Moving towards multipolarity: shifts in the core-periphery structure of international student mobility and world rankings (2000–2019)

Abstract

Over the past 20 years, international student mobility has experienced a three-fold increase, as planned and emerging education hubs have attracted increasing numbers of students. The appeal of alternative destinations is strengthened by their cultural, linguistic, and geographic proximity, as well as a growing number of internationally ranked universities. This article quantifies shifts in international student mobility and world university rankings over a consequential 20-year period (1999/2000–2018/2019) at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It examines shifts in the number of county-to-country connections (density), relative country importance in the network (centrality), and network structure (multipolarity). The results indicate the overall network density steadily increased year-to-year, with a three-fold increase in the number of country-to-country connections, as influence was more widely and evenly distributed among a larger number of core countries within the network. As the number of universities in planned and emerging destinations listed in the rankings doubled, the network structure indicated a movement toward multipolarity, where a more diverse set of countries exerted greater relative influence in the overall network. The results suggest that while core-periphery dynamics in international student mobility persist, they also have begun to shift, as a larger and more diverse subset of planned and emerging educational hubs in Asia, South America, Africa, and the Middle East exert increasing influence in the overall network.

Between decolonization and recolonization: investigating Chinese doctoral students in Malaysia as a case of global South-South student mobility

“…This lends weight to heeding to decentring of international student mobility (Mulvey., 2020) and agency outside the "center" countries (Marginson & Xu., 2023). By strategizing unique economic and geocultural pull factors, Malaysia has engaged in shifting power dynamics that have the potential to destabilize the center-periphery power hegemony, echoing Glass and Cruz's (2022) recent observation of the growing influence of planned and emerging education in providing a counterbalance to the long-standing power of traditional destinations. More importantly, the study illuminates that despite an emerging movement, the nature of gains accrued was on a par with what the dominant South-North educational mobility could offer (Xu et al, 2020), lending further weight to the decolonial lens that delegitimizes coloniality of knowledge that negates, excludes, and occludes the possibilities of other knowledges (Mignolo., 2007).…”

Ticket to ride: national and international mobility as a multi-faceted resource in the life courses of young Italian graduates

“…With regard to the international mobility of Italian students, research (e.g. Breznik & Skrbinjek, 2020;Glass & Cruz, 2022;Kondakci et al, 2018) stresses two main outputs: firstly, because of the rigidity of the Italian labour market, studying abroad may improve one's career opportunities (D'Hombres & Schnepf, 2021); and secondly, students participating in international mobility programmes possess, on average, a higher cultural background than students without international mobility experiences (Ballatore & Ferede, 2013). Little attention has been paid, however, to the mobility strategies and experiences of students.…”

Economic Affects on Studying Abroad to the U.S.: Evidence from GRE Test-Takers

“…Some studies show the higher the educational level, the likelier he/she may migrate to a different country. [18]Also, it is an important reason for the students study abroad to obtain employment opportunities after studying in the receiving country [19] .…”