1. ESRC Seminar Series: New Spaces of Education International Higher Education and the Mobility of UK Students Rachel Brooks (University of Surrey) Johanna Waters (University of Liverpool)

2. The internationalisation of HE Last twenty years – growth in global trends towards international study Most research focuses on a fairly narrow selection of students/destination countries Research on UK students has examined short-term mobility (e.g. Findlay et al. 2006) Our study: examines the international mobility of UK students for the whole of an undergraduate/ postgraduate degree

3. Key aims: To understand how and why UK students make the decision to study overseas, particularly the factors/considerations that inform this decision; the social and familial context to the decision-making process; and the relationship between social class, gender and ethnicity and overseas study. To generate new knowledge about the experiences of overseas-educated graduates on completion of their studies, including how graduates assess the value of their overseas education; whether they experience any obvious advantages/disadvantages in the labour market; and whether mobility for education is indicative of mobility after education.

4. The UK and international education Global market Bologna Declaration Prime Minister’s Initiatives on International Education – Increasing emphasis on benefits overseas study can offer UK students Anecdotal evidence of increase in outward mobility of UK students – Fulbright Commission figures – Media reports about growing interest in European HEIs – Outreach work by Harvard University

5. Employability and overseas study Economic rationale for expansion of HE in UK – Government analysis not shared by all Less correspondence between academic credentials and labour market destination New means of reproducing social advantage: – Rise of a ‘parentocracy’ – Increasing importance of status of HEI attended – Paid work and extra-curricular activities (during full-time study) – Further learning Overseas study an additional strategy?

6. Overview of methods Qualitative, in-depth interviews (80 in total) with UK citizens: – 20 sixth-formers seriously considering overseas study – 20 undergraduates seriously considering overseas study – 20 who have completed an undergraduate degree overseas – 20 who have completed a postgraduate degree overseas Recruitment using variety means, including: schools, Connexions, Fulbright Commission, alumni associations, Canadian Rhodes Scholars Foundation, Commonwealth Scholars Commission

7. Emergent findings (1) Overseas education as offering a ‘second chance’ at ‘success’ High expectations Overseas degree offers an ‘acceptable’ alternative Top US institutions preferred (ones that are “globally recognised and acknowledged”) Also offers a second chance at securing funding

8. Emergent findings (2) Global ‘circuits’ of education ‘Circuits’ of schools and HEIs Differential ability to overcome the ‘friction of distance’ Evidence of global circuits – rather than national or regional Failure to secure a place at one elite institution did not lead to a shift ‘downwards’, but ‘sideways’

9. Conclusion These are preliminary findings: study runs until end of July 2008 Initial findings point to the relatively privileged nature of overseas study Suggest the importance of gaining a ‘second chance at success’ as well as the emergence of global circuits of education