to study abroad
Why foreign university
Advantages of foreign universities
Western Universities offer quality
16
male
Quality
Quality
More opportunities
personal experience
yes
17
male
Quality
Quality
More opportunities
quality of studies
yes
18
male
Quality
Quality
Excellent experience
quality of studies
most likely
19
male
Quality
Quality
Couldn’t study in my country
Language proficiency
yes
20
male
Quality
Quality
Couldn’t study in my country
Language proficiency
yes
21
male
Quality
Quality
Couldn’t study in my country
personal experience
yes
22
male
Quality
Quality
Excellent experience
quality of studies
yes
23
male
Quality
Quality
Excellent experience
quality of studies
yes
24
male
Quality
Quality
Excellent experience
quality of studies
yes
25
male
Quality
Quality
Excellent experience
multicultural experience
most likely
26
male
Quality
Quality
More opportunities
multicultural experience
yes
27
male
Quality
Quality
More opportunities
personal experience
most likely
28
male
Quality
Quality
More opportunities
multicultural experience
most likely
29
male
Quality
Quality
More opportunities
quality of studies
yes
30
male
Cost
Cost
Excellent experience
Language proficiency
yes
31
male
Cost
Cost
Excellent experience
multicultural experience
yes
32
female
Location
Location
Excellent experience
personal experience
yes
33
female
Location
Location
More opportunities
quality of studies
most likely
34
female
Quality
Quality
More opportunities
quality of studies
yes
35
female
Quality
Quality
Excellent experience
quality of studies
yes
36
female
Quality
Quality
More opportunities
multicultural experience
yes
37
female
Location
Location
Couldn’t study in my country
personal experience
yes
38
female
Quality
Quality
Excellent experience
Language proficiency
yes
39
female
Quality
Quality
More opportunities
multicultural experience
most likely
40
female
Cost
Cost
More opportunities
multicultural experience
most likely
Distributions
Age
Age of Respondents
Figure 1
Frequencies
Level
Count
Prob
17 – 18
9
0.18000
18 – 20
11
0.22000
20 – 22
22
0.44000
22 – 24
5
0.10000
above 24
3
0.06000
Total
50
1.00000
N Missing
5 Levels
Figure 1 illustrates the age characteristics of the sample involved in the survey. As it is shown the majority of the respondents belonged in the age group of 20 – 22 years old which corresponds to the first year of college for many countries.
Gender
Distribution of the sample by Gender
Figure 2
Frequencies
Level
Count
Prob
female
19
0.38000
male
31
0.62000
Total
50
1.00000
N Missing
2 Levels
From figure 2 gender characteristics can be understood. The research has been directed to 50 individuals where 62 % or 31 of the respondents were males while 38% or 19 respondents belonged to female gender.
Factors in deciding where to study
Important factors which influence the students when choosing where to study.
Figure 3
Frequencies
Level
Count
Prob
Cost
11
0.22000
Location
3
0.06000
Quality
36
0.72000
Total
50
1.00000
N Missing
3 Levels
The above figure summarises some of the most important factors which influence the young people by the most when making a decision about the university they are going to be attending. As shown the most important factor in student’s opinion, is the quality of studies that a university offers or the fame of the university.
Would you go to study abroad
The student’s willingness to study abroad
Figure 4
Frequencies
Level
Count
Prob
I don’t know
22
0.44000
No
2
0.04000
Yes
26
0.52000
Total
50
1.00000
N Missing
3 Levels
When asked about their willingness to continue their studies in a foreign university 52% of the students answered that they would chose a university outside their home country for their studies while, 44% of them answered that their choice would depend on the characteristic of the universities they would go in their country. This part of the questioned sample would go for studies abroad only if the universities in their country would not offer the preferred characteristics for the students. Only 4% of the students answered that they are not considering at all the possibility of studying in a foreign country.
Why foreign university
Reasons for choosing a foreign university
Figure 5
Frequencies
Level
Count
Prob
Couldn’s study in my country
11
0.22000
Exellent experience
18
0.36000
More opportunities
21
0.42000
Total
50
1.00000
N Missing
3 Levels
The majority of the students think that foreign universities offer more opportunities for their future career, therefore, they would go to study abroad. The other part of the students consider studying abroad as an excellent experience in their lives. On the other hand, the minority of the questioned students would go in a foreign university only if they wouldn’t be able to study in their preferred university in their countries.
Advantages of foreign universities
Advantages of studying abroad
Figure 6
Frequencies
Level
Count
Prob
Linguage proficiency
5
0.10000
multicultural experience
18
0.36000
personal experience
11
0.22000
quality of studies
16
0.32000
Total
50
1.00000
N Missing
4 Levels
Regarding to the advantages that the foreign universities offer compared with studying experiences in the home countries, students are approximately equally divided regarding to what they think are the advantages of studying abroad. 36% of the students consider the multicultural aspect of the studies as the most important factor on studying in a foreign university while 32% emphasise the quality of studies in other countries as the main aspect. Also the possibility of personal experiences and opportunity to know yourself better are very important in student’s evaluation for a university. While the opportunity of learning a new language proficiently is less important.
Financial implications of studies
Student’s opinion about the impact of costs associated with studying abroad
Figure 7
Frequencies
Level
Count
Prob
Agree
14
0.28000
Dissagree
1
0.02000
Don’t know
8
0.16000
Strongly agree
27
0.54000
Total
50
1.00000
N Missing
4 Levels
The biggest part of the students strongly agreed that the cost of studying in a foreign university plays an important role in deciding to go for studies abroad or not.
Western Universities offer quality
Do western universities offer better quality?
Figure 8
Frequencies
Level
Count
Prob
most likely
12
0.24000
yes
38
0.76000
Total
50
1.00000
N Missing
2 Levels
When asked if they think that universities in the Western Europe offer a better quality compared with universities in their own countries, the majority of students, 76% agreed that the universities in the west offer more opportunities for a high quality of studies, while, 24% of them answered that they were not sure on this statement. There were no students to disagree.
Contingency Analysis of Western Universities offer quality By Home Country
Mosaic Plot
Contingency Table
Home Country By Western Universities offer quality
Count
Total %
Col %
Row %
most likely
yes
Albania
6
12.00
50.00
19.35
25
50.00
65.79
80.65
31
62.00
Bulgaria
0.00
0.00
0.00
2
4.00
5.26
100.00
2
4.00
FYROM
3
6.00
25.00
50.00
3
6.00
7.89
50.00
6
12.00
Greece
1
2.00
8.33
12.50
7
14.00
18.42
87.50
8
16.00
Moldova
1
2.00
8.33
50.00
1
2.00
2.63
50.00
2
4.00
Turkey
1
2.00
8.33
100.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1
2.00
12
24.00
38
76.00
50
Tests
N
DF
-LogLike
RSquare (U)
50
5
3.7635068
0.1366
Test
ChiSquare
Prob>ChiSq
Likelihood Ratio
7.527
0.1843
Pearson
7.710
0.1730
Discussion
In the table above can be observed that the model constraint by the hypothesis has a log-likelyhood of 3.763 while the ChiSquare has a non significant p-value of 0.1843.
The hypothesis risen in the beginning that “Student from Eastern and Southern Europe think that high quality of studies can only be achieved through studying in a Western country” is supported by the values given form the contingency analysis. Therefore the hypothesis is accepted.
CONCLUSION
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