Popularity of International Schools - Coursework Example

RESEARCH PROPOSAL TITLE Popularity of International Schools RESEARCHER Ms./Mrs./Mr. (insert your names here) Department of (please insert your department here) Faculty of (please insert your faculty here) (Insert your college or university name here) SUPERVISOR Start with his/her title then his/her names (for instance Professor Bob Kelly) Department of (insert the name of the department your supervisor belongs) Faculty of (please insert his/her faculty here) (Insert college or university name here where your supervisor is attached to here) Student number: (insert your number here Lecturer: (insert your lecturer’s names here, remember start with the title) Table of Contents 1.0.Introduction 2 2.0.Literature Review 4 3.0.Research Methodology 8 3.1.Research Objectives 8 3.2.Research questions 9 3.3.Methods of data collection 10 3.3.1.Questionnaire 11 3.3.2.Interviews 11 3.3.3.Observation 12 3.3.4.Method of Data Analysis 12 3.4.Research Design 12 3.4.1.Location of the Research 12 4.0.Ethical Consideration 13 1.0. Introduction The development of European policies for higher education as well as demand for certain certification in job markets in the last few decades has seen different trends in the movement of students from one continent seeking education in other continents believed to be complying with the needs of job markets. This proposal critically assess shift in the demand for foreign education in particular, it assess reasons as to why international school have become popular. Tertiary or middle level institutions such as colleges and universities have been playing significant role in supporting economic development, creation of job opportunities, promotion of innovation and invention and improvement of individual lives. Despite these benefits, the last few decades have seen number of international schools becoming popular thus making students from non-European countries such as African, South America and Asian continents become attracted to these schools. Studies such as Altbach (2004) have attributed this move to distinct marketing strategies by some international schools to be the reasons as to why students seek admissions with them. Other theoretical perspectives from other scholars argue that there have been unique factors such as large scale commercialization of the higher education industry as well as international labour market needs which has hastened the popularity of international schools. On the other hand, there is a consensus that the popularity of international schools has not been attributed to marketing strategies but by a changing demographic structure in many Western economies (Binsardi and Ekwulugo 2003). The question that should be assessed is whether the student mobility to international schools is a factor of marketing or a case between the current demand in job market and a demand for higher education to suit individuals in the society. This proposal further examines the role of policies and competition in international schools and how these policies have facilitated the need for admission in international schools. Taking a case of United Kingdom (UK), provision for education for students coming from different countries has been made an industry and as a result, their visa policy on exceptional students have been made flexible thus attracting many international students (Van der Wende 2001). This is a typical case that makes universities in UK popular for Chinese, Arabic and American students. The proposal is thus organized as follows: section two will constitute critical literature review regarding the popularity of international schools. This section will draw on previous findings and present a historical perspective on the development of student mobility to international schools. The third section deals with methodology---methods of data collection, analysis and interpretation. The last section will be capturing ethical considerations regarding respondents who will be engaged in the study. 2.0. Literature Review According to the Institute of International Education as cited in Waters and Brooks (2010) the popularity of international schools have increased by over 48 percent in the past 7 years beginning from 2005. According to the research the improvement in the number of students seeking admission in countries such as Canada, United States of America and Australia has been due to costs that are now affordable. These popularities have been attributed to good ranking of the international schools according to Waters and Brooks (2010). They concretise their finding by arguing that after the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York City and the attack that was made on the Pentagon in Washington D.C number of foreign students coming to join schools dropped. The figure shows that numbers of students seeking admission in these countries dramatically dropped by 45% (i.e., 7,886), and in the 2011-2012 academic year, the number of Saudi Arabian international students for that matter dropped by 39% representing a total of 34,139 in 2011-2012 academic year. One the one hand, Waters and Brooks (2010) show that popularity of international schools has been due to good rankings and reputations the country or the institution in particular enjoys. On the other, these findings suggest questions such as ‘what strengths and success strategies do international schools use bring learners their institution? Although other findings such as Hemsley-Brown and Oplatka (2006) have also indicated that the popularity of these institutions have been due to strategic marketing and promotional programmes such