The Dynamics of International Student Circulation in a Global Context Dr. Hans de Wit International Higher Education Consultant Co-Editor Journal of Studies in International Education (Sage/ASIE) AIEC 2008, Brisbane, October 8, 2008 Content The historical context of internationalisation of higher education Isues related to data collection on international student flows Trends and issues in international student circulation www.aiec.idp.com 1
A Historical Overview of Internationalisation of Higher Education I After WW II primarily South-North mobility to 4 main countries Combined with minor North-north mobility and national agreements for science and culture In the 60-70, increasing emphasis on Aid: Scholarships and capacity building. A Historical Overview of Internationalisation of Higher Education II End of the 70s in the U.K. and Australia a move generally refered to as from aid to trade : Introduction of differential fees for international students, start of active recruitment of international students In the mid 80s in continental Europe a different move: from aid to cooperation and exchange, Primarily driven by the European Commission (ERASMUS, Framework Programmes) www.aiec.idp.com 2
A Historical Overview of Internationalisation of Higher Education III In the 90s in Continental Europe, a gradual move to trade, first in the small Northern European countries, later followed by the rest. This trade is primarily international student recruitment. Academic and political rationales are more dominant than in U.K. and Australia, where economic rationales are still driving. In the U.K. and Australia we see at the same time a move to cross-border delivery of programmes and institutions: the incrasing importance of crossborder or transnational education. A Historical Overview of Internationalisation of Higher Education IV In the first decade of the new millenium we see: An increasing global competition for international students, and An emerging competition in other modes of crossborder education to the main five countries From other Anglosaxon countries, continental Europe, but also from emerging economies in Asia, Middle East, South Africa and Central Asia. www.aiec.idp.com 3
A Historical Overview of Internationalisation of Higher Education V We also see a new emerging, increasingly more dominant rationale in cross-border education: The competition for skilled labour, where the graying industrial societies (Europe, Northern America, Australia, Japan) compete for top talented students and top scholars for their knowledge economies with the emerging economies in the rest of the world. (For example: in Europe in the next 12 years the age group between 16 and 29 will drop from 90 to 81 million) Internationalisation has become one of the driving innovative elements in higher education Internationalisation has evolved from marginal and added value to central and core value in higher education This is true at the individual, institutional, governmental and international level, and has implications for its agenda and its organisation www.aiec.idp.com 4
International Student Circulation International Student Mobility is still by far the most dominant form of cross border education. Degree related Mobility is the most important form. Higher education capacity and demographics are crucial factors. Income generation is becoming less relevant than the search for skilled labour. Other factors as national security and religion should not be underestimated. There is not a clear definition and no reliable data on international students. Questions concerning data collection of International Student Flows Absence of trustworthy and consistent national level data sources on mobility Lack of common understanding on the use of various terms used in context of international student mobility www.aiec.idp.com 5
Definition of an internationally mobile student An internationally mobile student is a student having crossed a national border in order to study or to undertake other study-related activities for at least a certain unit of a study program or a certain period of time in the country they have moved to. (Richters/Teichler, 2006, p. 83) Problems with this definition It does not distinguish between: Students who go abroad as part of their home study to earn credits for their home degree Students who go abroad pursuing a degree completely or mostly at the foreign host institution Students who follow completely or mostly a degree program in their own country, delivered by foreign providers Students who follow completely or mostly a degree program on the basis of a joint or double degree between a national and a foreign provider. www.aiec.idp.com 6
Most common category: Students who go abroad pursuing a degree completely or mostly at the foreign host institution Problems with nationality versus residency: Foreigners since birth Migrants Double nationalities Change of nationality Move to or return to the country of study Data collections by institutions, countries and international bodies need to distinguish between: Students who go abroad as part of their home study to earn credits for their home degree Students who go abroad pursuing a degree completely or mostly at the foreign host institution (this is assumed in data of UNESCO and OECD, but not clear is if that also is a real fact) Students who follow completely or mostly a degree program in their own country, delivered by foreign providers (only Australia makes that distinction) Students who follow completely or mostly a degree program on the basis of a joint or double degree between a national and a foreign provider (they would also appear in the first group) www.aiec.idp.com 7
Implications of limitations in data collection It is not sufficient to rely on quantitative data only, but one needs to make a qualitative analysis of the data It is important to focus at trends over years more than data in a specific year It is important to use data from different sources in stead of relying only on one source Summary picture of International Student Circulation If we look over the whole period of 1965-2005, what is most striking are the numbers. India alone sends in 2005 more students abroad than the total number was for 1950 (107.500) Student mobility has increased keeping pace with the overall growth in expansion of higher education. The ten countries with the largest number of students studying abroad in 2005 equals the number of all international students of 1985 (939.000). We see an increase in students from developing countries, but relatively spoken mainly from China, India and South Korea. The developed countries stabilize their numbers and see a reduction in percentages The other developing countries increase, but in variations and not with the big numbers as do the other three. www.aiec.idp.com 8
Summary picture of International Student Circulation 2 The top receiving countries remain to a large extent the same, only Australia has been able to come close to the top 4, U.S.A., United Kingdom, Germany and France. If we look at the % of foreign students as part of total enrolment and we do not include the students that move around within Europe (46% of their mobility), Australia has a far higher number of international students (17.7% of the total student body) than the U.S.A. (4.6%) and Europe (3.2%). The Arab States which had a high position as receiving countries in the sixties and seventies see their position go down after that and become more active in sending than receiving students. Only very recently one can observe efforts by states as Jordan, Dubai and Qatar to become higher education hubs in the region, but the effect of their investments still have to become clear over the years. Summary picture of International Student Circulation 3 The efforts of other countries to increase the number of incoming students, such as China, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore are already paying off, as is the new role that South Africa plays as receiving country for Sub-Sahara Africa. Where North-North circulation is stabilizing, the South-North flows are still on the rise and a second flow of South-South circulation is taking place. In this also a regionalisation of South-South circulation is taking place: for instance Malaysia concentrating on Southeast and West Asia as well as China and Singapore, and South Africa on Sub-Saharan Africa. In the Middle East, Qatar and Dubai are promoting themselves as new regional hubs, and in Central Asia Kyrgyzstan. For the top receiving countries, skilled migration is becoming an increasingly more important rationale. Easier visa and work permit regulations are becoming available. At the same time, higher cost related tuition fees for nonnational/regional students are introduced. www.aiec.idp.com 9
Future Challenges Skilled immigration: competition for skilled labour in the global knowledge economy between developed countries and emerging countries. The increasingly more competitive higher education environment (impact of international rankings) and The role of cross-border delivery of education as an alternative for student mobility The role of national security, xenophobia and religion influence present and future trends in international student circulation THE DYNAMICS OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENT CIRCULATION IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT Hans De Wit Windesheim Hogeschool, The Netherlands Pawan Agarwal Minorities Development and Welfare Department, India Mohsen Elmahdy Said Ministry of Higher Education, Egypt Molatlhegi T.Sehoole University of Pretoria, South Africa and Muhammad Sirozi Graduate Studies Program of IAIN, Indonesia (Eds.) [ Paperback]$49.00 ISBN 978-90-8790-259-9 hardback USD147/EUR135 ISBN 978-90-8790-258-2 paperback USD49/EUR45 276 pages http://www.sensepublishers.com www.aiec.idp.com 10