Asian Educational Mobilities: A Comparative Study of International Migration of Japanese and Chinese Higher Education Students

• Applicant: Professor Thomas Faist, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research
• Term: from 2016 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 278467606

This project will conduct a systematic and comparative analysis of Asian student mobilities--one of the most intense flows of educational migrations. We will shed new light on the relationship between educational mobility and life course aspirations and formation, and their regional dynamics. Our research design is innovative: We propose three-way comparisons on a representative sample of Japanese and Chinese students in British and German universities, with those who stayed domestically for their education, as well as Chinese students who migrated to Japan. Through such comparisons, and using a variety of multivariate techniques and network analysis, we expect to unveil a number of theoretical issues such as selectivity in educational migration; how individual preferences are shaped for regional as opposed to beyond region migrations; and the differential impact of such preferences on perceived value and potential of tertiary education for future life course aspirations. In addition to producing invaluable survey data on Chinese and Japanese student migrants, the research will benefit a range of non-academic stakeholders, including governments, tertiary institutions, thinkthanks, and organizations involved in providing information and support to international students. The project builds upon European partners' current funded survey study "Bright Futures: Internal and International Mobility of Chinese Students" and their collaboration with University of Kyoto researchers.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: United Kingdom
• Cooperation Partner: Professorin Yasemin Soysal, Ph.D.