Abstract
Educators have long recognized that education abroad can be a path to job opportunities and personal growth. Pre-COVID, the number of students studying abroad had increased steadily year by year; this development was disrupted by the pandemic. As student mobility resumes post-COVID, there is a renewed interest in understanding the factors that motivate students to participate in studying abroad. This presentation shares the results of preliminary research conducted at a Thai university. The researchers surveyed 250 students to determine the factors that motivate them to study abroad as well as the obstacles that they perceive as preventing them from studying abroad. The top three factors were personal development, career development, and academic factors. International experience makes an impact on the CV as it does not improve only the students’ language skills but seems to shape their global citizenship mind which is essential in the industry. The top three obstacles were expenses, curriculum factors, and language barriers. The majority of Thai students are self-funded for their education abroad so the expenses are one of the main factors in their decision as well as the relevant course should not expand the study time. Additionally, students expressed interest in a wide variety of experiences beyond the traditional semester abroad, including work and study, short courses, internships, and research opportunities. The findings of this study will be of interest to educators who are interested in understanding students’ perceptions regarding studying abroad in order to increase student mobility and student satisfaction with the study abroad experience.
Author Information
Phanita Pooteang-on, Mahidol University International College, Thailand
Chatwaroot Dulyachai, Mahidol University International College, Thailand
Worada Apirat, Mahidol University International College, Thailand
Paper Information
Conference: ACEID2023
Stream: International Education
This paper is part of the ACEID2023 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Pooteang-on P., Dulyachai C., & Apirat W. (2023) Factors Influencing Thai University Students’ Decision in Participating in Study Abroad ISSN: 2189-101X – The Asian Conference on Education & International Development 2023 Official Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2189-101X.2023.66
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2189-101X.2023.66
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