The Advantages Of Studying Abroad Education Essay

The Advantages Of Studying Abroad Education Essay The development of the society is going towards a globalised world where the social, cultural and traditional differences between people are becoming less distinguishable. One of the key factors which has largely influenced in the development of peoples way of understanding and analysing social and cultural values is education which has taken an important place in the new century. Education is an essential foundation for personal, social and economic success in a globalised economy (OECD 2008). International studies are becoming the new trend of young people as a way to expend their education beyond their traditional education style and their everyday world (Spiering and Ericson 2006). Johnson and Mulholland (2006) consider international education as an opportunity to increase the awareness of the people about the culture of the world which can contribute in creating individuals with a broader understanding of issues concerning todays society rather than limiting them in the scope of home educational system. In this point of view, studying abroad students gain the opportunity to learn more about world affairs and increase their acceptance of other countries regardless of the differences in culture or language. Moreover studying in a foreign directly benefits in learning a new language. Pellegrino (1997) argues that study abroad is one of the most effective ways of becoming proficient in a new language. Students who chose to spend a certain amount of time in a country the language they are willing to learn is spoken, have the opportunity to interact with native speakers a fact which would directly influence in the improvement of their linguistic and sociolinguistic skills to achieve real communicative goals, and to experience the tangible and visible manifestations of the culture of the country (Pellegrino 1997). Individuals who have studied abroad in foreign language often demonstrate cognitive development, creative thinking which surpass the abilities of individuals who have educational experiences of their home country only (Kinginger 2007). One of the reasons why studying abroad is becoming more important nowadays considering the effects of globalization, is the international job market. Qiang (2003) observes that there is a significant increase in the number of recruitments regarding the international workforce due to globalization process which has caused the education system, especially higher education, not to be strictly viewed in the national context. Mpinganjira (2009) analyses that the need of being competitive in the international job market has influenced many students to look to opportunities to enhance their career prospects through acquiring high quality education with qualifications that are recognised worldwide. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study is to analyse the advantages of studying abroad from the students point of view and to propose some new ways of thinking for students when evaluating the possibility of studying in a foreign country. The hypothesis to be studied is: students in the Southern and Eastern Europe think that high quality of studies can only be achieved through studying in a Western country. In addition the primary and secondary research will attempt to identify some of the factors that influence in the choice of students regarding their studies. Some of the major objectives of this study are: The guiding factors for young people toward choosing a university abroad rather than going in a local university How important is the financial situation in deciding to study in a foreign university What role plays the learning a new language in deciding in which university to go Identify the opinion of students about the influence that a period of studies would have in their personal life and future career MATERIALS AND METHODS The research process was divided into two major parts which contributed in the collection and analyze of the data. The first part included secondary data collection from different sources related to the subject of research. Some of this sources are used in the paper in order to explain different facts regarding to the topic. The second part consisted of primary data collection through a survey which was designed in accordance to the characteristics of the population it was intended for (see Appendices Survey). The survey was distributed to young people (high school and college students) in Korca, Albania by e-mail. It resulted in 25 respondents out of 50 actually delivered or 50% response rate. In order to increase the number of respondents the survey was redistributed to students in Perrotis College completing the intended number of respondents, 50. After the data were collected Microsoft Excel was used in order to organize the data in tables. Afterwards the data were imported to JMP 8 statistical software where the data were analyzed using tables, charts and other statistical analyses figures. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Characteristics of the population From the analyse of the data using JMP 8 the characteristics of the population were identified. Table 1 contains the full characteristics of the population and the responses retrieved from the survey. No. of partecipants Gender Factors in deciding where to study Would you go to study abroad Why foreign university Advantages of foreign universities Western Universities offer quality 16 male Quality Quality More opportunities personal experience yes 17 male Quality Quality More opportunities quality of studies yes 18 male Quality Quality Excellent experience quality of studies most likely 19 male Quality Quality Couldnt study in my country Language proficiency yes 20 male Quality Quality Couldnt study in my country Language proficiency yes 21 male Quality Quality Couldnt study in my country personal experience yes 22 male Quality Quality Excellent experience quality of studies yes 23 male Quality Quality Excellent experience quality of studies yes 24 male Quality Quality Excellent experience quality of studies yes 25 male Quality Quality Excellent experience multicultural experience most likely 26 male Quality Quality More opportunities multicultural experience yes 27 male Quality Quality More opportunities personal experience most likely 28 male Quality Quality More opportunities multicultural experience most likely 29 male Quality Quality More opportunities quality of studies yes 30 male Cost Cost Excellent experience Language proficiency yes 31 male Cost Cost Excellent experience multicultural experience yes 