Literature
Review
Migration
(human) is the movement of people from one place in the world to another.
People can either choose to move ("voluntary migration") or be forced
to move ("involuntary migration"). Migration can occur between continents,
within a continent, or within a single country. The most important thing about
migration to remember is that it occurs when groups of people move for the same
reason.
What is Student Migration?
Student
migration is the movement of students who study outside their country of birth
or citizenship for a period of 12 months or more. During the period of
globalization, the internationalization of higher education increased
dramatically. With the rapid rise of international education more and more students
are seeking higher education in foreign countries.
Types of migrant:
Migrants
can be divided into five main categories: settlers, contract workers,
professionals, unauthorized workers, and asylum seekers and refugees.
Settlers – These are
people who intend to live permanently in their new country.
Contract
workers – They are admitted to other countries
on the understanding that they will stay only for a specific period
Professionals
– These include employees of transnational corporations who are moved around
from one country to another.
Unauthorized
workers – Sometimes called undocumented or
illegal immigrants.
The position of students is both settler and
contract workers types of migrants who study outside their country of birth or
citizenship for a certain period of time. Asylum seekers and refugees – Asylum
seekers have left their homes to escape danger.
Conceptualizing international
student mobility:
The
term mobility is preferred especially for study and work abroad programs where
the duration is short and often is a part of an exchange framework.
International students are seen as migrants only if they are in the county of
education for a longer period of time since it would involve a change in their
life course or increase in their language abilities and highly likely employed
upon their graduation.
There
are three ways of theorizing student mobility.
Firstly,
International students are seen as a stock of highly skilled personnel and in
some European countries the visa regulations are relaxed and for instance, in
Germany giving international students the opportunity to stay for one more year
to search for employment when they complete their studies. According to data
from the OECD, approximately 1.5 million students studied in another OECD member
state in 2000, while more than fifty per cent came from non-OECD countries.
Furthermore, the number of foreign students in OECD countries has doubled over
the past twenty years to 1.6 million.
Secondly,
student mobility “has been analyzed as a product of globalization, both
generally. International student mobility is one of the major issues in
internationalization of higher education systems that refers to an
incorporation of all aspects of higher education systems.
Thirdly,
This kind of movement is not determined by economic factors but rather by
experiential factors have a crucial role. Those international students have
experienced different locales and as a result they have a greater agency in
self-identification.
Why are students encouraged to
emigrate?
Students
are also less motivated by economic reasons – for them, factors such as
language skills, the nature of the country and other leisure or educational
elements, play a more important role in choosing the country.
Many
Western countries have decided to encourage international student migration by
offering them attractive conditions they often cannot find in their home
countries. Especially engineers, scientists and computer specialists are
welcomed.
Undoubtedly,
international student migration can accelerate technical progress in an
economy. This is why countries actively look for highly skilled students and
sometimes even pay their fees. In 2006, more than 35 percent of Ph.D.
scientists and engineers in the U.S. were foreign born. Additionally, this is
one of the most attractive reasons for a country to encourage international
student migration.
The
language situation plays an important part as well as the differences in
cultural and educational systems in Europe. Despite the introduction of
Bachelor and Master Programs in many nations, the countries often prefer to
stick to their own system.
Migration Trends:
One
in every 35 people around the world is living outside the country of their
birth. The proportion of female migrants has steadily increased. The proportion
of female migrants has steadily increased. The proportion of female migrants
has steadily increased MEDCs have reinforced controls, in part in response to
security issues, but also to combat illegal immigration and networks that deal
in trafficking and exploitation of human beings.
With
advances in transportation and communication and a reduction in the real cost
of both, the world’s population has never had a higher level of potential
mobility. Also, in various ways, economic and social development has made
people more mobile and created the conditions for emigration. Between 1963 and
2006 the number of students studying in a foreign country increased 9 times.
