The decision-making process in access paths to master´s degree studies: the case of international students in Spain

International student mobility is an important dimension of internationalisation in higher education, involving a high percentage of students in certain subject areas. A literature review revealed the absence of studies deepening our knowledge of this group of students in specific contexts and stage...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Valls Figuera, Robert G., Torrado Fonseca, Mercedes, Romero Rodríguez, Soledad, Jurado de los Santos, Pedro
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/148136
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/148136
https://doi.org/10.3390/su15075621
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:International student mobility
Internationalisation
Master’s degree transition
International student decision-making process
Higher education
Degree mobility
Descripción
Sumario:International student mobility is an important dimension of internationalisation in higher education, involving a high percentage of students in certain subject areas. A literature review revealed the absence of studies deepening our knowledge of this group of students in specific contexts and stages. Thus, this survey study was undertaken to gather data on the profiles and academic and professional careers of a sample of students. Specific differences in their intrinsic and extrinsic motives for their choice of degree subject were found. A total of 314 students from 14 Master’s degree programmes at two public universities responded, 42.4% of whom were international students. The data showed differences in reasons for choice between international and Spanish-native students when enroling in a Master’s degree programme. The foreign students had diverse motivations, in many cases related to each other, with no predominance of extrinsic or intrinsic motives. This suggests that, when students are deciding to study abroad, universities should consider the importance of offering guidance to these students at the stage prior to accessing the Master’s degree