Abstract:

With the increase in globalisation over the past decades, the Higher education (HE) sector has become highly competitive [1]. Moreover, with this intensifying competition, success in acquiring and retaining international students will depend on the ability of a country and/or institution to understand and respond to the needs of the market [2]. On the other hand, China is the largest source of overseas students in the world [3]. More than 600 thousand Chinese students left the country to pursue advanced studies overseas in 2017, with an increase of about 12% compared to 2016 [4].

Despite the number of Chinese HE students choosing to study in Spanish institutions growing considerably every year - more than 8.000 Chinese HE students were studying in Spain in 2017, 21% more than the previous year,– literature is scanty in research on this topic.
With this in mind, we have designed a research project aiming at identifying the key factors influencing Chinese students when deciding whether to study in Spanish HE institutions. The final goal of this study is to shed light on how and why Chinese students choose HE institutions.

A mixed methods approach was employed, including both qualitative (9 in-depth interviews were carried out among 8 Chinese HE students in Spain and one service agent assisting Chinese students in applying to Spanish institutions) and quantitative (a survey answered by 305 Chinese students currently studying in Spanish HE institutions). Most of the respondents (66%) were studying for a master degree.

Consistent with the literature [5], results show that the key factors influencing Chinese students’ decisions to study in Spanish HE institutions can be grouped into Pull and Push factors. The most relevant Pull factors for Chinese students are: social issues, such as the difficult entrance exams for postgraduate education in China and the recommendation from others to go abroad, and personal issues, such as the search for an international experience and career prospect issues, together with the willingness to learn or improve a foreign language. With regard to Push factors, it is worth highlighting country image related reasons, such as cost, low visa barriers, a safe environment and low enrolment requirements, as well as the Institution image qualification being recognised by the Education Ministry in China.

Results show that Chinese HE students aiming to go abroad first choose which country to go to (driven by a comfortable environment, climate and affordable costs, together with the charm of learning the language), and then the institution. When choosing the institution, Chinese language support during the application procedure is considered helpful. In brief, the study concludes that Chinese HE students are “pushed” rather than “pulled” to study in Spain, and, thus, we conclude that HE institutions around the world could do more to attract Chinese students.

References:
[1] N. V Varghese, 2015 Challenges of massification of higher education in India.
[2] M. Mpinganjira, 2009 Comparative analysis of factors influencing the decision to study abroad. African J. Bus. Manag.
[3] P. Bodycott, 2009. Choosing a higher education study abroad destination.
[4] Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. http://en.moe.gov.cn/
[5] Tim Mazzarol; Geoffrey Soutar, “Push-pull” factors influencing international student destination choice. Emerald Insight, Int. J. Educ. Manag. 2002.

Keywords:

High Education, Globalisation, Chinese Students.