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Students’
International students’ motivations for
motivations for studying in UK HE studying in UK
Insights into the choice and decision making
of African students 459
Felix Maringe
School of Education, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK, and
Steve Carter
Derbyshire Business School, University of Derby, Derby, UK

Abstract
Purpose – International students’ HE decision making is a high stakes process. There is an
insufficient evidence base that would aid university level strategic planning in areas of recruitment
from the African continent and in supporting its students to maximise the benefits from a UK HE
experience. This paper aims to explore the decision making and experience of African students in UK
HE and provides hypothesis for re-conceptualising these processes.
Design/methodology/approach – The research was exploratory and part of a bigger project on
international students’ experience of UK HE. It employed focus group interviews with 28 students
studying in two universities in the South of England together with semi structured discussion with
staff in those institutions with a specific remit for recruiting from Africa.
Findings – A six element model of decision making was developed from the data which identifies a
range of push and pull factors operating within constraints of fears and anxieties about studying in
UK HE. The data suggest that African students come to study in England on the promise of getting a
truly international HE experience. Questions are however raised about whether this promise is
delivered in full.
Research limitations/implications – The sample size and use of focus groups as a single data
gathering strategy does not allow broad generalisation of findings. However, the evidence obtained
enabled the generation of useful hypothesis to stimulate further research in this area. The research
identifies implications for strategic decisions for recruitment, student support and curriculum and for
future research in this area.
Originality/value – This is an area with patchy research and the research reported here provides a
good basis for developing a broader research agenda in Africa to support decision making on a wider
scale.
Keywords Higher education, Overseas students, Decision making, Africa, United Kingdom
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
A significant number of publications are available which explore the notions of HE
choice and decision making especially in the context of home students and consumers
in the developed world (for example, among others, Hossler and Gallagher, 1987;
Blundell, 1988; Drakopoulos, 1999; James et al., 1999; Moogan et al., 1999; Payne, 2001; International Journal of Educational
Mazzarol et al., 2000; Foskett et al., 2004). Much less is available which explores these Management
Vol. 21 No. 6, 2007
ideas in the context of international students seeking to study abroad (Davey, 2005). pp. 459-475
And almost nothing seems available about the choice and decision making of African q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0951-354X
students who choose to study HE abroad and especially in the UK. Yet current DOI 10.1108/09513540710780000
IJEM estimates in UK HE suggest that one in every 15 foreign students comes from Africa.
21,6 The number of African students studying abroad has increased from 2,580 in 1970 to
over 1.8 million in 2002 and of this figure, the UK alone had about 66,000 students from
Africa (Africa Statistical Year Book, 2002). Apart form China and Japan, Africa has
more students studying abroad on undergraduate and post graduate courses than any
other country and for the majority of African students, the most popular
460 study destination is England, followed by Australia, then the USA, Canada, France,
Germany and New Zealand (Dzvimbo, 2003).
With such a significant presence on the UK HE market, contributing to international
profiles of universities and to the national economy and financial health of individual
institutions, it is time we invested in understanding a little more about the African
student. In addition, a good understanding of students’ decision-making processes
creates a sound basis for developing curriculum programmes that address the real
rather than the perceived needs of this group of scholars while also being a reliable
sounding board for accessing their concerns and anxieties while they study with us.
This paper whose theoretical base is the field of choice and decision making, aims to
understand the decision-making processes of students from Africa who come to study
in UK HE. It sought to find answers to the following specific questions:
.
What are the push and pull factors which drive African students to study in UK
HE?
. How do African students select a university in UK HE?
.
How do African students select a course of study?
.
What are their concerns and anxieties about studying in the UK?
.
Are students satisfied with their HE experience so far?

In order to foreground the study, extensive literature search was conducted around
these issues.

