The effect of tuition fees on student mobility: the UK and Ireland as a natural experiment

We exploit changes in student funding policies across the four UK nations and the Republic of Ireland to conduct a natural experiment investigating the marginal effect of differing tuition fee levels on students' enrolment behaviour. Whilst previous international research suggests increases in fees suppress demand and disincentivise cross‐border educational migration, some studies in North America and Germany find an element of inelasticity of demand. In the UK, various commentators have predicted marked shifts in student mobility in response to variation in tuition fee prices by country, trends expected to sharpen following substantial planned rises in tuition fees from 2012. After outlining tuition fee policies in the UK and Ireland, we analyse data on student enrolment destinations across the five countries for the period 2000–2010. We find little evidence to support the notion that student mobility is driven by economic ‘rationality’. Enrolment rates have risen despite increases in tuition fees and there is a long‐term trend for students to stay at home. Students seem not to be ‘pushed’ out‐of‐country by higher fees, but may be discouraged from moving if fees are lower in‐country. Student mobility within the UK and Ireland follows well‐worn paths from and to specific countries and institutions. Finally, we consider the implications of our findings for student mobility in general and forthcoming changes to UK student funding policies in particular.     

Performing mundane materiality: Actor-Network Theory,global student mobility and a re/formation of ‘social capital’

ABSTRACT

Social capital is a puzzling actor; made real by its allies. It has been ‘out-there’ in the form of scientific publications for decades. Although some characteristics are common to all elaborations of this theory (networks, trust, and norms), there remains confusion in determining a ‘coherent concept’ of social capital. In this paper, we make use of such ‘incoherence gap’ to open an experimental theoretical and, subsequently, analytical space. Based on empirical research with mobile students and assemblages of non-human actors, the paper offers two investigative gatherings. First, the Bourdieusian approach to ‘social capital’ is discussed, allowing relational ontologies to enter the scene. Second, consideration is given to issues of performativity and the relevance of materiality for empirical social capital investigations. Despite the degree of ontological security social capital has managed to achieve, we question the disregard for the performative role of non-human entities in the context of global student mobility.     

Beyond competition: a comparative review of conceptual approaches to international student mobility

The existing literature offers an instrumentalist approach that focuses on how economic rationality underlies international student mobility (ISM). In response to these instrumentalist accounts, a critical approach emerges and reemphasises the importance of humanity and human rights in ISM and the process of internationalisation of higher education. However, this paper argues that these critical perspectives are insufficient to address the non-instrumental values of ISM. To address this argument, the paper uses the capability approach to reframe the meanings of ISM, thereby broadening the conceptual approaches to this aspect of internationalisation of higher education. Specifically, the paper suggests that international mobility is a way to promote individual freedom. On the conceptual basis of the capability approach, the paper identifies three interrelated orientations for future research on the impact of mobility on international students.     

What PISA and ASPIRES studies tell us about the nuanced influence of cultural capital on student learning: Construct complexity,student outcomes and contexts

This article juxtaposes the evolving scholarship investigating the influence of cultural capital on student learning and the developing trajectory of sociologists employing quantitative research methods. It critically reviews results from 34 studies analysing PISA or ASPIRES data to generate three key insights demonstrating complexities in relationships between cultural capital and student outcomes. First, cultural capital is a complex construct with many variables (different forms of cultural capital, highbrow/non-highbrow cultural capital) varying in their association with student literacy and parents’ cultural capital affecting student literacy both directly and indirectly. Second, the influence of cultural capital may vary with types of student outcomes measured. Specifically, there are cultural variables associated with student literacy in different subjects, some cultural capital variables are more important for student literacy for a subject, and cultural capital influences student aspirations in addition to their literacy. Third, the influence of cultural capital on student literacy may vary with educational and social contexts. Cultural capital is more important in decentralised education systems, in low-achieving schools within differentiated education systems, in higher-quality schools and in more unequal, developed societies. In contrast, it matters less in high-achieving and standardised education systems, and in societies valuing education. Given the complexity in cultural capital, future research can ascertain how each cultural capital variable contributes to student learning and compare their effectiveness. It is also important to identify which cultural capital variables matter for specific student outcomes. Lastly, these insights highlight the need to recognise contextual differences in studies of social inequality.     