32 female Location Location Excellent experience personal experience yes 33 female Location Location More opportunities quality of studies most likely 34 female Quality Quality More opportunities quality of studies yes 35 female Quality Quality Excellent experience quality of studies yes 36 female Quality Quality More opportunities multicultural experience yes 37 female Location Location Couldnt study in my country personal experience yes 38 female Quality Quality Excellent experience Language proficiency yes 39 female Quality Quality More opportunities multicultural experience most likely 40 female Cost Cost More opportunities multicultural experience most likely Distributions Age Age of Respondents Figure 1 Frequencies Level Count Prob 17 18 9 0.18000 18 20 11 0.22000 20 22 22 0.44000 22 24 5 0.10000 above 24 3 0.06000 Total 50 1.00000 N Missing 0 5 Levels Figure 1 illustrates the age characteristics of the sample involved in the survey. As it is shown the majority of the respondents belonged in the age group of 20 22 years old which corresponds to the first year of college for many countries. Gender Distribution of the sample by Gender Figure 2 Frequencies Level Count Prob female 19 0.38000 male 31 0.62000 Total 50 1.00000 N Missing 0 2 Levels From figure 2 gender characteristics can be understood. The research has been directed to 50 individuals where 62 % or 31 of the respondents were males while 38% or 19 respondents belonged to female gender. Factors in deciding where to study Important factors which influence the students when choosing where to study. Figure 3 Frequencies Level Count Prob Cost 11 0.22000 Location 3 0.06000 Quality 36 0.72000 Total 50 1.00000 N Missing 0 3 Levels The above figure summarises some of the most important factors which influence the young people by the most when making a decision about the university they are going to be attending. As shown the most important factor in students opinion, is the quality of studies that a university offers or the fame of the university. Would you go to study abroad The students willingness to study abroad Figure 4 Frequencies Level Count Prob I dont know 22 0.44000 No 2 0.04000 Yes 26 0.52000 Total 50 1.00000 N Missing 0 3 Levels When asked about their willingness to continue their studies in a foreign university 52% of the students answered that they would chose a university outside their home country for their studies while, 44% of them answered that their choice would depend on the characteristic of the universities they would go in their country. This part of the questioned sample would go for studies abroad only if the universities in their country would not offer the preferred characteristics for the students. Only 4% of the students answered that they are not considering at all the possibility of studying in a foreign country. Why foreign university Reasons for choosing a foreign university Figure 5 Frequencies Level Count Prob Couldns study in my country 11 0.22000 Exellent experience 18 0.36000 More opportunities 21 0.42000 Total 50 1.00000 N Missing 0 3 Levels The majority of the students think that foreign universities offer more opportunities for their future career, therefore, they would go to study abroad. The other part of the students consider studying abroad as an excellent experience in their lives. On the other hand, the minority of the questioned students would go in a foreign university only if they wouldnt be able to study in their preferred university in their countries. Advantages of foreign universities Advantages of studying abroad Figure 6 Frequencies Level Count Prob Linguage proficiency 5 0.10000 multicultural experience 18 0.36000 personal experience 11 0.22000 quality of studies 16 0.32000 Total 50 1.00000 N Missing 0 4 Levels Regarding to the advantages that the foreign universities offer compared with studying experiences in the home countries, students are approximately equally divided regarding to what they think are the advantages of studying abroad. 36% of the students consider the multicultural aspect of the studies as the most important factor on studying in a foreign university while 32% emphasise the quality of studies in other countries as the main aspect. Also the possibility of personal experiences and opportunity to know yourself better are very important in students evaluation for a university. While the opportunity of learning a new language proficiently is less important. Financial implications of studies Students opinion about the impact of costs associated with studying abroad Figure 7 Frequencies Level Count Prob Agree 14 0.28000 Dissagree 1 0.02000 Dont know 8 0.16000 Strongly agree 27 0.54000 Total 50 1.00000 N Missing 0 4 Levels The biggest part of the students strongly agreed that the cost of studying in a foreign university plays an important role in deciding to go for studies abroad or not. Western Universities offer quality Do western universities offer better quality? Figure 8 Frequencies Level Count Prob most likely 12 0.24000 yes 38 0.76000 Total 50 1.00000 N Missing 0 2 Levels When asked if they think that universities in the Western Europe offer a better quality compared with universities in their own countries, the majority of students, 76% agreed that the universities in the west offer more opportunities for a high quality of studies, while, 24% of them answered that they were not sure on this statement. There were no students to disagree. Contingency Analysis of Western Universities offer quality By Home Country Mosaic Plot Contingency Table Home Country By Western Universities offer quality Count Total % Col % Row % most likely yes Albania 6 12.00 50.00 19.35 25 50.00 65.79 80.65 31 62.00 Bulgaria 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 2 4.00 5.26 100.00 2 4.00 FYROM 3 6.00 25.00 50.00 3 6.00 7.89 50.00 6 12.00 Greece 1 2.00 8.33 12.50 7 14.00 18.42 87.50 8 16.00 Moldova 1 2.00 8.33 50.00 1 2.00 2.63 50.00 2 4.00 Turkey 1 2.00 8.33 100.00 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 1 2.00 12 24.00 38 76.00 50 Tests N DF -LogLike RSquare (U) 50 5 3.7635068 0.1366 Test ChiSquare Prob>ChiSq Likelihood Ratio 7.527 0.1843 Pearson 7.710 0.1730 Discussion In the table above can be observed that the model constraint by the hypothesis has a log-likelyhood of 3.763 while the ChiSquare has a non significant p-value of 0.1843. The hypothesis risen in the beginning that Student from Eastern and Southern Europe think that high quality of studies can only be achieved through studying in a Western country is supported by the values given form the contingency analysis. Therefore the hypothesis is accepted. CONCLUSION