Factors influencing international students’ motivation to study in Kazakhstan
Loading...
Date
2019-06
Authors
Ibragimova, Botagoz
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education
Abstract
This research studies the motivation of international students to study in
Kazakhstan in order to identify the factors influencing their choice of Kazakhstan as a
study destination. It seeks to explain why international students decide to come to
Kazakhstan to pursue higher education, to identify the factors that influenced their choice
and to present possible suggestions to the government and higher education institutions for
the development of international student mobility in Kazakhstan.
The Synthesis Model (Chen, 2007) is used as a theoretical framework to examine
international students’ decision-making process and to explore the factors that affect their
choice to study in Kazakhstan. A mixed method research design is conducted by using an
online survey tool and face to face interviews. The research sample is composed of 98 fulltime
degree international students who are currently enrolled at universities in Kazakhstan;
98 participants for the online survey and 7 participants for the interview.
This research reveals that both push and pull factors with a slight difference play a
significant role in international students’ decision to study in Kazakhstan. However, the
overall decision to study abroad is influenced by the push factors while the choice of
studying in Kazakhstan is influenced particularly by the pull factors.
This study provides significant implications for the government of Kazakhstan and
its higher education institutions by means of which they should focus more on
Kazakhstan’s strong points and to apply marketing approaches or internationalization of
education for recruiting international students.
Description
Keywords
Higher education, International student, International student mobility, Push and pull factors, Kazakhstan, Research Subject Categories::SOCIAL SCIENCES::Social sciences::Education
Citation
Ibragimova, B. (2019). Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education, Nur-Sultan