The increasing significance of foreign talent has increased the necessity to identify factors that attract and retain international students as potential future foreign talents in host countries. In this chapter, the researcher will conduct a review of previous studies related to this research and its variables. The review will attempt to conceptualize and outline personal factors, university experiences and labor market factors that exert influence on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after completing their studies from local universities.
Personal Factors
Kruanak and Ruangkanjanases (2014) stated that the social psychology theory of reasoned action, predicts that international students’ actual action to stay after graduation is positively related to their personal beliefs, attitude and feelings, as well as on the opinions of referent others together with the motivation to comply to those opinions. In addition, the staying action is said to be positively related to their free choice as influenced by careers perceptions, and evaluation of the beliefs and attitude towards the host country. This means that international students’ choice of staying in Taiwan after graduation will be dependent upon the influence of a lot of career perceptions and personal beliefs. The theory of reasoned action also clarifies that a person’s attitude towards an action is contingent to the individual’s positive feelings and beliefs about performing that action.
Furthermore, Kruanak and Ruangkanjanases (2014) cited Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) as they explained that an individual’s staying behavior is also controlled by the opinions and perception of whether people important to the student or referent others such as family and friends, will approve and praise the staying intention or not. This means that international students staying intention in Taiwan can be predicted on the basis of their ties to their family members and how they think their families and friends would view them after performing the staying action. See figure 2.1. below, which display Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) theory of reasoned action.
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Figure 2.1. Fishbein-Ajzen theory of reasoned action. Retrieved from “An investigation of the theory of reasoned action concerning consumer acceptance of food irradiation,” by N. Frishman, 2008, Retrospective Theses and Dissertations, Paper 15303,p. 13. Copyright 2008 by The ProQuest Information and Learning Company.
According to Hall, (1976) students with a protean career perception migration are self-directed to migrate to other countries to advance their careers. This protean career theory describes a career from a personal perspective. When applying this theory to this investigation, it can be assumed that international students in Taiwan universities have protean career orientations, hence, they left their countries in search of career advancement in Taiwan. This means that a protean career perception is most likely to have a positive relationship with international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation (Schofield & Honore, 2011).
Savickas (2008) also pointed out that career perception is one of the most important considerations for international students when making their choices to work in their host countries.
By networking with their country mates who have graduated and work in host countries, aspiring graduates Figure out whether what they hear about employing organizations match their career expectations or not (Gloria, 1999). If hearsays match them, they are conditioned to make a choice to work in the host country, but if not they may consider working in their home country or other countries.
Baruch (1995) ‘push/pull’ theory explained that a migrant’s choice of migrating to another country for employment could be explained by a combination of two driving forces. The first force drives people out of their countries of origin while the second force attracts them to the country of
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destination. An underdeveloped education system is one of the main forces that drives international students out of their home countries most especially from developing countries. While well developed and internationalized education systems in host countries are the main forces that attract international students to host countries. Drawing insights from this theory, we can predict that international students from developing countries are most likely to make a choice of working in Taiwan after graduation.
Furthermore, Baruch (1995) proposed that the adjustment level of international students in host countries have a positive relationship with the intention of whether to stay and work or leave their host countries after graduation. In support of this proposition, Baruch, Budhwar and Kathrin (2007) stated that international students’ cross-cultural adjustment process to the host country include ‘cultural shock,' which usually initiates an intention to quit studies or leave the country as soon as they complete studies.
On the other hand, a smooth process of cross-cultural adjustment generates a positive attitude towards the host country and its people and thus increase the desire for the students to stay and work in the host country after graduation (Baruch, Budhwar & Kathrin, 2007). This process implies that international students who experienced a smooth process of adaptation to the culture of Taiwan have a high possibility of making a choice of working in Taiwan after graduation.
Kruanak and Ruangkanjanases (2014) reinforced that the higher the level of international students’
adjustment to the host country’s culture, the higher the intention to work in the host country after graduation. These researchers compiled six main determinants or variables of international students’ intentions to work in host countries after graduations which are presented in Figure 2.2.
below.
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Figure 2.2. A model of the determinates of international students’ intention to stay in Thailand.
Adapted from “Brain Gain for Thailand:the determinants of international students' intention to stay on after graduation,” by K. Kruanak and A. Ruangkanjanases. 2014, International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, 5 (4), p. 339. Copyright 2008-2015 by The IJTEF
Publications.
The discussion of personal factors above revealed that international students are driven by intrinsic inclinations such as feelings, beliefs, attitudes, career perceptions and opinions of family members and friends to work in the host countries after graduation. Other factors include the process of cross-cultural adaptation to the host country as well as the cultural distance between the students’ home country and the host country. The following section will discuss international students’ university experiences which were cited by Funk and Walenkamp (2013) as one of the factors that influence international students to work in Netherlands after graduation.
University Experiences
University experiences can be defined from different viewpoints. Each definition depends on the purpose that it has been designed to serve. Wilcox, Winn and Fyvie‐Gauld (2005) defined university experiences as everything that university life offers. The government of Australia has quantified students’ university experiences into five different dimensions (Australian National Universities Report, 2015). These dimensions are academic satisfaction, satisfaction with the university, teaching quality, learning resources and student support.