Contributing factors to growth in
student migration:
There
are many factors contributing to the growing numbers of student migration. Many
developing countries have an under supply of university places to satisfy
demand and as a result students have no other choice but to study abroad. In
addition to this it is a common expectation that studying overseas can enhance
professional business opportunities. Generally, students seeking cross-border
education migrate to countries with more developed education institutions than
their own. For example, students in Arab countries migrate to Egypt and Jordan
to pursue their studies, and many students from Bangladesh and Nepal travel to
India. The flow of students from developing countries to developed countries is
often due to the belief that the quality and standards of education offered in
OECD countries is superior to what is offered in the country of origin.
An
important factor contributing to student migration is the desire to study in a
language other than the student's first language. For example, a growth in the
number of students travelling to study in the UK from Central and Eastern
Europe has been partially attributed to the wish "to study in a higher
education environment where communication is in English".
Other
factors for the rise in student migration include lowering travel expenses and
greater communication technology which has made studying abroad more
accessible.
There
are some push and pull factors relating to international migration.
History of International Student
Migration:
During
the colonial period, the majority of student flow came from colonies to the
world capitals. The concept of studying abroad was based on the assumption that
graduates would return to their homeland to serve colonial administration once
they had developed skills and absorbed the values of the colonial rulers.
The
Cold War era had a significant impact on foreign aid and the funding of
overseas students. Cold war rivals funded study abroad programs and were in
competition to attract students from the developing world.
One
of the most famous international exchange programs which facilitates and
encourages international student migration is the Fulbright Program.
Established in 1946, The Fulbright Program provides grants for students,
scholars, teachers and professionals to undertake various studies and research.
The
Colombo Plan was another program that encouraged the movement of students
between countries. The Colombo Plan was established in 1951 with the intention
of strengthening economic and social development of the Asia Pacific region.
Since
the colonial and Cold War eras, the profile of international students has made
a significant shift. The way in which students travel has changed over time and
the majority of students seeking education abroad are now self-funded.
Issues that can arise with student
migration:
The
loss of students from sending countries can have a rather detrimental impact on
the economy by depleting already scarce resources. Brain drain is a term used
to describe the large scale loss of individuals with technical skills or
knowledge.
Student migrants add to the
permanent population less than other migrants:
Student
migrants typically have shorter stays in the UK than other types of migrants.
Those wishing to stay in the UK beyond the terms of their initial student visa
have several options: they might apply for an extension to their student visa,
or apply for a new visa under a work or family category. Some might avoid the
immigration system and stay on without a visa. Students not only have shorter
stays, but they also bring fewer dependents than other categories of migrants.
Transnational activities of
international students:
International
students are seen as migratory elite who are ready and enthusiastic to move and
unrestricted to transformations in their environment. That’s why, it is
important to recognize the transnational activities of international students
which are often neglected. In the last decade literature of migration had seen
expanding studies about transnational approach which stresses the migrants’
continuous links to people, traditions and causes outside the boundaries of
their host states.
Conclusion:
In
conclusion, it is crucial to study the movements of tertiary education students
who, as semi-finished human capital, have an exceptional value which should not
be allowed to be ignored.
It
would facilitate a deeper understanding of dual lives of international
students. It is also obvious that a deeper understanding of different issues
surrounding international student mobility will show itself as better and
adaptable policies and practices in international higher education system.
Main
Body
Introduction
Recently
“international migration is a topic that has moved to the forefront of national
and international agenda and ranks as one of the most important factors in
global change. As a result of increased globalization of world trade,
foundation of new technologies for international communication and
transportation, political instabilities and uneven economic development, a new
international migration regime is on the way to being established. Brain drain
which “refers to emigration of skilled and professional personnel from
developing countries to advanced industrialized nations” (Miyagiwa, 1991) in a
general sense is one of the major concerns in this new regime and the beginning
point of considering the developmental aspects of flow of international
students or professionals. While in the early literature the term 'brain gain'
was the main idea by economists for the developing countries; in the 1970s and
1980s the idea shifted to 'brain drain' with a negative connotation for the
sending countries. Since the 1990s in the recent literature, the academic and
political expectations changed again and on the contrary to the neoclassical
economic models, the term 'brain circulation' began to be widely used by some
experts and politicians in industrialized countries in need of highly-skilled
personnel.
