Student Migration in Terms of Social and Philosophical Reflection

Introduction. Student migration exists over the whole period of society development and by the second half of the 20th century it is becoming a mass social phenomenon. A constant society complication under influence of information technologies gives student migration other forms. Considering the fact that student migration is a component part of unified educational process, its separate stages make actual differentiation of migrant students mobile behaviour, including localization of living environment, educational institution, educational activities and the interactive nature of training. The objective of the article is to attempt to explicate the phenomenon of student migration in the field of social philosophy, to consider its accompanying positive and negative aspects in the prism of distant context. Materials and Methods. The methodological basis of the study is interdisciplinary approach which allows to distinguish and describe the relationship of the phenomenon under study. Solution of research problems was provided by critical analysis intercomplementary methods and by interpretation of social reality phenomena based on the dialectic idea of removing the one-dimensionality of cognition of the globalizing educational space. The Results. The peculiarity of student migration was revealed consisting in 1) in the restriction of free movement in space; 2) in the forced relocation to the virtual reality of the digital format, which caused the imaginary territorial mobility; 3) in the weakening of direct contact with the host educational environment, leading to dissonance with the existing state of things; 4) in strengthening the cross-border nature of education, which allows to expand international cooperation with different countries. Discussion and Conclusions. Expected effect of student migration distant forms realization consists in a new interpretation of the subject of the universal, changing the attitude to migration. The media resonance that occurs everywhere contributes to the formation of prerequisites for a positive perception of the image of a migrant. Academic mobility caused by today’s modification of reality, was determined by the digitalization megatrend of educational institutions, which affected all aspects of life. Remote technologies have mitigated the problem of migrants’ adaptation to another cultural environment, neutralized the consequences of socio-cultural stress, which is usually experienced by the subject of both external and internal migration. Practical experience of remote forms realization of work with the subject of educational migration has shown the indisputability of universal involvement in the movement to a new type of knowledge production, the most important role in which is played by pragmatic situativeness and the powerful presence of digital environment tools.

The Entangled Infrastructures of International Student Migration: Lessons from Covid-19

The impact of Covid-19 on international student mobility has been noted by policy makers and the media ever since the global lockdowns started in early 2020. However, most of the concerns focus on what the drop in student mobility means for the finances of the countries and educational institutions to which students would have moved; there has been little exploration of the students’ own experiences of Covid-19. This chapter explores the entangled education, migration, and finance infrastructures that shape international student migration and how they failed the students during the pandemic. It draws on questionnaires and interviews conducted with international student migrants from a range of countries and who are registered to study in the UK to point to how migration policies, consular services, educational institutions, and travel industry all affected students. It points to how these components are entangled, and that their failure during the pandemic led to particular forms of immobility and mobility, leaving many students stuck in uncertain and precarious situations. The chapter ends by suggesting that reading the pandemic as an acute unprecedented event is important but inadequate. It is also a window into the everyday failures that the entangled infrastructures of international student mobility posed before Covid-19, how these came to be and who benefited from these infrastructures.

Intranational University Student Mobility: A Case Study of Student Migration and Graduate Retention in Eastern Canada

While international student mobility has received much examination, intranational student mobility is a lesser-studied area. Data shows that residents of the four Easternmost Canadian provinces are more likely to travel outside of their home province to undertake university studies than other Canadians. Beginning in the mid-1990s, Memorial University of Newfoundland experienced a near ten-fold increase in the enrolment of students from the three nearby Maritime provinces. Previous study of this enrolment trend indicated that the increase was partially driven by Memorial’s lower tuition fees. Guided by the conceptual lenses of student choice frameworks, tuition price sensitivity analyses, and student migration studies, this study was carried out to examine the persistence and graduation rates of the 2010 Maritime student cohort, where they resided following their university studies, and factors influencing their decisions to stay or leave Newfoundland and Labrador. This research primarily relied on university administrative records and participant survey responses. The results showed that almost 40% of the 2010 Maritime student cohort had dropped out two years after their initial enrolment at Memorial and by the sixth year, their graduation rate (45%) was far below the overall graduation rate for Canadian students in undergraduate degree programs (74%). In addition, almost 78% of those who were successfully surveyed in autumn 2020 were no longer residing in Newfoundland and Labrador. While there are limitations to the interpretation of the results, they raise important questions about tuition fee polices and their connection (or not) to population growth.

