STEM Student Mobility Intentions Post-Graduation and the Role of Reverse Push-Pull Factors

• In Event: International student pathways, roles, and outcomes

Proposal

Mobility of highly skilled workers has become an essential component of globalization and economic growth with a particularly strong impact on business and technology (OECD, 2008, 2016). There is a critical need to understand the factors that influence the migration of highly-skilled workers and the implications for universities, immigration policy, and workforce development. Researchers have looked at why international students choose to study outside their home country (Altbach, 1991; Cantwell, Luca, & Lee, 2009; Lee, 2008; Lee & Kim, 2010; Li & Bray, 2007) however, research on the migration of international students in high-demand STEM fields post-graduation is more limited (Choudaha, 2015; Szelenyi, 2006; Wu & Wilkes, 2017).
In this study, researchers investigate international graduate students pursuing STEM degrees in the U.S., and the push-pull factors (Altbach, 2004; Carr, Inkson, & Thorn, 2005; Choudaha & DeWit, 2014) affecting their intent to stay or go, identifying differences based on students’ country of origin within World Bank defined categories of gross national income (GNI) per capita . From 2008 to 2012, over 60% of all students on F-1 visas came from lower middle-income (India) and upper middle-income (China) countries (Ruiz, 2014), where gross national income per capita ranges from $1,026 to $12,475 annually. Understanding the differences between income categories, can impact countries that stand to lose from brain drain, while encouraging the development of brain circulation where skilled immigrants create links between countries (Johnson & Regets, 1998; Saxenian, 2002).
This study used data from the NSF Graduate Students in Science Survey (Han & Appelbaum, 2016) to examine the relationship between students’ intent to stay or go and political, economic, and social push-pull factors (Altbach, 2004; Carr et al., 2005; Lee & Kim, 2010; Li & Bray, 2007). It also examined how factors differed based on World Bank GNI categories (World Bank, 2017). Countries within each category exhibit varying levels of the factors that affect students’ intent to stay or go. Because these factors are inherently interrelated, five factors were utilized: sociopolitical, political, economic, socioeconomic, and social.
Two research questions guided this study: RQ1 What are the political, economic, and social mobility factors that influence international students’ intent to stay, go, or not be sure?
RQ2 Are the political, economic, and social factors that influence international students’ intent to stay, go, or not be sure different for students from countries in different GNI categories?
Independent variables included students’ reasons for intending to stay or go after completion of studies: adjustment challenges; perceived advantages of studying in the U.S.; reasons for studying in the U.S.; and treatment by colleagues/faculty in the U.S., and treatment by colleagues/faculty in their home country. The dependent variable, GNI per capita was determined by the student’s home country World Bank GNI per capita ranking. The grouping variable Stay/Go included responses to the question: Do you hope to remain in the United States after graduation? Yes, No, Do not know/unsure.
Participants included 617 students from 35 countries. Due to the dominance of student numbers from India and China, data of students from all other countries in lower middle-income and upper middle-income categories were removed. The low-income category was eliminated because of small sample size. Among the participating students, 301 (48.7%) intended to stay, 67 (10.9%) intended to leave, and 249 (40.4%) were not sure.
Descriptive statistics were used to answer RQ1. Students’ intent to stay or go was affected by:
Sociopolitical: cultural challenges, wanted to experience living abroad.
Political: racial challenges, treatment by colleagues/faculty in the U.S., and at home.
Economic: better education/knowledge of your field, future career opportunities, better job opportunities.
Socioeconomic: higher quality of education, professional network, better advisors/mentorship. Social: social challenges.
Chi-square analysis and ANOVA were used to answer RQ2. The level of significance for all analyses was p < .05.
The results indicate that the reasons for students’ intent to stay or go varied based on their home country gross national income (GNI). Students from countries where the economy is still developing showed effects from social factors including family and professional networks that pulled them home. The results indicate that students from China were influenced to stay by career and networking opportunities as well as cultural challenges but were influenced to leave by social reasons including family and professional networks. The results indicate that students from India were influenced to stay in the U.S. by job opportunities, and by treatment by colleagues and faculty in the U.S. and at home. These results support findings that students from India, were more inclined to stay for job opportunities that would allow them to pay back loans and gain experience that would make them more marketable when they return home (Baruch et al., 2007). Students from high-income countries showed effects from factors that both pushed them to leave: racial and academic challenges, and treatment by faculty/colleagues in the U.S., and pulled them to return home: job opportunities.
Global economic development requires a greater understanding of students’ intent to stay in, or leave the U.S. after completion of studies. The results indicated that students intended to stay in the U.S. primarily for better economic opportunities, and students intended to leave for social and political reasons. As the number of globally mobile students continues to grow, it is important to disaggregate them by home country, to gain a clearer understanding of the economic implications of international education (Cantwell et al., 2009). Understanding the effect of push-pull factors on students’ intent to leave the U.S. can help countries in growing economies to attract students upon completion of their degrees.

Author

• Peggy Gesing, Old Dominion University