as scholarships, there are other benefits associated with these international schools; a strategy moving students have not been able to get in their countries or schools within their country. One of these strategies is the employment during study or upon completion of their studies. Taking a case of UK, Canada and Australia, it is reported that following the completion of their study, a number of students are offered opportunity to stay in these countries thus enjoying better remunerations. According to the research between 2007 and 2010, most students from Asia and Africa always prefer international institutions hoping that at the end of their study their knowledge and skills will be utilized in their country of study (Hemsley-Brown and Oplatka 2006). This case is different when compared with countries such as India and Egypt which have well ranked institutions but unpopular since they do not offer these incentives at the completion of the study. Hemsley-Brown and Oplatka (2006) findings was earlier found by Bennell and Pearce (2003) who stated that there are two categories of States when it comes to admission of foreign students. The first State is the member termed as ‘member State.’ These are countries that admit student all over the world but can only offer employment and other incentives to students from European Union. On the other hand, there are ‘non-member States’ who admit students from all over the world and are flexible in allowing ‘exceptional’ performers work and live in their countries of studies. The reason for international schools popularity in Europe has undergone considerable changes in the 21st century. In particular, Wilkins et al. (2013) assess marketing strategies that international schools uses to attract foreign students. Relating this to the changes in European schools, it is noted that students increased need for studying abroad has been facilitated by the improved bilateral relations within Europe. What Wilkins et al. (2013) finds is that international schools do not wholly depend on marketing strategies but enjoy the popularity of their institutions as a result of enhanced mutual understanding between different countries, additionally there has been strategies to promote education and professional engagements at the international levels. However, Lawn and Grek (2012) differ with this opinion arguing that what make these schools attractive are the marketing strategies, government policies and policies within these schools. Taking a case study of UK and Canada, they add that Universities such as Exter have been popular due to the national policies that are in existence. This university for instance has a marketing strategy and a policy in place that has been making the institution popular since these policies allow qualified third-nationals get scholarships. On the other hand, universities such as Walden in United States of America have a policy whereby there is existence of similarities in the rationale for establishing national policies and strategies that for long have ensured that third-national have equal scholarship opportunities. According to Labour Force Survey (Lawn and Grek 2012), foreign students in universities such as Manchester have for long been allowed to seek part time employments in different sectors within the university, a policy that has been the institution famous among students coming from Asian and African countries. Statistics regarding the flow of foreign students to international universities reveal that the reason is due to policy initiatives (Brooks et al. 2012). Contrariwise, trends in international schools such as opening academic programmes in other foreign countries suggest that they have gained popularity due to a growing number of non-European students who find studying in those schools as an added advantage when they seek employment in their countries of origin. This proposal finds the ideas as suggested by Brooks et al. (2012) to be lacking evidence. It is apparent that national policies regarding higher education differ significantly across different countries and even among member states consequently, higher education market has been segmented into regional or to some cases national market (McClelland and Gandy 2012). This makes it difficult to support the idea that international schools are popular because they offer certifications that are accepted in every market. The case here is that there have been specific marketing strategies including these schools sending academicians (professors and doctors) and opening new branches in countries where they expect large number of students. Taking an example of Oxford University, the school has had strong partnership with countries such as India, Saudi Arabia and China. This has made it popular in some of the Asian countries as well. While this can simply be put as a marketing strategy that has implied that there is alignment of national policies in the long run, it has been one way through which international schools increase their visibility when it comes to provision of higher education (on the global map) thus improving the attractiveness of the popular visiting countries. For decades, the UK has been at centre stage when it comes to some of the most popular schools. As a matter of fact, the country has the most internationally distinguished destinations in Europe thus attracting the maximum of foreign mobile leaners (Gribble and Blackmore 2012). Based on this trend, it can be concluded that most of schools in UK were popular due to the fact that it colonized most of third world countries and for long these countries felt that their schools were the best. However, according to Bonal (2012) the popularity of schools in UK took a different a twist since 2000. Since 1996 France and Germany have had schools that have become popular thus attracting learners from other European and non-European countries. According to Bonal (2012), the reason for the rise of these schools is due to the internationalization of higher education. However, it has to be noted that the growing need for international schools has been due to the pursued marketing strategies that has been aimed at promoting students mobility especially from non-European countries. 