From “Sea Turtles” to “Grassroots Ambassadors”: The Chinese Politics of Outbound Student Migration

International student migration/mobility (ISM) has long come under the spotlight in migration and education studies. Previous research has focused primarily on inbound students in Western host countries, with much less attention on sending countries’ policies. Based on evidence from interviews, ethnography, and policy analysis in China, the world’s largest source country of student migrants, I argue that outbound student migration can be integrated into the home country’s broader diaspora politics to serve economic, governmental, and geopolitical policy objectives. These diverse, sometimes-clashing, interests are predicated upon China’s domestic politics and global positioning. To establish a conceptual bridge between ISM and diaspora studies, I depart from the mobility paradigm’s emphases on neoliberalism and de-regulation and, instead, foreground nation-states’ changing, yet-unabating, interests in regulating and strategizing about overseas students. I find that following decades of prioritizing the economic and governmental impacts of student returnees ( haigui, or colloquially “sea turtles”) in boosting the domestic economy and maintaining political stability, China now attaches growing importance to student migrants’ geopolitical value as “grassroots ambassadors” ( minjian dashi) in expanding China’s global influence and enhancing its national image abroad. This geopolitics-focused national reorientation, however, may not be well received by student migrants themselves or fully implemented by street-level migration bureaucrats. By examining tensions between the central Chinese state, student migrants, and frontline local officials, this article sheds new light on ISM as a dynamic policy arena where state ambitions crosscut individual desires and national grand plans are confronted with flexible local improvisation.

Let me Fly Abroad: Student Migrations in the Context of Nepal

Student migration has been increasing over recent years in Nepal. The increasing numbers of students leave the country to the developed countries for their higher education with the hope of getting practical skills and knowledge and other valuable experiences to enhance their future carrier. This paper intends to explore the motivation, aspirations, and excitements among international students while flying abroad to pursue their higher education from the developed countries. In doing so, we adopted a narrative inquiry assuming that the stories of student mobility and its outcome challenge the educational and employment aspirations of youth in Nepal. The aspirations among international students encourage them to fly abroad due to the expectation of handsome earning and pursuing a foreign degree. Moreover, this paper also highlights the motivation of prospective students and their desire to fly abroad for their academic journey.

Factors of international student migration from Tajikistan to Russia. Case of Northern (Arctic) Federal University

Analyzed is the problem of growing importance of international educational migration, associated not only with the increase in the number of international students, but also with the growing political, economic and cultural influence of educational migration as process. One of the most perspective countries in the sphere of Russian higher education export is the Republic of Tajikistan. The aim of the article is to present the results of study of the factors, that have influenced on student migration from Tajikistan to Russia. The author conducts a survey based on an analysis of key statistical data from the Center for Sociological Research of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, as well as a questionnaire survey, semi-formalized interviews with NArFU students from Tajikistan, as well as participant observation in the framework of professional activities. Within the study information channels about higher education opportunities were analyzed, alternative educational destinations were identified, and an analysis of the factors of student migration to Russia and Russian university (NArFU) was carried out. According to the results of the study, it is found that different factors form student migration in general: the initial interest to study abroad, approved by the family in case of positive experience of relatives, studying abroad, while key factors for studying in Russia include possibility of getting quality education with scholarship support. The decision-making process of choosing the university is influenced by the demand for an educational program, career prospects, university ranking, however, the combination of the factors can vary significantly. The authors consider the importance of the ethno-cultural specifics of the region in analyzing the flows of student migration, as well as during the university activities of developing the export of higher educational programs to Tajikistan.

“I Have to Further My Studies Abroad”: Student Migration in Ghana

The literature on migration intentions of university students and their decisions to travel abroad as student migrants is limited. This article outlines how the thought of student migration is created and nurtured. It investigates how facilitators and/or constraints influence the decision to migrate as students. Using a multi-sited approach, fieldwork in Ghana focused on prospective student migrants, while fieldwork in the Netherlands provided a retrospective perspective among student migrants. Life story interviews were adopted in the collection of data. In the minds of the respondents, there is a clear distinction between the idea of ‘migration’ and the idea of ‘student migration.’ The article concludes that childhood socialization shapes the idea of ‘migration’ that culminates in the thought of ‘student migration.’ Apart from studies, experiencing new cultures and networking are among the notableexpectations that inform the thought of studentmigration. Religiosity categorised as prayers and belonging to religious community is a cultural principle employed to facilitate the fulfilment of student migration intentions. With a shift from the classical economic models of understanding the decision to migrate, this article elucidates the fears, anxiety, joys and perplexities that are embedded in the thought of student migration.

International Student Migration in Finland

There is increasing attention on the retention of international students with many stakeholders desiring to keep international students for long-term economic growth. This study examines the factors affecting international students to stay in Finland five years after initial enrolment with particular focus on the role graduation plays in students staying or leaving. Tracking 11 (years) entering cohorts for five years across national (Finland) data registries, we found evidence of an inverse relationship between graduation, degree type, and the probability of staying; higher the degree level of graduation, the decrease in probability an international student stays. We conclude that while graduation is a key metric and discussion point in national and institutional policy, our findings suggest focusing on improving international students’ ability to integrate into a host country’s labor market and promotion of an environment conducive for international students’ families, more than graduation, would produce higher stay rates of international students.