Literature review
The review below summarises what we currently know about choice and decision
making in HE.
Decision making is an area that has received significant attention especially in
business and commercial fields and has resulted in the growth of consumer behaviour
theory (Gabbott and Hogg, 1994; Crozier and McClean, 1997). Chapman (1986) and later
Moogan et al. (1999) are credited with applying consumer behaviour theory to
education. Despite variations in the models, decision making everywhere is generally
conceptualised as a five-stage process involving: the identification of a problem
needing a solution; the search for information; an evaluation of alternatives; making
the purchase decision; and finally evaluating the purchase decision (Kotler, 2003). In
education and HE in particular, a student making a decision about post compulsory
education/training or employment options would be considered as engaging with
the following processes: pre-search behaviour involving early and sometimes passive
thoughts about future progression; active search behaviour where choices are
prioritised and short listed; the application stage in which students develop and submit
application to institutions of choice; making the choice decision marking acceptance or
declining of the offer and the post acceptance behaviour in which the student reflects
on whether the decision was the right or wrong one. Critics of consumer behaviour Students’
theory castigate it for its assumption that all decision making is rational and based on motivations for
careful information processing. Chisnall (1997) for example, suggests that considering
decision making as a rational and sequential process is an over simplification. Others studying in UK
suggest that many young people do not have the patience and discipline to consider
information so meticulously in their decision making and that for many chance factors
play a big role in their destinies (Solomon, 2002). However, others have argued that: 461
For such a high involvement complex purchase as selecting a university, it might be
reasonable to assume that some extended decision processes occur (Davey, 2005, p. 2).
Given the high-risk nature of the decision to study abroad, in terms of missed
opportunities back home, family disruption, uncertainties about progress and chances
of success in the course, there is a sense in which Davey’s assertion that international
students become involved in complex decision making needs to be used as a counter
argument to those who criticise rational decision making in HE.
Because of the intangible nature of the HE services and its associated benefits, it is
not always easy to “place things on the table” to help students in their decision making.
Students often criticise institutions for not helping them make informed decisions and
as Moogan et al. (1999) have found in their longitudinal study of HE student decision
making, it is not always easy to remain objective in making choices and decisions
about which university to apply to and what courses to do. Often, subjective
judgement and even emotion come into the decision-making process thus eroding the
rationality assumptions behind the HE decision-making process.

Who is an African student?

Do we have an African culture and how does it differ from a UK culture? It is probably
a very Eurocentric view that we can talk broadly of an African student or indeed about
an African culture. There are 53 different countries with a total population of over 700
million, 50 per cent of whom are under 20. All these countries have different cultural
and language backgrounds. For example, there is no single indigenous language
common to all countries. There exists no African language as does an English
language for most of the Western countries. Paradoxically, the most common language
spoken by more than 40 per cent of Africans is English. Other main colonial languages
that have replaced traditional local languages in Africa are French, Portuguese,
Spanish and German. However, student migration to Western countries reproduces
patterns of colonisation. Southern and Eastern Africa tended to have UK colonial
influence, while West Africa was largely under the influence of France. Central and
North Africa were a scramble between France and Germany. Students thus tend to
migrate to their former colonial masters perhaps largely because of the derived cultural
capital and language facility. Thus, it is safe to assume that students tend to look for
study opportunities in countries with which they have a past colonial association.
Information technology is becoming a key part of the commercial and economic
cultural capital of both developed and developing countries. Students are increasingly
being expected to utilise it as an information search tool. However, in many parts of
Africa, students either do not have adequate or total access, or the nature of technology
is so outdated it is no longer in use in the developed world (Hungwe, 2002). The point
here is that students therefore bring cultural technological capital that is not
IJEM necessarily compatible with existing ones here. Indeed, it is perfectly possible to be
21,6 enrolling students who have absolutely no previous experience with computers at all.
To expect these students to have been influenced in their decision making by internet
mediations is therefore not based on a valid assumption in Africa broadly.

