At the Origins of Migration Choices: A Survey of Students at Two South European Universities

Abstract

Migration research has long highlighted the role of factors influencing migration flows at the structural level. Recent literature has shifted researchers’ attention to the individual drivers influencing the definition of migration strategies and, before that, the individual propensity for mobility. In this paper, we present the results of a multiple regression model applied to data collected by means of an online survey of students at the universities of Salerno (Italy) and Extremadura (Spain). The model highlights the low prominence achieved by factors such as gender and parental cultural capital on this propensity. A more important role is played by the personal experience of living abroad, a proactive attitude toward the future, and the propensity to seek professional self-fulfillment even at the price of sacrificing one’s territorial affiliation.

Analysing Students’ Mobility at Higher Education Institutions: Case of Ukrainian University During the War

“…According to Sadeghi et al (2023) mobility students possess these same factors -extraversion and openness. Mobility experience as a sign of direct experience of migration has a positive and statistically significant effect on migration propensity (Addeo et al, 2023). A study by Weber and Saarela (2023) also proves that student migrants were the most likely to immigrate for a second time.…”

“…However, according to Luque-Martínez et al (2023) participants of the exchange programs demonstrated higher willingness to repeat their university studies. Previous research on the reasoning for students returning to their homes after studying at the university, conducted, e.g., for Portugal (Simões et al, 2021), Switzerland (Oggenfuss & Wolter, 2019), Italy, and Spain (Addeo et al, 2023) on the country's internal and international mobility, can be considered for designing a mobility data-management system to track behavioural factors. An ongoing war in Ukraine showed to be also influencing students' return/non-return decisions.…”