The
terms imply a potential return to the home country after a cycle of study and
work abroad and enjoy the promising employment possibilities emphasizing
potential gains in different realms for all actors involved. Therefore,
industrialized countries have decided to embrace international students with
the purpose of gaining the best brains in the competition.
Other
than brain-drain paradigm there has been little research on international student
mobility, however “the movement of students is now a global phenomenon”.
Furthermore, “one of the major migration growth industries in recent years has
been that of international students” (Salt, 2005: 28) whose numbers are on the
rise as a result of the internationalization of higher education systems and
the changing nature of labor markets in sending and receiving countries. The
topic of international student mobility is understudied or partially studied.
There are studies of international student mobility concerning their scale and
dynamics; their migration processes; favorable state policies and regulations;
employment opportunities in the destination countries; structured study abroad
programs fostering student mobility and about the developmental effects of
highly skilled on their homelands that generally address the worldwide increase
in their numbers and impacts while emphasizing the need for more research
highlighting international student mobility. Moreover, most of the studies
concerning international student mobility are not really entirely empirical;
they often are based on anecdotal findings and tend to be descriptive.
Even
though there is an intensifying academic interest and changing national
policies in favor of international students, there is not much known about
international students, particularly information is lacked on their social,
cultural, academic, support networks operating across nation- states; their
identity construction; their changing experiences shaped by interactions among
customs, norms, and values of both sending and receiving contexts; perception
of themselves as migrants and their relations with already existing migrant
communities in the receiving context.
What is Migration?
Migration
(human) is the movement of people from one place in the world to another.
People can either choose to move ("voluntary migration") or be forced
to move ("involuntary migration"). Migrations have occurred
throughout the past, beginning with the movements of the first human groups
from their origins in East Africa to their current homes throughout the world.
Migration occurs in a variety of ways: Migration can occur between continents,
within a continent, or within a single country. Migration can even occur when
people move out of the city and into the country. The most important thing
about migration to remember is that it occurs when groups of people move for
the same reason.
What is Student Migration?
Student
migration is the movement of students who study outside their country of birth
or citizenship for a period of 12 months or more. During the period of
globalization, the internationalization of higher education increased
dramatically and it has become a market driven activity. With the rapid rise of
international education more and more students are seeking higher education in
foreign countries and many international students now consider overseas study a
stepping-stone to permanent residency within a country. The contributions that
foreign students make to host nation economies, both culturally and financially
has encouraged major players to implement further initiatives to facilitate the
arrival and integration of overseas students, including substantial amendments
to immigration and visa policies and procedures.
Types of migrant:
Migrants
can be divided into five main categories: settlers, contract workers,
professionals, unauthorized workers, and asylum seekers and refugees.
Settlers
– These are people who intend to live permanently in their new country. Most
head for the main countries of settlement, notably the United States, Canada
and Australia. Around one million travel per year, the majority of whom are
joining close family members.
Contract
workers – They are admitted to other countries on the understanding that they
will stay only for a specific period: the length of their contract. Some are
seasonal workers. Others will be on longer-term contracts, of a year or more.
Most are to be found in the Gulf countries.
Professionals
– These include employees of transnational corporations who are moved around
from one country to another. These tend to involve fairly small numbers;
typically less than 1% of people employed in local affiliates are expatriates.
Unauthorized
workers – Sometimes called undocumented or illegal immigrants. There are
significant numbers in most immigration countries. Some have been smuggled in;
others are overstaying their visas, or are working on tourist visas.
