Monash Centre for Research in International Education

Monash University, Australia

1. INTRODUCTION

There are many psychological and sociological factors that influence the choice of international education. Among those factors, normative referents have long been recognised as one of the major factors that influence international students’ decision-making processes. Park and Lessig (1977) described family and other non-family groups as normative referents who provide the individual with norms, attitudes, and values through direct interaction. Normative referents allow for a significance amount of interaction that impact on individual’s choice (Bearden and Etzel 1982). Previous studies on choice of education by local students (i.e. David and Ribben 1994; Browne, Kaldenberg, and Browne 1998) and specific groups of Asian international students (i.e. Andressen 1994; Lawley 1993) confirmed that social reference groups could influence education choice. They also affect persistence in higher education.

Although normative referent is important, and are likely to be influential in international students’ education choice processes, the nature and extent of their involvement or influence on student’s choices has been examined in only a few studies. This failure to allow for the influence of normative referents, and to measure how they influence student’s choice process, has resulted in the development of a rather limited picture of the influence of normative referents on the choice of international education.

 

 

 

 

2. METHODOLOGY

This study is designed as a two-stage study. The first stage aims to determine the influential persons, and to acquire fundamental knowledge about the choice- making process for Thai students in international education. Initially, the unstructured interview with 21 Thai students was conducted as the method for the preliminary study because it allows respondents the freedom to express any views that may provide the researcher with rich insights (Malholtra, Hall, Shaw, and Crisp 1996). Then, the focus group interviews of three groups of Thai students were conducted to further analyse the research problems, and to determine the linkages between the different choices of international education and the types of influence.

To obtain the sample groups for the personal unstructured interview and the focus group interviews, snowball-sampling techniques were used. Participants were required to be Thai students in any tertiary education institution in Australia. Data from both unstructured and focus group interview was the basis for the subsequent analysis.

The quantitative approach of the study started when the problems were clarified by qualitative methods. Initially, the researcher contacted thirty five universities in Australia in order to obtain the contact details of Thai students. Only twenty universities provided the lists to the researcher. The questionnaire survey was conducted with 1,500 Thai students and the final response rate is 800 (53.3%).

3. QUESTION DEVELOPMENT AND DATA ANALYSIS

Questions for the pilot study derive from the literature on factors affecting the choice of international education. These questions are designed to investigate the influential person, and different types of decisions. The question of the preliminary study focuses on the reference groups’ influence. The preliminary unstructured interview encouraged respondents to express their viewpoints, with the intention that the information from this stage could be used as the basis for the final study. In terms of qualitative data analysis, analysis occurred at each stage of data collection. That is, analysis took place after the first interview; this analysis was then used to shape the second interview and so on (Wiersma 1991). This process of inductive analysis meant that formal analysis is almost complete by the end of data collection. The sequence of ‘interview followed by analysis’ enabled interpretations to emerge and to be crosschecked on an on-going basis.

Regarding questionnaires for the major survey, it was designed by using the conclusion from the result of the pilot study. The final instrument is 5-points Likert-scale consists of 60 statements aiming to identify the relationship between types of influences and choices of international education.

4. RESULTS

4.1 The Qualitative Study

4.1.1 Unstructured Interview

The participants came from diverse educational background. Table 1.1 reveals their characters.

Table 1.1: Summary of the participants’ character (Personal Interview)

Sex	Bachelor	Master	Ph.D.	Total
Male	6	4	2	12
Female	3	6	-	9
Total	9	10	2	21

 

Students identified the whole process of choosing international education as consisting of five choice types, namely: choice to study abroad; choice of country; choice of city; choice of academic course; and choice of institution. The choice sequential order does not imply the importance of each choice. However, choice to study abroad seems to be the most important choice because it is a pre-requisite for the need to make subsequent choice types.

Familial referents who influence Thai students’ choice of international education are parents, siblings, relatives, and spouses. When students were asked to define whether their father or mother was more influential, 70% of them stated that both were equally important. They expressed that each family member had different levels and types of influence on the whole choice process. Parents might influence students in each stage of the choice process but different family members can influence a particular type of choice. The other key finding resulting from the personal unstructured interview was that there are many types of influence from normative referents. Familial referents can influence students’ choice through financial influence, expectation influence, and encouragement influence. The differences between expectation and encouragement influence is the expectation is family long-term anticipation to see their children obtain an overseas educational qualification, encouragement is the assumption that the student should go to study abroad and it consists of competition and persuasion.