3.0. Research Methodology 3.1. Research Objectives One critical objective of the research is to assess whether the popularity of international schools is due to the marketing strategies of the school, students’ specific objective or government policy. The objective has been chosen since it is the broad point about what the research hopes to accomplish and the desired outcome from the process of researching. These schools operate with established legal frameworks that differ and compare significantly, the objective has focussed on long-term outcomes intended to ascertain recent trends in students’ movements. In addition, the objectives introduces what is missing from the literatures reviewed thus identifying the gap in knowledge. The gap in knowledge that the proposal finds to be holding back the field is what the entire research will attempt to address thus providing the linkage or concordance between the identified objective and parts of central hypothesis. The second objective of the research is to assess whether there is any transfer of returns from. The objectives identified are: 1. To critically compare quantitative and qualitative data from respondents with a view to integrating such with literature reviews and understand the reason for the popularity of international schools 2. Assess the effectiveness of government policies, institution based marketing strategies and students based opinion regarding seeking international education. The objectives on the other one hand has been designed to augur well with plans the research intends to take in order to deal with practical problem or ethical issues that may be encountered. The second objective further helps in having research plan, choosing interview theme and shaping the questions that will be asked during data collection. Again, the second aim is specific and thus linking the secondary research problem. Another point to note regarding these particular objectives is that they show that the research proposal will be looking for actionable information and knowledge from qualitative research and it is for this reason that the first objective is general thus helping to link the primary research problems. 3.2. Research questions The following research questions have been identified with an aim of concretizing and solving research problems and or thesis statement: 1. What is the reason for the popularity of international schools? 2. Are government policies shaping the popularity of international schools 3. Is there a possibility that the popularity of international schools a factor of marketing strategy? The research question 1 challenges assumptions and theories that have been used in the proposal. That is, it tests the validity and conformity of the assumptions and theoretical models that have been adopted for the study. To this regard, such assumption helps this proposal confirm that the study will poses a sound research question. In such connection, the question has been developed as it is able to examine what the proposal considers as the scope, scalability, size and sustainability of the research topic. The second question on the other hand serves specific role as far as the thesis statement is concerned. It has been structured to reflect argument as postulated by Mikkelson and Partch, (2011) and as such, it has been narrowed to address the specific area that fits within the research design in particular and research methodology in general. In so doing, the dependent variable becomes the main focus of this proposal. On the other hand, this question brings the independent variable which is the causal factor that tends to influence the problem of the research. Also given the time, characteristics of the participants and resources available, the question is structured with respect to the variables which are actually critical to the model and feasibility of the investigation to be undertaken. 3.3. Methods of data collection Asquith and Kim (2006) define data analysis as a process of systematically searching and arranging interview transcript, field notes, data and other materials obtained from the field with the aim of increasing your understanding of them and enabling you to present them to others. In this study, three data collection procedures were employed: observation, interviews and questionnaires. According to Black (2001), the most common qualitative data collection instruments range from interviews, observations and document reviews to survey questionnaires. According to Mikkelson and Partch, (2011), there are four main methods of collecting data or information: participation in the setting, direct observation, in-depth interviews, and a review of documentary evidence. Due to the nature of data on the thesis statement, a mix of data collection instruments was applied due to the mixed approach to the study. 3.3.1. Questionnaire The data collection instrument will use a semi-structured questionnaire, which will be issued to the respondents engaged in the study. In this case, there will be open-ended questions which will require respondents to formulate their own responses or answers. On the other hand, there will be closed-ended questions requiring respondent to select their answers from the different options provided. 