Asylum
seekers and refugees – Asylum seekers have left their homes to escape danger;
if their claims for asylum have been accepted they are then classified as
‘refugees’. In some cases of mass flight, however, when thousands of people
escape across a border they are accepted as refugees without going through the
individual process.
The
position of students is both settler and contract workers types of migrants who
study outside their country of birth or citizenship for a certain period of
time. At the same time students now consider overseas study a stepping-stone to
permanent residency within a country.
These
are the main categories but there are many other possibilities.
(Source:
Stalker’s Guide to International Migration)
Conceptualizing international
student mobility:
The
primary ambiguity in the literature is how to address international students,
in the frame of mobility or migration? For instance in the early studies, the
phenomenon was related to ‘brain drain’ paradigm since the movement of students
across national borders were seen as a type of migration especially for
undergraduate or postgraduate programs where the duration is longer than other
programs. Nevertheless, in the European context, the term mobility is preferred
especially for study and work abroad programs where the duration is short and
often is a part of an exchange framework. Therefore, the time frame is the main
indicator of the language in the literature; if it is for short term then it is
obviously temporary in nature and not seen as a form of migration for instance,
contrary to temporary low skilled migration schemes. International students are
seen as migrants only if they are in the county of education for a longer
period of time since it would involve a change in their life course or increase
in their language abilities and highly likely employed upon their graduation.
Therefore, international students cannot be categorized as temporary or
permanent migrants or sometimes they are not migrants at all since it is
dynamic and the group is not a homogeneous one which is not taken into
consideration often.
Furthermore,
regarding to the status of international students, the UK example illustrates
the changes in time very well:
“The
traditional UK view of admitting foreign students to the country was that this
was a temporary flow of people, the vast majority of whom would return home at
the end of their studies....[however] the figures point to an increasing
tendency for overseas students to stay in the UK on completion of their
studies, corroborating the view that international student migration to the UK
involves much more than just the training of the best minds from around the
world and that to some extent it contributes to the UK making a net brain gain
as a result of being a major player in the internationalization of education”
(Findlay &Stam, 2006: 13).
Given
the definition, turning to its conceptualization, the existing literature
advocates that there are three ways of theorizing student mobility.
According
to the first perspective international students are a subset of highly skilled
migration. International students are seen as a stock of highly skilled
personnel and in some European countries the visa regulations are relaxed and
for instance, in Germany giving international students the opportunity to stay
for one more year to search for employment when they complete their studies. In
other words, student mobility is another form of mobility by the highly skilled
given the potential for foreign students to enter the host country workforce
upon graduation. As in the case of attracting highly skilled, in attracting
international students - who are a part of the highly skilled and have a
potential to be an immigrant in the long run the states of the EU have recently
took actions. Moreover, the literature in Europe recognizing foreign students
as a stock of highly skilled immigrants is evolving whereas it has been studied
in the U.S., Canada and Australia for a long time.
As
a precursor to the brain drain phenomenon, the migration of students highlights
exceptional details of the dynamics and trends of semi-finished human capital
equally as highly skilled capital. In this context, the figures show the obvious.
According to data from the OECD, approximately 1.5 million students studied in
another OECD member state in 2000, while more than fifty per cent came from
non-OECD countries. Furthermore, the number of foreign students in OECD
countries has doubled over the past twenty years to 1.6 million.
Second,
student mobility “has been analyzed as a product of globalization, both
generally (as flows of people accelerate between integrating economies), and
more specifically as national higher education sectors restructure around
internationally defined standards and training appropriate to a global economy”.
International student mobility is one of the major issues in
internationalization of higher education systems that refers to an
incorporation of all aspects of higher education systems or institutions that
goes beyond national borders or that is influenced by or cooperates with
students, academic staff, administrators, institutions, governments or other
stake holders in other countries.