Student needs and motives when attending a university: exploring the Syrian case

This paper aims at exploring student needs and motives to pursue higher education in Syria. Based on the model of student buyer behavior developed by Kotler and Fox in 1995, the study focuses on the first step of this model, so-called motives. The study results are based on qualitative data collected by means of semi-structured styles of interviews with 30 current students at three higher education institutions in Syria in the summer of 2010.The study reveals three dimensions of needs and motives. These are: Self needs and motives; Social needs and motives, and Souk (market) needs and motives. Accordingly, several detailed explanations for each dimension concluded from the study are presented. The findings reveal that the three dimensions are important for university students in Syria when attending universities. People responsible for marketing in higher education institutions need to pay attention to understand their students' motives when designing their customer-oriented marketing strategies. Study programs at universities could be designed to better satisfy such needs and motives. This study could provide bases for further research through a replication of the model using the information offered by the survey. Further research could investigate the research questions in a wider student population employing a quantitative approach. The importance of this study comes from the classification of needs and motives into a three-Ss model (Self, Society and Souk). The study also shows originality into understanding motives of Syrian students in attending certain universities in particular.     

The transnational in-between identity of Chinese student returnees from the UK: Mobility,variations and pathways

Considering the rising tide of international student return mobility, the UK needs to pay attention to the long-term circulation and development of international student returnees. This study analyses the mobility, variations and pathways of the transnational in-between identity of Chinese student returnees from the UK, an under-researched group in the changing dynamics of international student mobility. This longitudinal study uses original data from 48 semi-structured interviews to show how student returnees’ identities change over time in transnational sociocultural contexts. This study develops a spider chart comprising multiple manifestations of transnational selves to account for returnees’ intermediary and heterogeneous states of transnational in-between identities. Based on the empirical evidence, the study finds that transnational in-between identity is characterised by a ‘self-in-between mobility’, seeking compromises and connections between the polar extremes of essentialist and non-essentialist approaches to identity. In such an identification process, the changing dynamics of agency play a pivotal role in (re)shaping multiple identity pathways as variegated temporal outcomes of mobility. The findings not only advance the theoretical and methodological constructs of identity, but also have implications for relevant concerns in international education.     

Qualitative sampling in research on international student mobility: insights from the field in Germany1

ABSTRACT

Although over the past decades the numbers of studies investigating international student mobility and migration (ISM) increased, methodological challenges in empirical research on the topic have remained mainly unaddressed. This is particularly the case for sampling, which is a crucial but often less considered part of qualitative research designs. In this article, we identify three main challenges in qualitative sampling for research into ISM: time, space and international students’ heterogeneities. In addressing those challenges, we theoretically discuss their implications and give empirical examples drawing on our research experiences. We argue for a more reflexive research procedure in studying educational mobility.     

The mediating role of cultural capital in the relationship between socioeconomic status and student achievement in 14 economies

More empirical evidence is needed to answer the question of in what way a family's socioeconomic status (SES) affects student academic achievement, so this study explores the mediating role of cultural capital (CC) in the relationship between SES and student achievement, using the latest approach to testing mediating effects. The data sets from 14 economies in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009 were analysed. In general, the results supported the mediation effects of CC, and the mean of ratios of mediation effects to total effects was 23%. For the three frequently used indices of SES, parents’ occupations and education levels had larger impacts on student literacies than did family wealth possession. For most economies, objectified cultural capital (OCC) can explain the effects of all three SES indices on student literacies, but embodied cultural capital (ECC) can only explain the effects of parents’ occupations and education levels on student literacies. Whether for reading literacy, science literacy or mathematics literacy, CC theory is applicable in most economies. However, the mediating effects on reading and science literacies were higher than those on mathematics literacy. For different economies, the explanatory power of CC theory was also different.     

The duty to succeed: honor versus happiness in college and career choices of East Asian students in the United States

To better understand factors underlying educational and career choices, this study used both survey data from an online networking tool and data collected in college classrooms to gauge differences between Asians (primarily Korean) and white students in the United States. More Asians (41%) than whites (9%) prioritized prestige over happiness, while more white students (67%) than Asian‐American students (28%) deemed happiness as paramount in selecting a college. When assessing their parents, more Asian Americans thought their mothers (51%) and fathers (34%) emphasized prestige in choosing a college than white mothers (9%) and fathers (17%). In addition, Asian parents were assessed as much more prone to stress the importance of financial independence in career selection while white parents were perceived as prioritizing career enjoyment. Certain parenting techniques were much more common among Asians, such as reminding children of parental sacrifices made for the next generation, teaching them that academic performance is a matter of family honor and prodding academic success by comparing their accomplishments with those of children of family and friends. These findings may reflect a conscious strategy to overcome racial discrimination if education is seen as the primary path to upward social mobility. Awareness of the social and emotional cost of the staunch emphasis on the duty to succeed is important for those involved in educating and providing career counseling for college students with an Asian family background. Acknowledgement of pressure to honor parental expectations of narrowly defined acceptable academic and career achievement should be a part of counseling sessions that might otherwise focus exclusively on individual aspirations without due recognition of an interdependent, collectivistic orientation where upholding family expectations is integral to perceived success.     