Choice in HE
462 Four broad theories exist which attempt to explain how young people make choices
within education. First are structural models, proposed by Gambetta (1996), Roberts
(1984) and Ryrie (1981). These explain choice in the context of institutional, economic
and cultural constrains imposed upon choosers whose choices and decisions can be
predicted along socio-economic, cultural and ethnic lines. Such theories have been used
to explain participation rates across different socio-economic and ethnic groups. For
example, it is now part of conventional wisdom that Afro-Caribbean boys have low
aspirations and therefore low participation rates across different educational sectors.
The main criticism against these theories is that they exclude the element of individual
rationality from choice making and focus more on the influence of external factors.
There is thus an unfortunate link with social Darwinism that these theories seem to
suggest.
Economic theories of choice have been developed to counter this weakness of
structural models. Becker (1975) for example argues that students make rational
choices based on precise and sometimes imprecise calculations of the relative rates of
returns associated with participating in education. This applies more at higher levels of
learning than it perhaps does at primary school. The problem is that benefits from
education are often intangible and hard to quantify so are the opportunity costs
forfeited through engaging with HE for example. Ultimately, students cannot be
expected to base their decisions on precise calculations but perhaps on approximate
comparisons which themselves are often highly influenced by perception and values
held by not only the student, but those significant others who constitute a network of
life influences on choosers.
This emphasis on network of influences has led Hodkinson et al. (1996) and
Hemsley-Brown (2001) to consider the importance of personality and subjective
judgement in choice and decision making. Hemsley-Brown (2001) for example argues
that while decisions and choices young people make could be under the influence of
economic, cultural and structural forces, they all the same are filtered through layers of
preconceptions emanating from family influence, culture, life history and personality.
The most current theory is that developed by Foskett and Hemsley-Brown (2001)
who argue that choice is neither rational nor irrational or random but that it involves
three broad elements for any chooser. The first element is the context in which the
choices are being made which includes societal, cultural, and economic and policy
issues which help shape choices made by young people within any given context. For
example, in a country working under the policy framework of education for all, it
would be expected that young people will have no choice about participation in certain
levels of schooling. The second element brings together the range of choice influencers
including schools, teachers the media and the home influence. The third element
comprises the choosers themselves in terms of their self image, perceptions held about
available pathways and the estimation of personal gain associated with specific
choices. Foskett and Hemsley-Brown (2001) argue that these three elements exist in a
complex dynamic in which decision making becomes a reflexive process, and where Students’
the chooser consciously, or unconsciously falls under the relative influence of these motivations for
elements to emerge with a decision or no decision at the end of the process.
studying in UK
Overseas study decision making
Most of what we currently know about overseas study decision making is based on
research outside Africa. Baldwin and James (2000), Mazzarol (2001), Mazzarol and 463
Soutar (2002), Moogan et al. (1999) and Gomes and Murphy (2003) among others, have
investigated patterns and motivations of student migration to Western countries
especially Australia including the factors which students consider important in their
decision making. Critically, these studies suggest that student overseas decision
making is modelled by a combination of push-pull factors. Push factors tend to be
economic or political and appear to play a more significant role in choice of country. On
the other hand, pull factors such as institutional reputation, international recognition of
qualification, teaching quality and locational factors appear to exert greater influence
on specific institutional choice. What is interesting is that overseas students differ with
EU students for example in their motivations for studying abroad. Taiwanese students
for example choose to study abroad because they consider the international
acceptability and recognition of UK HE as a tremendous benefit for their long-term
investment. On the other hand, EU students choose to come to UK HE mainly because
it provides them an opportunity to learn the English language and the UK cultural
traditions (Davey, 2005). These motivational divergences have important implications
for strategic international student marketing, recruitment and retention. Because there
is very little written about African students overseas study decision making, yet the
population of African students in UK HE continues to rise annually, research in this
area becomes imperative.
We define decision making in this paper as a multistage and complex process
undertaken consciously and sometimes subconsciously by a student intending to enter
HE and by which the problem of choosing a study destination and programme is
resolved. The associated concept of choice is both an outcome and process by which a
decision becomes concretised at any given time in the decision-making process. Thus,
the two concepts cannot be separated from one another. The outcome of decision
making is a choice and both come under the influence of a range of factors including
the broad context in which the decision is made, the environmental, organisational and
individual influences and the inner personal factors which mark the individual’s
internal value systems and perceptions. These definitions influenced the
methodological decisions made in obtaining the evidence for determining the
motivations students from Africa have for undertaking their HE study in the UK.

