Circulating East to East

 
Journal of Studies in International Education 21(2)
The Push–Pull Factors in Decisions Regarding International Students’ 
Destination
The complicated dynamic between home and host countries simultaneously affects 
students’ decisions to study abroad. In trying to better understand this dynamic, much 
of the previous literature has utilized the push–pull model, which provides valuable 
information regarding the flow of international students (Altbach, 2004) and interna-
tional students’ choice of country (Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002).
The push–pull model initially was introduced by Lee in 1966 to understand factors 
that influence migration. Since that time, education researchers have used its frame-
work to understand the factors influencing international students’ study-abroad desti-
nations. The “pull factors” are the educational expectations of a host country that 
possesses attractive socioeconomic factors with which to recruit international students. 
These factors include knowledge and awareness of the host country, recommendations 
from friends and relatives, cost concerns, academic environment issues, social links, 
and geographic proximity (Altbach, 2004; Altbach et al., 2009; Mazzarol & Soutar, 
2002). The “push factors” include, in particular, students’ dissatisfaction with educa-
tional opportunities in their home country that exerts pressure to leave and pursue 
education elsewhere. Sources of this dissatisfaction may include more attractive 
courses overseas, difficulty in being accepted at a home university, courses that are 
unavailable at home, desire to develop a better understanding of the West, and inten-
tion to migrate (Altbach, 2004; Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002). Taken together, these push–
pull factors not only affect students’ selection of a host country but also students’ 
selection of a particular institution (Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002).
Students from different countries often report different push–pull factors. For exam-
ple, Taiwanese students often choose to study in the United Kingdom because of the 
international acceptability and recognition of UK higher education as a tremendous ben-
efit to their long-term investment. Conversely, European Union students choose a UK 
higher education institution for the opportunity to learn not only the English language 
but also UK cultural traditions (Davey, 2005). Mazzarol and Soutar (2002) examined the 
influencing push–pull factors of international students and concluded that Chinese stu-
dents perceived a “better understanding of [the] West” as the most important factor in 
deciding to study overseas, whereas international students from India, Indonesia, and 
Taiwan reported that the most important factor in choosing to study abroad was “over-
seas course better than local [
sic
].” In addition, Chinese students tend to value the recom-
mendations of relatives, parents, and friends; geographic proximity to China; and social 
links more than students of other nationalities (Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002).
Few studies that utilize the push–pull model have developed and identified distinct 
and contextual factors that influence students’ decision to study abroad. For example, 
one study proposed that students’ study-abroad decision could be significantly influ-
enced by a city or country’s image (María Cubillo, Sánchez, & Cerviño, 2006). Other 
research has observed that alignment of religion between the host country and their 
home country has had a positive influence on students’ study-abroad decisions (Singh, 
Schapper, & Jack, 2014).

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Although the push–pull model has most often been applied to understand the trends 
and patterns of international students’ choices, this model has primarily been used to 
examine students who predominantly valued and selected English-speaking countries 
such as Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (Agarwal & Winkler, 
1985; Sirowy & Inkeles, 1985). Therefore, it is not surprising that research examining 
international students’ choices and decisions to pursue an international education in 
Asian countries and their institutions has emerged only recently (Aphijanyatham, 2010; 
Singh et al., 2014; Yusoff, 2012). Less is known regarding the unique push–pull factors 
of students engaging in “East to East circulation.” Considering that increasingly more 
students are now choosing Asian countries as their study-abroad destination, it seems 
prudent to explore the distinct push–pull factors of this growing group of international 
students (e.g., Li & Bray, 2007; Padlee, Kamaruddin, & Baharun, 2010).
International Students and Study-Abroad Satisfaction
Understanding the push–pull factors of international students can help not only tailor 
the recruitment strategies that attract talented international students but also guide 
administrators in higher education to better serve, meet, and understand the needs of 
international students who are already studying in their country. Understanding these 
push–pull factors can also help higher education leaders understand and recognize the 
unique challenges and satisfactions of those international students (Arambewela et al., 
2006; Memon, Salleh, Baharom, & Harun, 2014). As Scott (1997) noted, studying in 
a foreign country is similar to “jumping into cold 
water
” (emphasis added). Students 
face a variety of challenges not only in academics but also in everyday living (Perrucci 
& Hu, 1995). Unfortunately, many of these challenges often result in less satisfying 
college experiences (Zhao, Kuh, & Carini, 2005), which eventually negatively affect 
students’ retention and ultimate graduation. Furthermore, considering that a satisfied 
student population can positively influence other potential international students from 
their home country (Kotler & Fox, 1995), many institutions are attempting to improve 
their competitiveness within the international education market by focusing on satisfy-
ing the needs and demands of international students’.
The literature examining this context in Korea observed that the friendliness of 
Koreans, fluency in the Korean language, and relationships with faculty and Korean 
friends all positively affected Chinese students’ institutional adaptation (Cho & Jon, 
2009). Much of the literature in Korea, however, focuses on either Chinese students’ 
living adjustment or the present condition of internationalization in Korean higher 
education (Rhee, 2006). Although research is limited, students are more likely to be 
satisfied with their study-abroad experience if their initial choices and requirements 
are met (Arambewela & Hall, 2009; Arambewela et al., 2006). Nevertheless, the rela-
tion between push–pull factors and satisfaction has not been thoroughly examined in 
these newly emerging countries. At the outset of this study, no research had yet inves-
tigated students’ satisfaction with their initial choice of schools in Asian countries, 
which is the driving force to study abroad in the first place. Given that student satisfac-
tion increases when perceived choices and expectations align with experience, it is 

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176
 
Journal of Studies in International Education 21(2)
critical to examine not only the factors influencing students’ study-abroad decisions 
but also the relation of those factors to study-abroad satisfaction. Thus, to improve our 
understanding of the new trends in international student mobility, this study has used 
the push–pull model to investigate the factors affecting Chinese students’ decisions 
and how these factors are linked to the satisfaction of students studying in Korea.