4.1.2 Focus Groups Interview

Respondents

The participants of the focus groups interview came from different background,

therefore, they provided different viewpoints. Tables 1.2 and 1.3 summarise the general characteristics of the respondents.

Table 1.2: Summary of the participants’ characters (Focus group Interview)

Sex	Bachelor	Master	Ph.D.	Total
Male	4	4	-	8
Female	8	10	-	18
Total	12	14	-	26

 

It reveals that the majority of the participants are female postgraduate student (38.46%), followed by female undergraduate and male undergraduate and postgraduate students

Regarding area of study of the participants, students from business area are the biggest group. Hospitality, engineering, and information technology are the other popular fields among the respondents.

Choice Sequential Order

The results of the focus groups interviews showed that all five types of choice are causally related in the sense that one choice could impact on others. The sequential position of a choice reflects the importance of that choice. For example, making one choice before the rest of the choices would enable or restrict the range of subsequent possible choices. The linkage between choice types is also reported as a cause-effect chain. For instance, many students revealed that choice of academic course might limit their choice of country and/or choice of university. In many cases, choice of university may limit choice of city/country and support choice of academic course. Choice of country can also limit choice of university and may support choice of academic course.

The decision to study abroad is the most important choice as it is the major cause for determining other choice types. In some cases, the choice to study abroad and choice of country can also occur at the same time of the process. Many students cannot recall whether they chose to study abroad or a particular country primarily. However, the choice order varies among students. Most of the respondents (88%) focus on English speaking countries as their destination to study abroad:

" I think we, Thai students, focused on English speaking countries because English is the universal language. Since the economic crisis in Thailand, many American companies have taken over Thai companies and it is very important for us to speak English fluently to survive in the job market."

There was a difference between the choice order of the Thai undergraduate and postgraduate students. The majority of the undergraduates tend to focus on the institution, whereas the majority of postgraduates were more selective on choice of academic course.

Finding from the personal unstructured interview also support the idea that some external factors, such as other people’s opinion, or social attitude, have an impact on the type of choice. The choice of country is a good reflection of this finding. In choosing a country of study, Thai students focus on four countries: America, the UK, Canada, and Australia. English is an important factor in this decision, as it has become the second language in Thailand. The ideal image in Thailand of a western lifestyle that shapes the need to gain western academic qualification and experience. According to students’ viewpoint, choice to study abroad is the most important choice type and the rest of choices are cause-effect chain.

5. Familial Referents: Relationship between Choice Types – Influence Types

Students revealed that familial and non-familial referents could influence each stage of the whole choice-making process. However, different people could differently influence their choices directly and indirectly. Figure 1.2 displays the relationships between the types of choice and the type of influence of normative referents. It shows that familial referents can influence students’ choice through their financial, informational, expectation, and encouragement influence. Non-familial referents, on the other hand, can influence the choice of international education through their informational and encouragement influence.

Figure 1.1: A Conceptual Model of Relationship between Choices and Influences

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Financial Influence

Financial influence from the family lies in the fact that the choice of staying at home or going overseas largely depends on the financial capacity of the family (parents and/or relatives). Students identified family financial support as tuition fees, the cost of living in a foreign country, and related expenses. Therefore, the decision to study abroad depended largely on financial support from family members. Students revealed that most Thai families are prepared to fund students as far as they can go. If the student wants to study all the way through to a Ph.D., the family will support them. As the student gets older the students appear to have a greater say in the decision on financial support.

Thailand is post-graduates predominantly market, the issue is expressed by the respondents that the decision to study abroad for some undergraduate students is pure parental-decision, unlike postgraduate student. Therefore, students prefer to stay in any Thai universities to get more friends and connections. Thai students at age 16-20 were perceived to be ‘molly-coddled’, by staying in Thailand until their postgraduate study.

