Staying Regional – Understanding Student Mobility in Asia and the Pacific
What makes an international student choose one destination over another? What does international student mobility have to do with government policy? What are the implications of student exchange? These are some of the questions explored in UNESCO’s new e-publication, ‘Student Mobility in Asia and the Pacific’, launched today.
In the last two decades, the world has seen a tremendous increase in the number of students that choose to study abroad. Traditionally, the flow of students has been directed toward English-speaking countries, such as the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia, but this pattern is changing. In recent years, the Asia-Pacific region has seen a sharp increase in the flow and exchange of students within the region’s boundaries and the development of several education hubs.
Stemming from the ERI-Net Regional Seminar on the International Mobility of Students held in 2011, ‘Student Mobility in Asia and the Pacific’ takes an in-depth look at student mobility in the region from a number of perspectives. The publication sheds light on the highly complex and nuanced field that makes up higher education in the region today, and explores the economic, social and cultural climate, which has enabled as well as emerged as a consequence of increased student mobility.
The publication features case studies from Australia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand. The topics covered include:
The domestic and external factors affecting international student flows
Country-level analyses of inbound and outbound mobility patterns
The interplay between government policy, university policy and the individual in education choices and preferences
Methods and means of international education provision
The consequences and implications of international student mobility.
In particular, the publication explores the role of government policy making in shaping higher education and student mobility in the region, including influential factors such as the rules and regulations governing private and public education providers, student financial aid and visa requirements.
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The International Mobility of Students in Asia and the Pacific
Bangkok: UNESCO Bangkok, 2013, 80p.
ISBN 978-92-9223-459-1 (Electronic version)