Going the wrong way ? trends and motivation in the North-South cross-border movement of tertiary students : the case study of European students in Thailand

Abstract

Cross-border movements are the most visible outcome of the internationalisation of higher education. Due to the processes of globalisation, and the internationalisation of higher education by higher education institutes and nation-states, cross-border movements by tertiary students have increased dramatically over the last decades. Up to date, most studies in this field have focused on the South-North movement of students. This pioneering study however, researches the North-South movements at the example of European students in Thailand. Within this frame, this study aims to answer two questions: What are the push- and pull factors for European students to move to Thailand for study-purposes and what are the possible benefits for Thailand from hosting European students?. In order to answer these two questions, a detailed survey of 26 European exchange and degree students from different European countries studying in Thailand has been conducted. The results of these surveys have shown that whereas for most students, social and environmental factors such as the different lifestyle and culture, the weather and travel or a general feeling of “getting away from home” have dominated, for other students, who often already live in Thailand, educational and financial factors are leading. The benefits for Thailand are on the one hand the tangible immediate financial gains from the expenses study fees of the students. On the other hand however, intangible benefits such as the transfer of knowledge and skills, inter-cultural ties and clusters of knowledge can develop through people-to-people links. Additionally, it has been shown in this study that foreign students can develop a very strong bond to the host country. Through this bond, students can act as “ambassadors” for the host country, in the long run benefitting the host on an economic, business or official level