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The academic satisfaction index measures university students’ satisfaction with the academic learning pedagogies that help in the formulation of the learner’s intellectual skills such as problem-solving skills, critical thinking skills, and independent thinking. It also assesses to what extent does the student feel he or she has developed knowledge in the pursued field of study.
Learner engagement is another meaningful measurement of university experiences. Another focus is on the examination of student’ level of social integration with colleagues and friends at the University. It asks questions like how often do the student interact with classmates and pupils outside the class. In Wilcox, Winn and Fyvie‐Gauld (2005) qualitative university study, one interviewee explained that finding like-minded friends was the most difficult aspect of social integration as a freshman at varsity.
Students’ satisfaction with the quality of the taught courses in their university is another important part of university experiences. Offering quality courses, is also a point of interest for university stakeholders and parents. Serving interests of different stakeholders is one of the reasons that pushed the government of Australia to measure this dimension in the annual national surveys (Australian National Universities Report, 2015). In this annual surveys questionnaires, the students indicate their perceptions about the quality of the taught courses and possible applicability in their future places of work. Without the adequate and appropriate learning resources, the learning experience can never be smooth, fruitful and satisfactory to students (Dewey, 2013).
It is important to the higher education institutions and stakeholder in Taiwan to provide all the necessary students support services for learning to boost international students’ university experiences. In other words, the availability, affordability, and accessibility of social support centers, such as clinics or hospitals and counseling health centers make university life to be an exciting experience. This means that clinics and counseling health centers are some of the significant factors that offer social support to students and improve the quality of pupils’ university experiences. So, if international students in Taiwan universities are satisfied with the medical and social support services, their university experiences in Taiwan will be great. Below is Table 2.1., giving brief definitions of the five facets of students’ university experiences.
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Brief Descriptions of the Five Facets of University Experiences
Facet Descriptions
Academic Satisfaction The learners’ satisfaction with the acquisition of professional skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking.
Satisfaction with University Any kind of satisfaction a learner feels towards any aspect of the university.
Teaching Quality This a kind of teaching that transforms students’ perceptions and the way they go about applying their knowledge to real-world problems.
Learning Resources These are texts, videos, software, and other materials that teachers use to assist students to meet the expectations for learning defined by provincial or local curricula.
Student Support These are integrated and collaborative programs of school counseling and guidance services provided individually or through a team approach, to all students at all grade levels.
Source. Adapted from “Quality teachers, quality schools: International perspectives and policy Implications,” by D. Hopkins and D. Stern,1996, Teaching and Teacher Education. Hopkins, 12 (5), pp. 501-517.
In the following part the researcher section the researcher will conduct a review of literature that is related to the labor market of Taiwan. Mazzarol and Soutar (2002) indicated that stable host countries’ labor markets are some of the pull factors which attract foreign students to host countries.
Labour Market Factors
Choudaha and Wit (2014) argued that stable national economies and fluid labor markets of countries like the UK, USA, and Australia are some of the crucial factors that lure international students to choose to work in these host countries after graduation. In the following extract, Mazzarol, Savery and Kemp (1996) provided a brief positive outlook of Taiwan’s national economy:
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The economic performance of Taiwan in recent years has been impressive. Real GNP growth has averaged approximately 9% per annum since the 1970's. Its key exports have been electrical machinery, electronic products, and textiles, with trade focused largely on the United States, Hong Kong, the European Union and Japan.
In 1989 Taiwan had a labor force of 7.9 million with male adult literacy levels of around 93% (p. 43).
The foregoing extract presents a positive image of Taiwan’s economy as well as the labor market. In line Choudaha and Wit (2014) above mentioned argument it is predicted that Taiwan’s labor market has a positive influence on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. Self-selection theory is one of the theories associated with the migration of international students and skilled migrants which was postulated by Borjas (1987). The main assumption behind this theory is that, individuals compare the incomes of their home country and that of the intended destination country, before making their decision to migrate and work in the destination country. This theory also reveals that people migration decisions usually occur as a result of an income maximizing intention and behavior. It foretells that a student is most likely to intend to work in the host country if the economic income is greater than that of his or her home country. Other writers call this income maximizing intention and decision-making process the
‘utility theory’ (Fouarge, Grip & Sauermann, 2010; Musumba, 2007).
From an economic perspective, when technical employees migrate from their country because of the unequal distribution of income. The immigration of these people has a negative connotation, because it will have an adverse impact on the skills mix in the host country. However, the labor market and better salaries in the host country influences and leads to a positive self-selection of international students to work in the host country after graduation. The significance of this theory in human migration is that it explains the shape of migration flow in the world.