Methodological issues
The research reported here is a small part of an ongoing bigger project on African
students’ overseas study decision making which involves a multi methodological and
multi site approach. The bigger project involves focus groups and individual
interviews with students in several African countries contemplating undergraduate
and post graduate study in UK HE, including interviews with personnel in Overseas
British Council offices and private overseas recruitment agencies. However, the
findings reported here were based on the following data strategies.
IJEM A total of 28 African students in two universities in the South of England
21,6 participated in four focus group interviews. The focus groups were primarily aimed at
identifying the push and pull factors that led to decisions to choose UK and the specific
institution as study destinations. Students also answered a brief questionnaire aimed
primarily at obtaining their demographic characteristics. From this, the intention was
to develop a tentative destinations choice model. To explore the appropriateness of this
464 model, depth interviews were conducted with two students, one each from each
institution and two staff members with experience and responsibility for recruiting
from Africa.
The study is thus limited in generalisability, mainly because it does not claim to be
representative of the whole of Africa as not all countries were represented on the
focus group panels. Equally, the views of 28 students can hardly be considered as
representative and even more importantly, the students who participated in the focus
group were already studying in the country and could be considered as expressing
views at the post purchase level of decision making. The moderating influence of
experience in earlier stages of the decision-making cycle should therefore not be
ignored.

Findings of the research

The demographic nature of the participating respondents are summarised in Table I.
This relatively small sample of African students depicts a number of interesting
features. First of all, Southern African countries are the most strongly represented,
followed by West African countries, then East Africa and last North Africa. This could
be a reflection the distribution of UK joint educational projects on the African continent
where 48 per cent are in the Southern African region, 22 per cent in West Africa, 21 per
cent in east Africa and only 4 per cent in North Africa (Universities UK, 2006). It could
also reflect the density of past colonial influence in which UK had a greater presence in
the southern african region than in any other region of Africa.
Although Social Sciences (including law) and engineering were the most frequently
cited courses undertaken by these students, other popular courses included nursing,
mathematics and pharmacy or medicine. The figures roughly correspond to those
compiled by the Race for Opportunity forum which suggest that nursing, business
studies, engineering, computer studies and law are the five top subjects chosen by
African students studying in UK HE (Race for Opportunity UK, 2004).

Factors Institution 1 Institution 2

Gender composition 39 per cent Six female and seven male Five female and ten male
female
Age range 24-49 23-38
Most recurring courses Social sciences and engineering Social science and engineering
Table I. Levels of study Ten post grad and three UG Ten Post Grad and five UG
Demographic Countries of origin South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, South Africa, Mauritius,
characteristics of Malawi, Cameroon, Morocco, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania,
respondents Ghana Botswana, Nigeria
The gender balance of the participants also reflects closely the figures in the general Students’
population. UK COSA (2006) for example notes that approximately 40 per cent of motivations for
students from Africa are female compared to the average for all females at 57 per cent.
There were more post graduate students than undergraduates on the interview studying in UK
panels. Many of the undergraduate students tended to have more established family
networks living in England already while post graduate students tended to be
studying and living here on their own or with families who joined them recently. These 465
figures also reflect the current representation of these two groups in the total student
body in the country. UK COSA (2006) again indicates that whereas only 11 per cent of
first degree students are international, almost 40 per cent of all taught post graduates
and research students in UK HE are international students.