“A
third interpretative strand places international student mobility within
research on youth mobility cultures and the geographies of consumption”. This
kind of movement is not determined by economic factors but rather by
experiential factors have a crucial role. Those international students have
experienced different locales and as a result they have a greater agency in
self-identification. Therefore their transnational experiences differ from a
traditional international student since they had transnational stages during
their biography development. According to this perspective, reflected in the
study of Findlay & Stam, transnational experiences are expressed itself as
various forms of capital, particularly social and cultural ones. Thus,
international students are seen as migratory elite who are ready and
enthusiastic to move and unrestricted to transformations in their environment.
Why are students encouraged to
emigrate?
Of
course, from the countries’ perspective, international students are mainly a
positive occurrence. They come, stay for a longer period and leave money
behind. In addition, they are young and bring new and innovative ideas.
Students are also less motivated by economic reasons – for them, factors such
as language skills, the nature of the country and other leisure or educational
elements, play a more important role in choosing the country.
In
2003, only two percent of the world’s 10 million students were enrolled in a
university program abroad. This is a small number, considering scholarships
such as the European Erasmus or Socrates programs. Without a doubt, questions
of cost, motivation and organization decide whether or not a student decides to
study abroad. One needs to differentiate between temporary international student
migration and full-time student migration.
Many
Western countries have decided to encourage international student migration by
offering them attractive conditions they often cannot find in their home
countries. Especially engineers, scientists and computer specialists are
welcomed. Often, they emigrate from Eastern Europe (Ukraine, Russia) or from
South East Asia (India). This is part of a bigger scheme based on the
presumption that a country can only profit from highly skilled students. First,
the (future) fiscal balance is certainly affected. In the long run, students
will pay taxes in the host country. Furthermore, students tend to be young –
thus, high-income nations with low or even negative population growth consider
migration in general to be a means to ‘resolve’ the problem of supporting an
ageing population. Besides this dynamic, students are not only young, they also
tend to be highly skilled – two aspects host countries are especially keen to
utilize.
Undoubtedly,
international student migration can accelerate technical progress in an
economy. This is why countries actively look for highly skilled students and
sometimes even pay their fees. In 2006, more than 35 percent of Ph.D.
scientists and engineers in the U.S. were foreign born. This is linked to the
USA’s general level of innovation growth. Additionally, this is one of the most
attractive reasons for a country to encourage international student migration.
The European Union is aware of this, but has not been able to trigger similar
rates so far. It concentrates too much on temporary programs such as temporary
international student migration, instead of long-term postgraduate immigration.
The
language situation plays an important part as well as the differences in
cultural and educational systems in Europe. Despite the introduction of
Bachelor and Master Programs in many nations, the countries often prefer to
stick to their own system. This is strange, given that a static and inflexible
labor force is known to be the EU’s Achilles heel. Furthermore, labor mobility
is considered to be crucial for the completion of the internal market. With the
financial crisis, unemployment rates have skyrocketed in several countries,
affecting heavily the younger labor forces.
It
is thus not surprising that member states are afraid to encourage student
mobility further. The EU hardly has the competence to initiate change in this
area, but given its economic aspect, international student migration should be
dealt with more closely. The potential gains ranging from positive tax balances
to increasing innovation rates are obvious. But matching the reluctance of the
EU’s member states with the budget spent on innovation and technology in
general, it is hardly surprising that the EU is, once again, limping behind
economies such as the US.
Migration Trends:
One
in every 35 people around the world is living outside the country of their
birth. This amounts to about 175 million people, a figure higher than ever
before. Recent migration data shows that:
With
the growth in the importance of labor-related migration and international
student mobility, migration has become increasingly temporary and circular in
nature. For example in 2001 there were 475,000 foreign students in the US. The
international mobility of highly skilled workers increased substantially in the
1990s.
The
spatial impact of migration has spread with an increasing number of countries
affected either as points of origin or destination. While many traditional
migration streams remained strong, significant new streams have developed.