Secondly, financial support from family influences the choice of country of Thai students. Financial support from the family may limit or expand the scope of their country choices, as their parents may be able to support them to study in some countries but not in others:

Oh: I really wanted to study in the UK but my parents could not afford it, so I simply shifted to study in Australia, as it is much cheaper.

Jang: My mother is the major financial source during my study period in Australia. She told me that I have to choose either New Zealand or Australia because she believed that both are among the cheapest countries and best education quality. Personally, I believed that Australia is better than New Zealand so I told my mother that I wanted to study here, and she approved it.

The majority of the students (89%) divulged that America is the most popular destination for Thai students, followed by England and Australia, in that order. However, most of them could not choose the US or the UK because of socio-economic reasons, primarily the fact that they, or their parents, could not afford the tuition fee and cost of living in these countries. Consequently, Thai students choose to study in Australia because both the cost of living and tuition fees are affordable. This fact is prevalent in the literature on competitive advantages of Australian education over that offered by its competitors (e.g. Smart, Volet, and Ang 2000; Duan 1997).

In some cases, family financial support is relevant to the choice of city. A few respondents (14%), who pay more attention to the choice of country, considered smaller cities like Adelaide and Perth. Students who prefer small cities to bigger cities cited the lower cost of living in smaller cities. However, this issue is not a major concern because there are many factors that limit city choice, such as the number of universities in smaller cities and, the availability of the academic course in such cities.

Regarding the choice of academic course and institution, financial support from the family constrains some students from some expensive courses or high prestige universities. Some students perceive that some prestigious universities are overcharging them. However, many students (76%) mentioned that as long as the qualification is recognised by the Thai government, they are willing to study at any Australian university:

Informational Influence

Although many students explain that information from their families is not the most important factor on their decision-making processes, it is convincing enough for some students. Informational influence occurs when the influencing person provides useful information that facilitates or alters the choices the influence student makes. One of the most trustworthy information sources for Thai students is a family member who has studied or lived abroad previously. These people encourage students to study abroad by providing information on the value of the international education experience to the student. Many students (44%) express that information influence is reflected in the family members’ enumeration of specific information concerning the various alternatives. For example, relatives who used to study abroad can convince the prospective student that he/she is more knowledgeable concerning the education services by presenting detailed information about various aspects of international education:

Tommy: My parents chose Melbourne for me because of my relatives. They have lived here for years and they provide my parents information about Melbourne, such as the cost of living, and universities here.

Like the decision to study abroad, information from family can also influence the choice of country and city of Thai students. Information about country destinations from relatives living in those countries/cities is also perceived as a reliable form of information. The typical type of information that convinces students to choose country/city of destination is cost of living, education reputation and standard, climates, and job opportunities. Students express that good sources of information on country/city are siblings, relatives, a spouse, or cousins in Australia. At this stage, there is no clear evidence whether information from family could influence the choice of institution and the choice of academic course. Only a few cases when siblings or relatives who used to study in a particular course or institution may provide some information about courses and institutions to students.

Expectation Influence

Familial referents also influenced Thai students’ decisions to study abroad by way of family expectations. Some respondents (39%) were expected by their parents or relatives to have an overseas education. Some students attempted to comply with those expectations. Furthermore, family expectations to see students study abroad often come from families where parents have lived or studied outside Thailand previously. The major reason for the parental expectations is the need to see students obtaining an overseas academic qualification, fluency in a foreign language and life experience:

Muay: I can say that my aunt encouraged me to study in Australia. She told me since I was at university in Thailand that studying in Australia is good and someday I have to go there. I think this is because my aunt knows a few people at work who graduate from Australia and they are great and become a role model at her work place.

In terms of choice of country, a few respondents (8%) from the three groups commented that some of their family members expected them to study in specific countries. Some students who chose Australia because of family expectation mentioned that it was mostly the idea of parents or other family members who decided whether the students should travel to Australia or some other country to study. In many cases, family expectation for students’ choice of country exists in most of the ‘parent-dominant’ families. There was a difference between the influence upon undergraduate and postgraduate students in that parental expectations influenced undergraduate students more readily, while parental influence was less effective with postgraduate students. Generally speaking, family expectation does not have a great impact on students' choice of country because this choice type is usually made under the influence of other factors. In conclusion, family expectation is far more important on the first choice type, decision to study abroad, than in the choice of country.