中国高等教育财政经费来源的变迁:国家财政经费与个人学杂费关系的实证研究

本文利用统计数据对国家财政经费与个人学杂费变化状况、高等教育经费弹性系数和个人负担率进行了计算分析,在此基础上建立自回归模型对2010年的国家财政经费与个人学杂费进行了预测研究,获得的研究结论是:中国的高等教育成本分担政策已经快速实现,国家财政经费比重显著降低,个人学杂费所占比重较快地增加;人均高等教育经费在1999年之前保持增长,1999年之后呈现稳中趋降;个人及其家庭的财政贡献增长速度远远大于政府财政贡献的增长速度,也意味着个人及其家庭对高等教育的经济负担大大加重;今后一段时间内高等教育财政需求面临相当大的压力和隐忧。建议控制高等教育规模的过快扩张,关注生均教育财政指标变化状况,实现高等教育财政来源的更加多样化。     

International students in transnational mobility: intercultural connectedness with domestic and international peers,institutions and the wider community

International students’ connectedness with their peers, institutions and the broader community significantly affects their learning and wellbeing. It is important to understand their multiple desires for intercultural connectedness in order to nurture it. This paper analyses the motives and nature of international students’ intercultural connectedness. It is based on a study that includes more than 150 interviews and fieldwork with international students and staff from 25 vocational education colleges in Australia. Drawing on Blumer’s symbolic interactionism theory as a conceptual framework, the study found international students’ motivation to engage in intercultural connectedness is linked to not only their desire for respect and recognition for intellectual, cultural and linguistic capacities and diversities but also for employment aspirations. The research shows various dimensions in which intercultural engagement is seen to encompass not only empathy, sociability and equity but also employability. The findings suggest meaningful interaction is essentially bound to reciprocal learning.     

Caught in the triangle of mobility: social,residential and pupil mobility

This article examines the school choices of families who have recently experienced downward mobility during the economic crisis in Spain. Based on semi-structured interviews we analyse the educational strategies of the families in a Bourdieusian framework, focusing on how they cope with the loss of their perceived social status. Prior to the crisis, these families of working-class origin improved their social position as a result of their success in economic capital accumulation with a humble increase in social and cultural capital. Our research suggests that the concerns of families confronted with downward social mobility are manifested in tensions related to their school choice in terms of their strategies of resistance and negotiation with regards to the ownership, social composition and corresponding perceived quality of the school. School can symbolically represent the last resort, an indispensable investment in one’s own future and that of the next generation.     

International study in the global south: linking institutional,staff, student and knowledge mobilities

ABSTRACT

The international mobility of institutions, staff, students and knowledge resources such as books and study materials has usually been studied separately. This paper, for the first time, brings these different forms of knowledge mobilities together. Through a historical analysis of South African higher education alongside results from a quantitative survey of academic staff in three international branch campuses in South Africa, the paper suggests three things. First, it points to the importance of regional education hubs in the global South and their role in South–South staff and student mobilities. Second, it points to the importance of reading these mobilities as outcomes of historically attuned policymaking – educational, migratory and political. Finally, the paper points to the theoretical possibilities that arise by bringing institutional, staff, student and knowledge resource mobilities in place and suggests new avenues for further research.     

Cultural capital: strengths,weaknesses and two advancements

In this paper I discuss two weaknesses in Bourdieu’s work on cultural capital, both of which are related to his integration of the multidimensional nature of social space in different domains of life: social mobility, lifestyle differentiation, and political orientation. First, there is an anomaly between the work on social mobility and on lifestyles. Multiple dimensions of social origin (cultural and economic capital) are related to uni‐dimensional outcomes (e.g. schooling levels), whereas it would be more appropriate to study multidimensional schooling outcomes too. Secondly, although Bourdieu sees a close resemblance in the type of resources affecting lifestyle preferences and political orientations, I argue that these outcomes are affected by two different types of resources: cultural and communicative resources. Proposals for progress, including a review of the empirical results supporting these, are given.     

Learning (abroad) mobility in the European Union: A comparison of youth in and out of higher education

In the European Union (EU) context, learning abroad mobility (LAM) also includes non-formal learning activities. Young people can participate in LAM whether they are in tertiary education or not. Nevertheless, studies focusing on the participation of out-of-higher-education (Out-HE) youth in LAM are often scarce. The current study aims to explore the role of several sociodemographic factors in participation in LAM among Out-HE youth, based on the analysis of a large-scale survey conducted across EU member countries. Findings show that Out-HE youth is less likely to participate in LAM than the youth in higher education as expected. However, some socioeconomic factors, such as gender and age, play different roles among Out-HE youth and the youth in higher education in old (EU15) and new member countries (NMS) of the EU.     

