Studying Overseas: Factors Impacting Intention of Female Students in Mainland China

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that impact Chinese female students' intention to study overseas. This study also aimed to understand how these factors impact female students' decision making process. Using a survey questionnaire, data were collected from 96 female undergraduates who enrolled in a 4-year public university in North Central China fall 2010. Descriptive analyses, exploratory factor analyses, and structural equations modeling were utilized to answer the research questions. The results of the study indicated that students' satisfaction with campus experience, English proficiency, and only child status had significant direct effects on their intention to study overseas. The results also identified parents' education, Level of Institutional Support, Quality of Campus Relationship as significant indirect effects.Keywords: Study overseas; mainland China; female students(ProQuest: ... denotes formula omitted.)Mainland China is the largest source of overseas students in the world and the number of Chinese students pursued higher education overseas has been steadily growing in the past decades. According to Ministry of Education (MOE) statistics, in 2011, 339,700 Chinese students studied overseas, of which, over 90% studied on their own expense (Ministry of Education of People's Republic of China, 2012). The reasons for the increased interest in international study by Chinese prospective students include their country's sustained economic development and stable political environment that has made their option to study abroad more affordable (EIC Group, 2012). In addition, cultural changes such as the "one-child" policy have also contributed to increased family ability to support the single offspring, especially their daughters (Hagedorn & Zhang, 2010).Despite the influx of international students, there has been only minimal attention paid to how these students make their choice of an international postsecondary institution (e.g., Chen & Barnett, 2000; Maringe & Carter, 2007; Habu, 2000; Ren, Hagedorn, & McGill, 2011; Weiler, 1984). In fact, the topic of college choice has been concentrated on domestic students (e.g., Chapman, 1984; Hossler & Gallagher, 1987; Jun & Colyar, 2002; McDonough, 1997). Even less information is available on the context of Chinese students seeking to study overseas. And almost nothing is available about the choice and decision making specifically of female students who choose to pursue postsecondary education overseas.According to a Chinese proverb, "women hold up half of the sky," a considerable number of students who participate in study-abroad activities are females. Born after the one-child family policy which was first implemented in 1978, the current generation of China's young women is not only able to run on unfettered feet but also have unprecedented personal options, opportunities, and responsibilities denied to previous generations (Hagedorn & Zhang, 2010). It is important to invest in obtaining a better understanding about Chinese female students' choice and decision making process as they play an increasingly important role in study-abroad activities. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that impact Chinese female students' choice to study overseas and how these factors impact their decision making process. The specific research questions driving our investigation are:1. How do the background characteristics of female students who intend to study abroad differ from their female counterparts who choose to remain in mainland China?2. What are the specific factors that predict female students' intent to study abroad and what are the relationships between those factors?Review of Relevant LiteratureFactors Influencing Choice of Study AbroadThe decision to study abroad may be considered as the most significant and expensive commitment students and their families ever make (Mazzarol, 1998). …