Abstract
Student migration is considered a part of the highly skilled migration. Most existing research focuses on the impact of international student migration but rarely examines the reasons and dynamics that lead to their out-migration. Our paper aims to ameliorate this gap by focusing on potential student migrants in their home countries and examines factors that enable or prevent them from studying abroad. Based on the comparative analysis of a set of surveys conducted among Indian and Chinese college students, this chapter is an attempt to gauge their intention to study abroad and the possibility of a subsequent return to their home country. We first present the demographic, socio-economic profiles of these students and their families and India-specific characteristics. We also explore China as a possible study destination, which is a part of the changing landscape of international student migration. The chapter concludes with future research directions.
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Notes
- 1.
The option for other gender identities recorded zero responses. The lack of acceptance of gender non-conforming identities in more patriarchal societies could potentially serve as a push factor for migration, but since none of the participants expressed a non-binary identity, this question could not be further explored.
- 2.
All terms used here are from official Indian government terminologies: Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India as defined by the United Nations (https://in.one.un.org/task-teams/scheduled-castes-and-scheduled-tribes/).
- 3.
In India non-taxable income is under INR 250 thousands (3360 US dollar) for an individual per annum.
- 4.
An article by The Hindu, a reputed national Indian news agency, reported six racially motivated hate crimes against people of Indian origin in the USA in 2017.
- 5.
Data are compiled from the 2010 Census and Statistics of Foreign Students in China, 2010 (来华留学生简明统计 2010).
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Acknowledgement
The authors thank the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, USA, and the United States-India Educational Foundation, India, whose Fulbright Senior Scholarship was awarded to Wei Li that resulted in the Indian student survey which this article is based upon. We are indebted to Dr. Lu Zheng at Sichuan University in China and Dr. Shengnan Zhao in the USA who granted the permission to use the Chinese survey and analysis and Dr. Shekhar Tokas of SGT University for his assistance in the early stage of Indian student survey. Any possible errors, however, are entirely ours.
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Rai, T., Ratna, V., Li, W. (2023). Student Migration Intention and Reflections: Indian and Chinese Students Compared. In: Potnuru, B., Thakur, N., Kumar, P. (eds) Development Outlook of Education and Migration. Demographic Transformation and Socio-Economic Development, vol 14. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-39382-2_8
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