The
proportion of female migrants has steadily increased [now over 47% of all
migrants]. For some countries of origin, women now make up the majority of
contract workers for example, in countries such as The Philippines, Sri Lanka,
Thailand and Indonesia.
The
proportion of female migrants has steadily increased MEDCs have reinforced
controls, in part in response to security issues, but also to combat illegal
immigration and networks that deal in trafficking and exploitation of human
beings.
Globalization
in all its aspects has led to an increased awareness of opportunities in other
countries. With advances in transportation and communication and a reduction in
the real cost of both, the world’s population has never had a higher level of
potential mobility. Also, in various ways, economic and social development has
made people more mobile and created the conditions for emigration.
Between
1963 and 2006 the number of students studying in a foreign country increased 9
times. In 2006 there were 2.7 million students studying abroad and there are
predictions that the demand for cross-border education will increase to 7.2
million by 2025.
OECD
countries receive approximately 85% of the world’s foreign students with the
majority concentrated in just 6 countries. In 2007, the United States accounted
for 21.4% of foreign enrolments, the United Kingdom 12.6%, France 8.8%,
Australia 7.6%, Germany 7.4%, and Japan 4.5%.
The
main region receiving foreign students is Europe, which has approx. 840,000
international students. However the majority of this figure comes from students
moving from one European country to another.
East
Asia and the Pacific top the list for sending students and accounts for 29% of
all international higher education students. (Students from China account for
15% of this total.) North America and Western Europe account for 18%, then
Central and East Europe 11%, South and West Asia 9%, Arab States 7% and Sub
Saharan Africa 5.8%.
Contributing factors to growth in
student migration:
There
are many factors contributing to the growing numbers of student migration. Many
developing countries have an under supply of university places to satisfy
demand and as a result students have no other choice but to study abroad. In
addition to this it is a common expectation that studying overseas can enhance
professional business opportunities. Generally, students seeking cross-border
education migrate to countries with more developed education institutions than
their own. For example, students in Arab countries migrate to Egypt and Jordan
to pursue their studies, and many students from Bangladesh and Nepal travel to
India. The flow of students from developing countries to developed countries is
often due to the belief that the quality and standards of education offered in
OECD countries is superior to what is offered in the country of origin.
Higher
education has become a major global export commodity with developing countries
capitalizing on domestic shortages by recruiting foreign students.
Subsequently, changes to visa and immigration policies have provided incentives
for students to travel abroad and potentially offer a gateway to permanent
residency within a host nation. Migration opportunities are one of the major
contributions to the growth of student migration. A 2006 survey, undertaken by
Australia’s Monash University, produced statistics which showed 75% of Indian students
who completed university education in Australia applied for and were granted
residency. The author of the research, Michiel Bass suggests that the most
influential reason Indian students studied in Australia was not because of
academic reputation, but the opportunity to gain permanent residency.
An
important factor contributing to student migration is the desire to study in a
language other than the student's first language. For example, a growth in the
number of students travelling to study in the UK from Central and Eastern
Europe has been partially attributed to the wish "to study in a higher
education environment where communication is in English".
Other
factors for the rise in student migration include lowering travel expenses and
greater communication technology which has made studying abroad more
accessible.
There
are some push and pull factors relating to international migration and the
intervening obstacles that potential migrants face. This is not a definitive
list and some of the factors listed are debatable. The nature of push and pull
factors varies from country to country [and from person to person] and changes
over time. Today, immigration laws present the greatest obstacle to most
potential international migrants whereas in the past the physical dangers
encountered on the journey often presented the greatest difficulty.
§ Push and Pull factors
Factors
at origin
|
Factors
at destination
|
History of International Student
Migration:
During
the colonial period, the majority of student flow came from colonies to the
world capitals. Imperial governments provided pathways for selected nationals
to pursue higher education. The concept of studying abroad was based on the
assumption that graduates would return to their homeland to serve colonial
administration once they had developed skills and absorbed the values of the
colonial rulers.