Why African students choose England as a study destination

Push factors
In focus groups, students were asked to reflect on the reasons they decided to leave
their home countries to study in England and to indicate other countries they had
actively considered in this process. Several themes were evident from the focus groups.
Using the push-pull framework, it appeared that the most significant push factors were
economic, political and lack of local capacity within countries of origin. The majority
who spoke of economic factors made reference to prevailing levels of economic
stagnation or decline in their home countries. Desperate to escape poverty and human
degradation, a student from Zimbabwe noted:
The situation in my country is known to all of us. The country is currently in economic free
fall and everyone except for a privileged few with connections high up agonises daily about
where the next meal will come from. I considered that the best was to leave the country and
then perhaps do something here to eke out a living and support the clan back home.
Others however spoke of local labour market tendencies which seemed to favour those
with UK HE qualifications at the expense of those with local qualifications:
There are limited opportunities for well paid employment following a degree obtained in
Malawi. Traditionally, since the times of Kamuzu (former Malawian President who had a
British medical degree), anyone with a British education is considered well educated and rises
rapidly to positions of influence in the country.
With political instability in many parts of Africa, students alluded to various political
influences shaping their decision to come to England. The following captures the
general view regarding this political influence:
My country is in political turmoil. If you have a political persuasion that marginally differs
from the establishment, you are dead meat, unwanted person and come under constant
surveillance from the powers that be. Now if you are member of the opposition political party,
it’s not just you who suffers, even your relatives in the rural areas will be denied food
handouts on your account. It’s very difficult to live a life in such a situation and I suppose its’
been one the main driving forces for coming here to study.
But some were being pushed out of their countries on account of inadequate HE
capacity to meet demand for places in existing home institutions. Following
independence in many parts of Africa, lower levels of pre-university learning were
expanded phenomenally as a result of the “Education for All” policy many
IJEM countries adopted. Africa’s HE sectors have generally not expanded correspondingly
21,6 for various reasons, including World Bank and IMF recommendations that primary
level education delivers the greatest rate of returns to the economy (Psacharopoulos,
2002). A student with whom we had an extended individual interview from Zimbabwe
gave an interesting illustration of this imbalance including insights into the impact of
growing institutional competition:
466 The country experienced tremendous expansion of its primary and secondary education
sectors after independence. I am a product of that expansion myself. The number of people
with O and A level qualification in Zimbabwe today is very high. Yet the opportunities to
access university education remain limited. But this is also to do with competition between
universities. To protect their image, many institutions in the country recruit only from those
who have done exceedingly well at A level. If you have less than 10 points in Zimbabwe, (15 is
the maximum from 3 A levels at 5 points for an A grade) your chances of getting into a
university are very limited. Many students therefore have to seek opportunities elsewhere.

Pull factors
The question asked was why the UK was so attractive and which other countries they
considered in their decision making. Table II summarises the frequency with which
several pull factors were identified by respondents during the focus group discussions.
Illustrative comments for the pull factors ranked one two and three will also be
provided as part of the analysis.
The majority of African students coming to engage with UK HE do so for four main
reasons. First and foremost, students believe strongly that the UK HE qualification
enjoys international recognition and that acquiring it will be a life time investment and
opportunity. Many of them agreed with the following sentiment:
. . . no country in this world which looks down upon a British higher education qualification.
It is recognised everywhere under the sun because it is believed to be rigorous. In my own
country, people who have this qualification (UK HE) are highly regarded and I would like to
be highly regarded too when I complete my studies.
Second, was what students referred to as a simple and straight forward application
process. Asked to explain this in greater detail one of the students who participated in
an extended interview made comparisons with the US university application process,
noting that:
I tried applying to the US and the process is horrendous. You have to do computer based tests
to ascertain your competence, then the tortuous process of applying for a visa which requires