Regarding choice of academic course, familial expectation is among other important familial factors. Only 6% of the respondents revealed that their parents effectively chose their current course for them. In particular, many students from business family backgrounds are expected by their parents to study business to help their family business in the future. This is also common for non-business background students who choose to do MBA or other business postgraduate studies because of the expectation from family. It is an ideal for Thai students from family business background to obtain a business postgraduate qualification from overseas, work for an other business organization for a few years, and then moves back to work for the family business. Therefore, the choice of academic course of this group is influenced indirectly by parental expectation.

In the case of science students, none of them state that familial expectation affected their decision. Many science and technology students stated that their parents were not familiar with their areas of study so they were unable to influence that choice. In some cases, parents expect their children to work in some professional career so they force their children to study at a particular postgraduate course, in order to obtain a master’s degree. Then, it is not a matter for family as long as the students obtain postgraduate qualification.

Finally, the choice of institution is also influenced by family expectation. Almost all of the students relate that their families expect them to study at a prestigious university, driving some students to try hard to gain entry:

Kathy: I initially planned to study at the University of Queensland (UQ) because my parents and I like its prestige and campus size, so I lodged my application at UQ before any other institutions.

Therefore, family expectation, in this case, becomes the students’ drive to achieve their own and/or their parents’ goal. Many students also revealed that family expectation to see them study in prestigious Australian institutions might arise from external factors, particularly social expectations or competition. They believe that their families react to the Thai social system that worships the image and reputation of institutions, rather than the educational quality or quality of output of the graduates. Some students indicate it was pressure from their families that forced them to study at their current university. They believe that studying at a prestigious institution might be the way to enhance their family reputation.

Encouragement Influence

As explained, encouragement can be competition among family members to gain an overseas qualification and/or the anticipation to see their children study overseas. Expectation involves a process that has happened over time as any family members harbour a long-term hope to see their kids study abroad. Family encouragement is a further factor influencing students. Students defined different ways that different family members used to encourage their choice to study abroad. Some students stated that their families encourage them to study abroad because of competition among family members within the extended family. A few students (25%) agreed that competition among family members was a catalyst in their decision-making process. It appears that Thai students tend to compare themselves with other family members, in terms of academic achievement and future career. Encouragement from family competition often arises in larger extended families where many relatives live together. Many students referred to indirect competition among relatives, which is a long influential over a long period eventually created the perception of "need" to study abroad:

Pam: I have three relatives studying abroad. When they came to Thailand for vacation they met my parents and they started talking about studying abroad. They initiated the idea of studying abroad to my parents.

Familial encouragement can influence some students’ choice of academic course. Encouragement in the form of competition does not have much influence on students’ choice of academic course because this choice type is almost a student self-selection. Students state that they do not have to compete with other people to choose to enrol in any course. Encouragement as persuasion may have some influence on students’ choice. Some students mentioned that they choose to do their course because of the persuasion from their siblings or relatives. Finally, the family used different encouragement strategies to help students choose an institution. Family members encourage the choice of university through simple conversation, or complicated persuasion strategies. 28.7% of the respondents stated that they needed to study in some prestigious universities in order to please their parents and to feel better about themselves.

6. Non-familial Referents: Relationship between Choice Types – Influence Types

Informational Influence

Information from peers who used to study abroad can encourage student decision to study abroad. Information on living and education standard, cost of living, and employment opportunity in overseas are what students frequently requested from peers and agents, and students used that information to choose whether they should study abroad or at home. Many students (31%) mentioned that information from peers overseas is ‘one of the most reliable source of formation’ because these people have direct experience. Information from peers is also the factor that acts together with other factors helping familial referents to support student’s choice:

Tom: Information from my friend is very convincing to my parents because they know each other very well. My parents believed that information from friend who has a direct experience is much better than information from education agent.

The comparability of information from education agent vs. information from peers is discussed among respondents as one of the critical issues in their decision-making about overseas study. Most of the respondents (67%) said that information from an education agent could not encourage them to study abroad. The intention to study abroad was decided before receiving information from the agent.