3.3.2. Interviews In this study, a set of questions will be formulated to help facilitate conversation with the respondents. The interview will not be limited to these questions. Based on the responses provided by the interviewee, other questions will be included in order to ask for further information or clarification. The questions that will be incorporated into these interviews will largely be based on the key objectives of the study. 3.3.3. Observation The third data collection instrument that was employed during the study will be observation. Observation is a type of qualitative research strategy that requires the researcher to become a participant in the context of the study, observing the participants and gathering information (Black (2001).  3.3.4. Method of Data Analysis The approach to data analysis in this study followed the same approach as that adopted in collecting the data. To begin with, the data will be coded by segmenting and labelling the respondents and the texts in different categories. With regard to questionnaire data, the information obtained after thematic analysis of the qualitative data will be presented using visual aids such as tables, charts and graphs. In regard to the quantitative data gathered from the first set of questionnaires for the different groups, SPSS and descriptive statistics (means and frequencies) will be utilised in the analysis. Along with various references such as SPSS textbooks, a statistics expert will be consulted to ensure accurate entering of data and correct test usage and Pearson’s Correlation analysis are employed to decipher the relationship between research objectives and thesis statement. 3.4. Research Design 3.4.1. Location of the Research Location of a research is the place or setting of the study. This is to mean that it is through such location that one can be able to describe in summary, the region or geographical area(s) where the study is conducted. That is, the region where there is highest number of target population and such population will attempt to answer research questions. Based on this argument, this study has identified different international schools that register higher number of foreign students as broader research locations however; the study will focus its attention on specific areas where there are target groups and such groups. 4.0. Ethical Consideration According to Ruback (2012), ethical consideration during qualitative research is very important in the sense that the data collected do not lose their reliability. The proposal will engage pre-programmed survey laptop for the visits in the institutions/companies. To this extent, the objectives and data collection adopted provides convections regarding what results may be stated as significant and the levels of margins of mistakes or error are accepted by the research. The second aspect of the intervention relates to relationship the research will have with the sample or the general population. This will actually not be just relationship with people in accordance to their institutions or code of behaviour but protocols and a given set of guidelines as dictated by the research. In this case, this proposal has proposed that information gathered from interviews, closed and open ended questionnaires will be stored as XML file and encrypted for confidentiality. The other aspect of ethical consideration that must be given due consideration is to inform participants on the nature and importance of the study. To this regard, the study will be explained to them, along with the consideration that their participation would be voluntary. Before commencing the study, consent forms will be signed by the relevant managers, workers in different firms and shareholders. The identity of all the respondents will be kept anonymous and, in cases where a name will be used in, it will be a pseudonym and not the real name of any of the respondents. Each participant engaged in this study will do so voluntarily and through free consent. Consequently, the responses will not be obtained through giving any compensation to the respondents. Before commencing the interview sessions, each respondent will be briefed on what the research involved. In regard to the questionnaires, the purpose of the study will be highlighted in an opening statement. References Altbach, P. G. (2004). Higher education crosses borders: Can the United States remain the top destination for foreign students?. Change: the magazine of higher learning, 36(2), 18-25. Asquith, P., and E. Kim, (2006)"The Impact Of Merger Bids on the Participating Firms' Security Holders", The Journal of Finance, vol. XXXVII, pp. 1209 - 1228. Bennell, P., & Pearce, T. (2003). 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Ruback, R, (2012) "Assessing Competition In The Market For Corporate Acquisitions", Journal of Financial Economics 11, pp. 141 - 153. Van der Wende, M. C. (2001). Internationalisation policies: about new trends and contrasting paradigms. Higher education policy, 14(3), 249-259. Waters, J., & Brooks, R. (2010). Accidental achievers? International higher education, class reproduction and privilege in the experiences of UK students overseas. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 31(2), 217-228. Wilkins, S., Shams, F., & Huisman, J. (2013). The decision-making and changing behavioural dynamics of potential higher education students: the impacts of increasing tuition fees in England. Educational Studies, 39(2), 125-141. Read More