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)

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

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.

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

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?

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

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

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’

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