The
Cold War era had a significant impact on foreign aid and the funding of
overseas students. The policy of distributing scientific knowledge and sharing
industrial progress with the developing world required the help of higher education
institutions. Support for USAID linked the foreign policy mission with support
to higher education. Cold war rivals funded study abroad programs and were in
competition to attract students from the developing world.
One
of the most famous international exchange programs which facilitates and
encourages international student migration is the Fulbright Program.
Established in 1946, The Fulbright Program provides grants for students,
scholars, teachers and professionals to undertake various studies and research.
The Fulbright Program was initially funded by using proceeds from the sales of
surplus war property and was founded on the principal of promoting
"international good will through the exchange of students in the fields of
education, culture and science".
The
Colombo Plan was another program that encouraged the movement of students
between countries. The Colombo Plan was established in 1951 with the intention
of strengthening economic and social development of the Asia Pacific region.
The Colombo Plan has been responsible for sponsoring over 40 thousand Asian
students to study or train in Australian higher education institutions. Funding
for students is provided by member countries, which includes a mixture of 26
Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth countries.
Since
the colonial and Cold War eras, the profile of international students has made
a significant shift. The way in which students travel has changed over time and
the majority of students seeking education abroad are now self-funded.
Issues that can arise with student
migration:
The
loss of students from sending countries can have a rather detrimental impact on
the economy by depleting already scarce resources. Brain drain is a term used
to describe the large scale loss of individuals with technical skills or
knowledge.
Differences
in learning cultures are an issue in student migration. This means that the
students can have difficulty if the teaching, learning and assessment methods
are very different to those in their previous education. For example, some
European students studying in Britain have been noted as having little
experience of a number of tasks typically expected of British students while
many are familiar "with only traditional forms of assessment such as
examinations".
In
the past the perceived major disadvantage of emigration has been that it will
lead to a ‘brain drain’ in which countries will lose their best workers.
However, the direct and indirect effect of remittances may more than compensate
for this. For some countries the proportion of graduates working overseas is
high – 25% for Iran, 26% for Ghana, 10% for the Philippines, 6% for South
Korea. It has been estimated that about $60 billion worth of LEDC investment in
tertiary education has been ‘drained’ to OEDC countries. However, it should be
noted that some LEDCs have more graduates in some areas than they need.
Characteristics of international
students: region, gender, level of study
Key
points
• 2010 student immigration from outside
the EU has been estimated at 181,000 (2010, International Passenger Survey),
with higher estimates from data on visas issued (254,000) and landing cards
from passenger entries (271,000).
• While fewer students from the
Americas have been entering the UK, passenger entries of students from Asia increased
from 114,000 in 2008 to 171,000 in 2009 and remained similar (172,000) in 2010.
• The majority of non-EU students
entering higher education in the UK in 2008-09 were male, but outside of
engineering and computer science the majority was female.
• On average, student migrants have
shorter stays in the UK than those who migrate for family or work; among
students entering the UK in 2004, 21% remained in the country with legal leave
to remain by 2009.
Where
do international students come from? According to IPS estimates, in 2010 77%
(181,000) were from outside the EU and 23% were from the EU, including 3.4% who
were British nationals arriving from abroad.
Student migrants add to the
permanent population less than other migrants:
Student
visas are temporary, in that they do not provide a direct legal route to
settlement. Student migrants typically have shorter stays in the UK than other
types of migrants. Of those who entered in 2004, 79% no longer remained in the
UK as settled residents or in the immigration control system by the end of
2009. Another 6% of the 2004 cohort remained as students, 3% were still in the
UK temporarily on work visas not leading to settlement, and 11% were on a path
to settlement or settled here through work or family routes.
Those
wishing to stay in the UK beyond the terms of their initial student visa have
several options: they might apply for an extension to their student visa, or
apply for a new visa under a work or family category. Some might avoid the
immigration system and stay on without a visa, but, as noted below, over
stayers are difficult to estimate, and impossible to count directly using
administrative data, as they evade the immigration control system.