Pull factors Frequency (per cent) Rank order

International recognition of British HE qualifications 23 (100) 1

International quality of British HE 11 (49) 6
Safe learning environment 7 (30) 7
Table II. Opportunities for part time work 12 (50) 4
Key pull factors drawing Excellent teaching and learning environments 15 (65) 3
African students to UK Opportunities for post qualification progression 9 (39) 5
HE Straight forward and easy application process 19 (82) 2
 several meetings and appointments, including recommendations. Then there is a long period, Students’
before you get a response from the college. In addition, the nature of first degree programmes
is so general; you have to do business studies, English, mathematics, American history and motivations for
other things as part of the under graduate programme. In England, you apply direct to the studying in UK
institution of your choice and if you do it on line, the next day you have a response and in
many cases, if everything is OK, you get an offer before you know it.
Third was what students described as excellent teaching and learning environments in 467
UK HE s. Critically this is a view which had obviously been influenced by their prior
and ongoing experience of UK HE. However, when we asked one of the students to
explain whether they felt this way prior to starting their course, she had this to say:
Back home, images of quality education are associated with private education most of which
is offered by institutions with a British association. I know this may sound patronising, and
some may even call if neo-colonial, but people who have been to private schools tend to
occupy positions of influence in our societies, so there must be something good there. I have
yet to meet anyone who thinks learning in Britain will do them bad. Perhaps, the lower levels
of education have their problems but certainly universities are extremely highly thought of
back home.
Among the other important reasons mentioned by students was the prospect of
obtaining, not just only an internationally recognised qualification, but also that of
becoming exposed to an international educational experience:
There does not seem to be many countries in the world with such a rich diversity of cultures
living in one place. It’s (England) universities have the same international character. You get
a truly international experience studying here unlike back home where the environment
resembles an enhanced sixth form class. The tutors also come from diverse backgrounds and
are leaders in their special fields of teaching and research.
Challenging as it is to define accurately what an international education should be;
students all the same consider that the best place to gain and international educational
experience is the UK. For students, it appears that an international educational
experience is one where people from different cultural backgrounds exchange
knowledge and understandings, first and foremost, and are taught by a team of
international experts. British lecturers are also seen as being at the frontiers of their
fields of expertise. Labour market opportunities in terms of term time employment and
opportunities for progression beyond current levels of study are also seen as important
factors drawing these students from Africa to UK HE.
While England continues to be considered a safe place to study, some students were
a little cautious about this following 9/11 in the USA and 7/7 bombings in the UK.
However, many of them considered England to be safer place than the USA.

How African students choose a university and course of study

Three distinct processes appear to be at play in this phase of their decision making. For
students who were already in the country, the process was similar to that undertaken
by home students. Some retraced their choice to the decision made when they began
access/foundation courses. Others referred to networks of influence including teachers,
but more importantly friends who told them good things about their chosen
institutions. The discourses also captured the importance of league tables and course
profiles accessed through the internet. Post graduate students especially mentioned the
IJEM role of research supervisors who advised them strongly about which institutions to
21,6 join. Rarely were careers guidance mentioned by these students.
For students coming to study in the country for the first time, the institutional
choice processes were different. For many, informal agencies operating in their home
countries were very influential as were the British Councils or embassies. Family
members’ previous experience of England was also a significant aspect of the choice
468 process, including the influence from Africa-UK HE joint ventures based in Africa.
Some also came to their institutions because of labour market influences. For one, the
institution was recommended by fellow employees who had studied in the
same university previously. However, for many African students applying from
home countries, choice of institution is not as important as the decision to come to
England. This is probably due to positive brand association through which UK HE
appears to be based on the Oxbridge perception. One student expressed this rather
interestingly:
My brother obtained his degree in mathematics from the University of Derby a few years ago.
When ever he came home to visit, the entire clan would come to listen to “those educated from
Oxford” and my father was the proudest man. He also became quite influential because he
had a son from Oxford.
Again friends’ recommendations proved a most powerful influence in the decision of
those coming to study for the first time.
When it came to course choice, prestige, course profiles, images of grandeur,
suitability and relevance of course, for local labour markets seemed to come before
interest in the subject. Some saw themselves becoming the leading stars in the subject
when they get back home:
There are very few econometricians in my country and I can see myself occupying very
senior planning positions when I go back home. The prospects of working for international
organisations such as United Nations and the World Bank become realistic with such a
qualification.
Clearly therefore African students have ambitions beyond gaining employment and
pursing a subject of their interest as many home students tend to have. They look at
HE as preparing them for leadership positions when they get back home.

