Mainland Chinese Students' Decision-Making Process for Choosing Australia to Study Undergraduate Courses

Abstract

<p>This research is designed to study the mainland Chinese students' decision-making process in choosing Australia for undergraduate study. It aims to explore what motivates mainland Chinese students to study abroad for an undergraduate degree, what sources of information they then obtain relevant information from, what causes them to choose Australia, and how satisfied they are with their undergraduate study in Australia. </p> <p>An exploratory sequential mixed methods design was employed to conduct this research, starting with a qualitative phase first followed by a quantitative phase. The depth interview undertaken at the qualitative phase broadly and deeply explored mainland Chinese students' perspectives, opinions, beliefs and attitudes on the research questions, and the survey conducted at the quantitative phase well supported and supplemented the interview results.</p> <p>It was found that mainland Chinese students' need for pursuing undergraduate study overseas was triggered by twelve factors, including four "push" factors and eight "pull" factors. The students collected information from five main sources and especially liked to search for information on the Internet themselves to become more informed. This study also discovered seventeen factors that influenced mainland Chinese students to choose Australia as an undergraduate study destination. Overall, the mainland Chinese students felt satisfied with their undergraduate study, including both studying and living experience in Australia. </p> <p>Australia is one of the world's most popular study destination countries for international students, and international education has made a great contribution to Australia's social, cultural, and economic prosperity. Mainland China has long been the world's largest source of international students, and Australia's largest source of international students. The findings of this study provide valuable theoretical and practical insights into the marketing of Australian higher education, particularly Australian undergraduate education, in mainland China.</p>