Students
not only have shorter stays, but they also bring fewer dependents than other
categories of migrants. The ratio of main applicants to dependents awarded Tier
4 Student visas are approximately 10:1 (slightly more than one dependent visa
is granted entry for every 10 main applicant student visas). For Tier 1 and
Tier 2 labor migrants the ratio has been approximately 10:8.
Transnational activities of
international students:
International
students have experienced different locales and as a result they have a greater
agency in self-identification. Therefore their transnational experiences differ
from a traditional international student since they had transnational stages
during their biography development. According to this perspective, international
students are seen as migratory elite who are ready and enthusiastic to move and
unrestricted to transformations in their environment. That’s why, it is
important to recognize the transnational activities of international students
which are often neglected.
While
the term ‘international’ characterizes the relations between nation-states, the
notion of ‘trans-nationalization’ highlights the construction of cross-border
social spaces in which non-state actors perform a role too. It begins from a
diverse set of presuppositions about social organization than the usual ones
used by social scientists and policy makers. In general, it is an approach to
migration that highlights the attachments that migrants preserve to people,
traditions and causes external to the boundaries of the host country. It
positions migrants within social spaces which connects numerous national
territoriesrather than imagining them to commute between two restricted states
and exchange one national identity for another. It is said that “transnational
social spaces are combinations of social and symbolic ties, positions in
networks and organizations andnetworks of organizations that can be found in at
least two geographically and internationally distinct places”.
In
the last decade literature of migration had seen expanding studies about
transnational approach which stresses the migrants’ continuous links to people,
traditions and causes outside the boundaries of their host states. This new
transnational perspective accents the various ways of how and why the
connections of present time are different or more intense than the earlier types.
Furthermore transnationalism asserts that contemporary migrants live in
‘transnational communities’ and they are consisting of dense networks across
political borders created by immigrants in their quest for economic advancement
and social recognition. Through these networks, an increasing number of people
are able to live dual lives. Participants are often bilingual, move easily
between different cultures, frequently maintain homes in two countries, and
pursue economic, political and cultural interests that require their presence
in both.
International
migration is not contemporary; notwithstanding the development of theoretical
perspectives analyzing the different types of mobility is deep-seated.
According to the study of Barré et al. (2003) about two thirds of tertiary
level students from the developing countries of South remain in the receiving
countries of the North upon completion of their studies and form a new type of
migrant category. Yet, the studies are premature especially those employing a
transnational lens to this particular phenomenon.
Conclusion
In
conclusion, it is crucial to study the movements of tertiary education students
who, as semi-finished human capital, have an exceptional value which should not
be allowed to be ignored. One major point highlighted in this paper is the
ambiguity of their status depending on the time frame mostly. Despite their
changing categories, in the discourse, the experiences of international
students are absent. Therefore, many different aspects are not really explored
and understood.
The
purpose of this study was to show what has been neglected and propose a
meso-level analysis to be included in the literature. Even though the effects
of globalization and internationalization of higher education systems, the
relaxed admittance regulations have been studied, there is still a need for
further research in other areas such as social, academic and friendship
networks of international students. It would also mean an introduction of
meso-level analysis into macro-level analysis domination. Transnationalism
which stresses individuals as members of networks and communities engaged in
cross-cultural exchanges is a great conceptual tool to realize this kind of
analysis. Various kinds of networks formed by international students would
enable us to understand drivers and barriers of student mobility not only at
the state level. As in the case of labor migration, international student
mobility may be operating through chains and channels. Moreover, a
transnational lens would allow us to acknowledge how different types of
networks (both national and transnational) contribute to student identity
(re)construction. It would facilitate a deeper understanding of dual lives of
international students. It is also obvious that a deeper understanding of
different issues surrounding international student mobility will show itself as
better and adaptable policies and practices in international higher education
system.
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