African students’ fears and anxieties about studying in England

Decision making for overseas study is a high-risk process. Apart from understanding
the pull and push factors, it is important to gain some insight into the fears and
apprehensions students may have about studying in an overseas country of their choice.
Participants in focus groups were asked to express their views about this. Among the
many fears expressed, the following were most widely felt as Table III shows.
Broadly, the factors can be grouped into five main categories of risk. The first, and
perhaps most important is the financial risk involved, both in terms of huge direct
costs and the fear of being unable to meet course requirements up to programme
completion. One student captured both aspects when he said:
Sometimes I just wonder how universities have calculated the cost of HE for international
students outside the EU. Why should it be worth that much more for us compared to
colleagues from the EU? In any case, they do not even allow you to work after completing the
 Students’
Fears and anxieties Frequency (per cent) Ranking
motivations for
Missed opportunities back home 6 (26) 7 studying in UK
Huge direct costs 23 (100) 1
Failure to meet study costs 21 (91) 2
Family disruption 4 (17) 10
Low quality of educational experience for children 6 (26) 7 469
Difficulties integrating into socio-cultural fabric 5 (18) 9
Failure to meet course targets 9 (39) 5
Not being able to find suitable part time work 15 (65) 4
Erosion of home cultural capital 4 (17) 10 Table III.
Visa restrictions and frequent changes 19 (82) 3 Fears and anxieties of
Drugs and other anti social behaviour influences 7 (28) 6 African students

course, as if they do not value the qualification we pay for so dearly. Other countries have
woken up to this need, and they allow students a period of two or three years to work, gain
experience and put something back before going back home. Many of us come here with
enough money for the first year, perhaps second year of study. The final year is usually a
struggle which is why some students do not do well as they combine lots of part time hours
and study.
The second category is what we could call opportunity costs. This was expressed
mainly by mature post graduate students, some of who had left senior positions in
order to study in this country. Issues raised in this category ranged from missing out
on promotions, loss of pensions, erosion of savings back home due to inflation,
property devaluation in the hands of rent payers among others.
A third category could be referred to as family/socio-cultural risks. Mature students
talked about what they considered low-quality educational provision especially in
secondary schools for their children; the increasing use of drugs and anti-social
behaviour among young people and the potential erosion of their home cultural
heritage and, for some, the distance between them and their families was often
unbearable.
A fourth category which is perhaps the second most important for these
international students is what may be termed legal administrative risks. Students were
very worried about the lack of stability in the student visa laws and about what they
perceived as openly vindictive and restrictive regulations which cannot be predicted to
remain constant for any reasonable length of time. A student who came here six years
ago to study for his first degree and is now doing a PhD said:
When I arrived here six years ago, you could become a permanent resident after three years of
stay in the country. Now it is five and none of those are counted if they have been spent in full
time education. The idea seems to be that of making life as difficult as possible for foreigners
while they benefit from the money we pay. Scotland is now more open than England as
completers can now legally work for two years before they can go back home. That way you
gain international experience while setting your self nicely for restarting again back home. I
promise you, students will now be showing preference for Scotland and Wales rather than
the UK.
The final category is what may be termed course related/academic risks, which
includes a perceived fear for failure and the possibility of devaluing the quality of their
IJEM experience due to the need to work part time and meet the costs of study and living
21,6 expenses.

