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Chinese High School Students’ Plans in Studying Overseas: Who and Why

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Frontiers of Education in China

Abstract

This study is among the first to use a large-scale dataset to better understand the driving forces behind the large outflow of Chinese international students. Based on data collected from 3,001 students at 18 high schools located in the three cities of Beijing, Shenzhen and Chengdu, this paper highlights the importance of students’ academic preparation and their families’ financial capability. It shows that sociocultural factors such as Experiencing Another Culture and Gaining Global Perspective play a significant role, but are often understudied in the case of Chinese students. In addition, the disadvantaged social strata tend to be influenced more by the pushing force of low- quality education in China, and deterred by the high cost of studying overseas, whereas the advantaged social strata tend to be influenced more by the pulling force of higher-quality education overseas and the pulling force within China such as relatively privileged lives.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Foundations, College of Education, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, 96825, USA

    Baoyan Cheng & Min Liu

  2. Graduate School of Education, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Aiai Fan

Authors
  1. Baoyan Cheng
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  2. Aiai Fan
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  3. Min Liu
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Correspondence to Aiai Fan.

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Cheng, B., Fan, A. & Liu, M. Chinese High School Students’ Plans in Studying Overseas: Who and Why. Front Educ China 12, 367–393 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11516-017-0027-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11516-017-0027-0

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