International Students’ Choice of Working in Taiwan
The choice is defined as the voluntary act of selecting one preferred thing from two or more (Business Dictionary, 2012). This definition shows that in order for the choice to exist there should the availability of alternatives which presents an objective reality. The definition also makes it clear that the concept of choice also involves a subjective process which is the act of preferring one object or option over others. This implies that in order to do justice to international students’
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choice of working in Taiwan, we first need to be aware of the objective reality which is that of the availability of other alternatives such as the students’ home countries and other countries in the world. Thereafter, we also need to examine the factors that influence international students’
subjective process of selecting Taiwan as a place of work over and above other countries in the world. Hsin-Tien (2007) explained that Taiwanese and Indonesian students’ select Australia, the USA over and above other countries as a study destination of choicebecause of the awareness and availability of knowledge about these countries in Taiwan as compared to the information about other countries.
We can note from Mazzarol, Savery and Kemp (1996) that the Taiwanese and Indonesian students’ choice of study destinations is dependent upon alternative option and personal preferences. Alternate characteristics refer to those factors that students compare before making their study destination choices. The model of this study makes it clear that a choice to study or work in a given country or place is dependent upon various alternative and individual influences.
When applied to this research, the alternative independent variable was Taiwan’s labor market which international students compared to their home countries. University experiences and personal factors are unique and intrinsic influences and thus they can not be comparable. See Figure 2.3., which depicts Mazzarol, Savery and Kemp (1996) research model that show the decision process of Taiwanese and Indonesian students when faced with the decision to choose Australia or other countries as study destinations of choice;
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Figure 2.3. A model of Taiwan and Indonesian students’ study destination of choice. Retrieved from “International students who choose not to study in Australia,” by T. Mazzarol, L. K.
Savery, and S. Kemp, 1996, p. 28. Copyright 1996 by ResearchGate Publications.
Hypotheses Development
This part of the research investigates the link between the variables that have been reviewed above. There were 8 hypotheses that were developed and tested. These are; personal factors and choice of working in Taiwan, personal factors and university experiences, university experiences and choice of working in Taiwan, personal factors and labor market factors, labor market factors and choice of working in Taiwan. The mediating influence of university experiences and labor market factors on the direct influence of personal factors on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation.
PF and CWT
The reviewed literature revealed that personal factors such as beliefs, attitudes and opinions of family members exert influence on international students’ choice of working in host countries after graduation. For instance, Kruanak and Ruangkanjanases (2014) studied six influencers of international students’ choice of staying and working in Thailand after graduation. These influencers are listed and briefly described in Table 2.2. below:
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Source. Adapted from “Brain Gain for Thailand,” by K. Kruanak and A. Ruangkanjanases.
2014, International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, 5(4), pp. 337-346. Copyright 2008-2015 by The IJTEF Publications.
Caruso and Wit (2015) reinforced that social factors such as language, colonial ties, the lure of life, regional unity and the stock of citizens of the country of origin enhance the cross-cultural adjustment process of international students and influence their choice of working in host countries after graduation. Based on the reviewed literature and this discussion, the researchers predicted that;
Hypothesis 1. Personal factors have an influence on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation.
PF and UE
The reviewed literature revealed that university experiences comprise academic satisfaction and satisfaction with the university. Personal factors review disclosed that motivation and opinions of family members and friends influence international students to make a choice of working in host countries after graduation. It was also stated that the cross-cultural adjustment
Table 2. 2.
Determinants of International Students’ Intention to Stay in Thailand after Graduation Determinant Description
1. Student’s life and adjustment
2. Social support
3. Family ties
4. Career perception
International students’ total life experience and cross-cultural adjustment in the host country.
The support received from friends, professors, and university staff, as well as counseling and health services.
This refers to the strength of family contact that international students have with family members while in the host country.
International students’ stance towards the availability of career advancement opportunities in host countries.
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process of international students is positively related to their choice of working in host countries after graduation. It makes a lot of sense to presume that students who receive family support and encouragement as well as support from professors and students in their universities are most likely to be satisfied with their academic studies. Satisfaction with academics will also directly lead to satisfaction with the university. Based on these suppositions, the researchers developed the following hypothesis;
Hypothesis 2. Personal factors have influence on international students’ university experiences in Taiwan.
UE and CWT
Funk and Walenkamp (2013) study uncovered the mutual influence of university experiences in binding international students and talented workers to the Netherlands. These writers explained that one of their interviewees emphasized cultural diversity in the university as one of the concrete experiences that influenced him or her to work in the Netherland after graduation.This emphasis implies that in addition to personal factors, international students would take into consideration their university experiences when making their choice to work in Taiwan after graduation. If their university experiences were satisfying, they would be more willing to make a choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. The reviewed literature as well as Funk and Walenkamp (2013) findings led the researchers to hypothesize that:
Hypothesis 3. University experiences have an influence on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation.
PF and LM
Mahroum (1999) stated that international students in technology and science fields preferred to start their careers in the USA because of the level of technological and scientific advancements in the USA as compared to their home countries. Moreover, students in these fields were more likely to pursue their career in the U.S. because of perceived easier access to research funds and the ability to work with peers in their field.
Clark (2005) transmitted that female international students found it more attractive to begin their careers in the USA because they felt life was better there in that they can freely express