Regarding the choice of country, information influence from non-familial referents was revealed as one of the most important factors influencing students to choose Australia over another country. Education agents provide comparative information about Australia, the UK, the USA, Canada, and New Zealand. Comparative Information provided includes cost of living, job opportunities, and safety. Many students (64%) comment that information from education agent, as well as information from the Australian embassy sounds credible. In the case of the student who has friends living in Australia, students tend to choose the country where they have a friend. Although information from friends overseas is convincing, it is not as convincing as information flowing from other professional non-familial referents, such as an education agent or Australian embassy:

Tommy: I found that studying in Australia was cheaper than any other countries and recognise degree. I know all these from IDP in Thailand.

Informational influence from peers can also influence the choice of academic course. Some students simply choose to study one course because of the information provided by their friends. However, these instances are quite rare when compared with the encouragement influence discussed previously. Students state that information influence is more important on the choice of institution than the choice of an academic course. Education agents provide beneficial information that helps students choose the right academic course to study. The most sought after information is about course outlines, subject details, and comparative course structure. Students agree that more than half of the information they received, regarding academic course, came from an education agent because it was the major reliable source of up-to-date information.

Many postgraduate students (44%) commented that information about institutions from peers is helpful and reliable because they have both academic and professional experience. Thai students who have friends studying at particular institutions tend to simply choose that particular institution because they want to study at the same institution as their friends. The most common institutional-related information that students required from peers was regarding the quality and cost of education.

Information from education agents, on the other hand, is not perceived as the most reliable information, with some students speaking of the commercial image of the education agent. Information on quality, cost, location, and services of institution are the four key elements most requested by students. Postgraduate students seem to frequently ask about cost and quality of the institution because they need to enrol at the institution, which performs best on these two key factors.

Encouragement Influence

Many students (41%), particularly postgraduate students, choose to study overseas because of the keen competition among friends at work. In Thai society, overseas education is perceived as an important advantage to compete with other people in the work place. Data shows that almost all of the postgraduate students with working experience, who participated in this study, desired to obtain an overseas degree because of competition among colleagues. Another form of encouragement is peer persuasion. It also influences students’ choice of study overseas. Peer persuasion can help students decide to study overseas, instead of studying in their home country. However, student must have an originally intended to study abroad for the persuasion to be effective.

Secondly, peer groups can encourage the choice of country by the use of persuasion strategy. Some students (15%) who decide to study overseas simply choose Australia because of persuasion from friends. In case of education agents that encourage students to study abroad, students can be encouraged by the offering of special deals, such as free air travel, special tuition fees and discounts, the promise of job opportunities, and the comparison of cost of living and tuition fees between two countries (mainly the USA and Australia.) Encouragement from education agents seems to work very well with many parents of undergraduate students who choose the country for their children. Thirdly, peer encouragement can be defined as one of the important types of influence on the choice of academic course. Peers normally encourage the choice of academic course by referring members of their peer groups to similar courses. Interestingly, this also happens in the choice of institution of undergraduate students or postgraduate students who decide to do ELICOS (English Language Intensive Course for Overseas Student) beforehand. In the case of business students, some decide to enrol in a business major for many reasons, including friends doing the same course. However, this is less common with science-related students, with none of the interviewees mentioning any peer influence on the choice of academic course.

Many Thai postgraduate students, particularly those with business backgrounds, refer to competition in the workplace which compel them to do an overseas MBA or Master of Commerce or Business. Science-related students also refer to the same thing when they talk about the competition for better job opportunities. Their colleagues who obtain a special degree can influence their choice of specific academic course:

Nam: I cannot compete with my colleague if I did not obtain an overseas degree so I try every way to come to study here.

Education agents can also effectively encourage students to choose the institutions of study. The most effective way is by providing information about the reputation and services provided to international students by the institutions they represent. Education agents effectively encourage the choice of institution because they are perceived as the most knowledgeable source of institutional information to students. Education agents can be particularly effective in encouraging students to stay at specific institutions by focussing on the institutions positive image in comparison to other perspective institutions.

7. The Quantitative Approach

The result from the qualitative approach helped clarifying the research hypotheses. It also reveals some unclear problems that needed to be solved by using quantitative method. Hypotheses for the quantitative approaches are presented as follows;

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