Chinese Students Abroad: Why They Choose the UK and How They See Their Future

Online Information and Communication Through WeChat and Chinese Students’ Decisions for Studying in New Zealand

“…In all the factors of WeChat content, the preferences for WeChat content about the natural environment and general social stability, and immigration policies in New Zealand, rate as the top two. The respondents' preferences for reading WeChat articles about New Zealand's immigration policies are in line with the previous studies which indicated the significance of immigration policies when international students chose destination countries (Bodycott, 2009;Cheung et al, 2010;Counsell, 2011;Eder et al, 2010;Geng & Li, 2012;Lee & Morrish, 2012;Maringe & Carter, 2007;Mok, 2016;Shaw, 2014).…”

“…These factors can be classified into three broad categories, namely, educational, political/socio-cultural, and economic factors (de Wit et al, 2008;Maringe & Carter, 2007). Previous researchers such as Bodycott (2009), Counsell (2011), Eder et al (2010, Kavakas (2013), Maringe and Carter (2007), and Petruzzellis and Romanazzi (2010) have identified the push-pull factors, which motivate international students to study overseas.…”

“…As for the 20% of the respondents who choose disagree or strongly disagree, they may come from families in a sound financial condition, so they do not think WeChat content about studying costs would influence their decisions when choosing study-destination countries. Chinese students' parents treated studying abroad as a family investment to offer their children a competitive edge when they sought careers back in China (Bodycott, 2009;Counsell, 2011;Yang, 2012). The study assumes that those Chinese students, who choose disagree or strongly disagree, may place more importance on educational resources and teaching quality and other factors, instead of tuition fees.…”

“…From Figure 14, around 57% of respondents "agree" (48.1%) or "strongly agree" (8.7%) to wanting to obtain information about career prospects and life in New Zealand through WeChat. As mentioned earlier, Chinese parents' attitudes towards the payment for their children's education as they treat the costs for their children's abroad study as a long-term investment (Bodycott, 2009;Chen, 2007;Chen & Zimitat, 2006;Eder et al, 2010;Maringe, 2006;Maringe & Carter, 2007), or as the opportunity to increase their overseas studying and working experiences, thereby enhancing their competitiveness in the workplaces in China (Counsell, 2011). Figure 15 shows that over 75% of respondents would like to read information about the natural environment and social safety of New Zealand from WeChat, with around 56% of them choosing "agree", and over 19% opting for "strongly agree".…”

“…The teaching quality also influences international students' university choice (Petruzzellis & Romanazzi, 2010;Smith & Pitts, 2010). Furthermore, educational facilities are also one of the influential factors on international students' host country choice (Bodycott, 2009;Counsell, 2011;Eder et al, 2010;Lee & Morrish, 2012;Maringe & Carter, 2007;Phang, 2015).…”