Insights gained from a comparison of South African and Canadian first-generation students: the impact of resilience and resourcefulness on higher education success

ABSTRACT

First-generation students are often described as disadvantaged in university adjustment, self-efficacy and grades. Yet this deficit model of understanding first-generation students ignores their cultural capital, which could increase resilience and resourcefulness. Here, 844 students (31% first-generation) in South Africa and Canada completed measures of resilience, resourcefulness, university adjustment, academic self-efficacy and self-reported grades. Overall, the results reveal that the characterisation of first-generation students is culturally specific and, in some ways, differs between Canada and South Africa. That is, the deficit model may better describe Canadian than South African first-generation students. Yet, in many ways first-generation students are like their peers and their academic outcomes are predicted by their culturally specific levels of resourcefulness and resilience. This study support the notion that the positives students bring to university should be considered and that students would benefit from being taught the requisite skills involved in increasing resourcefulness and resilience.     

What lies beneath: exploring the deeper purposes of feedback on student writing through considering disciplinary knowledge and knowers

Feedback plays an integral role in students’ learning and development, as it is often the only personal communication that students have with tutors or lecturers about their own work. Yet, in spite of its integral role in student learning, there is disagreement between how students and tutors or lecturers perceive the pedagogic purpose of feedback. Central to this disagreement is the role that feedback has to play in ensuring that students produce the ‘right’ kinds of knowledge, and become the ‘right’ kinds of knowers within their disciplines. This paper argues that, in order to find common ground between students and tutors or lecturers on what feedback is for, and how to both give and use it effectively, we need to conceptualise disciplinary knowledge and knowers anew. We offer, as a useful starting point, the Specialisation dimension of Legitimation Code Theory as both practical theory and methodological tool for exploring knowledge and knowers in English Studies and Law as two illustrative cases. The paper concludes that this analysis offers lecturers and tutors a fresh understanding of the disciplinary knowledge and knower structures they work within and, relatedly, a clearer view of the work their feedback needs to do within these.     

The meaning of student engagement and disengagement in the classroom context: lessons from organisational behaviour

Despite the popularity of student engagement and, by association, student disengagement, the academic literature is unclear about the meaning of these terms. This review extends existing conceptual studies of student engagement by offering clear definitions and conceptualisations of both student engagement and disengagement in the classroom context. To develop these conceptualisations, the present review draws upon organisational behaviour theory on work engagement and disengagement because the literature in this discipline is notably more refined than in educational research. Using an organisational behaviour backdrop, student engagement and disengagement are defined by the degree of students’ activation and pleasure. In order to operationalise student engagement, measures that are aligned with the proposed conceptualisation are recommended. Recommendations are also suggested for the development of a measure of student disengagement. The proposed measurement of student engagement and disengagement should provide a unified direction for future empirical research on these topics.     

Sport,Homelessness, and Capability: Voices from the Street

ABSTRACT

To what extent does soccer increase the capability of the homeless and those living on the street? This study addresses this question by focusing on the ways in which the Homeless World Cup and Street Soccer (Scotland) have impacted upon the lives of some individuals. Primary source data obtained from a series of interviews are situated within Sen’s capability approach to social choice theory. The implications of the study contribute to policy by supporting the idea that sport can contribute as a resource of hope through the development of capability that impacts upon life chances and choices. It adds to a growing number of applied studies of sport that have critically used the work of Sen and it advances the way in which this body of work has been utilized in sport and related areas.     

Calculating student aspiration: Bourdieu,spatiality and the politics of recognition

This paper reports on a recent study of aspirations for higher education by secondary school students from disadvantaged backgrounds in regional Australia. At the same time, it goes in search of explanations that transcend a Bourdieuian account of aspirations as produced by and reproductive of cultural histories and dominance, given the apparent inadequacy of these accounts in redressing disadvantage. To this end the authors distinguish between historicising and spatialising aspirations, taking up Appadurai’s notion of navigational capacity as a way of advancing greater agency for disadvantaged groups. Data from the research inform the analysis, including the mediation of students’ desired futures by their perception of what is possible given their differentiated locations and access to resources. It is concluded that while this spatial turn in theorising aspiration has potential for changing the terms of recognition internal to disadvantaged communities, there remain structural limits on change ‘from below’.