Factors influencing international students’ motivation to study in Kazakhstan

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.