Student mobility. Between theory and practice?

Abstract

Introduction: The Bologna Process has initiated the “culture of reforms” in higher education, conditioning the economic and social development of Europe. Erasmus Plus is an EU programme of education in 2014-2020. Despite the numerous benefits it offers to students, their mobility within the Erasmus Plus Programme proves to be low (not satisfactory). Purpose: Review the theoretical and practical aspects of student mobility, with particular emphasis on the Erasmus Plus Programme. Materials and methods: We searched for extant networks through peer-reviewed literature and the world-wide web. Additionally, we used a data analysis on the mobility of students of medicine and health sciences in 2005-2015 within the Erasmus Plus Programme, at selected university in Poland. Results: According to the educational standards in the European Union, students of medical faculties are obliged to complete 12 semesters of studies comprising 5,500 hours under teachers’ supervision. In Poland there are 5,700 hours – these additional hours account for mandatory physical education and foreign language classes which are not taught in other countries. Data from the last decade indicate that student mobility in Poland is an overestimated phenomenon as it concerns a narrow circle of students. Conclusions: A student who benefits from a scholarship under the Erasmus Plus Programme enhances their self-esteem and development opportunities. Participation in an international programme seems to bring benefits alone. In practice, however, there prove to be numerous barriers related to student mobility, such as financial problems, language barriers and issues related to the recognition (crediting) of a period of study completed at a partner university.

International Scientific Conference EMAN – Economics and Management: How to Cope with Disrupted Times

“…The students surveyed most often indicate such benefits of mobility as learning a foreign language, personal development, the opportunity to get to know another culture, strengthening and building an international network, the opportunity to see if one wants to live and work abroad, the opportunity to mark on one's CV the fact of having spent a semester at a foreign university, as well as gaining knowledge and skills that the home university cannot offer (Berg, 2016) (Doyle et al, 2010) (Németh et al, 2020) (Prasilova et al, 2018) (Marcinik & Winnicki, 2019) (Kim & Sondhi, 2015). The most commonly cited barriers include the cost of studying abroad, having to leave friends and family, lack of language skills, lack of knowledge about exchange programmes, extended study periods, inflexibility of the study programme or uncertainty about the ability to cope with the new environment (Doyle et al, 2010) (Nowakowska & Skrzypek-Czerko, 2016) (Liu, 2018). Most international students choose English-speaking countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.…”

“…z o.o., 2020). In Poland, as in other Central and Eastern European countries (Nowakowska & Skrzypek-Czerko, 2016), integrating international and intercultural dimensions into the formal and informal curriculum for all students in national learning environments has not been a priority so far.…”