Current student satisfaction with UK HE experience

Apart from the fears and anxieties students identified, the overall finding was that
these students were satisfied with various aspects of their HE experience so far.
470 Table IV utilises a generic decision-making model based on consumer purchase
behaviour (Chapman, 1986; Kotler, 2003) and identifies issues students and internal
recruiters suggested could compromise overall satisfaction with UK HE.
Information inadequacies, financial constraints and post application marketing
deficiencies appear to be the key dissatisfiers in the decision-making processes of
African students in UK HE. Clearly, there is evidence of inadequate understanding of
the African market by those who have specific responsibility for recruiting from the
continent. Partly this could be due to the fact that the market is spread over a vast
geographical area with unreliable communication support, as one staff member
pointed out:
. . . perhaps we should not be talking about recruiting from Africa per se as we seem to have
regions which are more active than others. We seem to know more about some areas than
others, e.g. West Africa has a good representation of students on this campus and it is very
difficult to get information about where these students actually did their last schooling.
On the other hand, students claim not to have adequate access to information they may
require to facilitate decision making at various points in the decision-making cycle.
Information deficiencies are most keenly felt at earlier stages during the pre-search and
search phases. Students also suggest that where applications can be made online, the
assumption seems to be that they have access to reliable computers and that costs
are within their reach. For many of these students, institutional choice needs to be

Recruiters identified Students’ identified

Decision stages challenges dissatisfiers

Pre search Not knowing where to send Information inadequacies

information
Search Costs involved in meeting the Information inadequacies
information costs of a huge market and costs of obtaining
information especially with private
agencies
Application No reliable method of authenticating Occasional delays in the application
financial capability process, online difficulties, costs of
sending application packages, security of
postage
Choice making Not being able to have face to face before Financial issues, not knowing enough
students choose and a large percentage of about specific institutions especially job
Table IV. no shows market aspects
Potential dissatisfiers in Post choice Inadequate contact with students No one seems to bother once we are here.
the decision making decision once they start their programmes Wonder about the international nature of
process experience
supported by information relating to: course descriptions in terms of content to be Students’
covered and assessment models, post qualifying employment rates, opportunities for motivations for
progression, availability of accommodation, labour market information especially
opportunities for part time work and the international composition of student body. studying in UK
Many students from Africa allude to the fact that the financial commitment
necessitated by enrolling onto courses in the country places severe burden not just on
them but also on the networks of support they may have including their poor parents 471
back home. More importantly, students tended to feel that once they are on campus,
they are left to their own devices and very little goes on which offers them support
during the post-registration period.

Discussion and implications of findings

This was an exploratory study based on a small sample of students from Africa in two
universities in the south of England. While the findings generally support what is
already known about overseas decision making, they do not as yet provide a
sufficiently robust basis for generalising about African students as a whole. However,
there is sufficient data here to generate hypotheses about African students’ overseas
decision making which can be subjected to further testing through further research. All
the same, available data has enabled the development of a tentative mapping of
African students’ overseas decision making shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.
A model for African
students overseas study
decision making
IJEM The above model suggests that there are six elements that shape overseas study
21,6 decision making. Push factors according to Zimmermann (1995) are extremely
important in that they provide a basis for a broad conceptualisation of the recruitment
environment of the countries of origin. Universities need both to understand and
appreciate the fact that many of the students from Africa are either escaping poverty or
political crises and may thus need more than just generic support offered to other
472 international students who may just be coming here to improve their language and
learn a new culture. Equally, this becomes a compelling rationale for greater financial
assistance to students from Africa in terms of scholarships, fellowships and study
bursaries. In any case, as the evidence shows, many of these students come here to
study, not only because they anticipate gaining an unrivalled international HE
experience, but because they intend to assume leadership positions in their home
countries upon qualification and return. Institutions may deliver greater satisfaction if
they incorporate leadership development elements into the course programmes to cater
for this need. A second group of elements is about the pull factors operating at country,
institution and subject of study levels. The arrows in between the boxes serve to
illustrate the dynamic reflexive processes (Foskett and Hemsley-Brown, 2001) that
occur as the student assesses information from several sources weighing and
incorporating but sometimes discarding other information. At country level, students
select the UK ahead of other fierce global competitors like the USA, Australia, Canada,
New Zealand and some EU countries notably, Germany, France and Spain because
they perceive it to provide the best scope for accessing an international HE experience
which has a tremendous global appeal. Providing concrete evidence of this in
prospectuses and institutional web-pages will serve to authenticate the perceptions of
students and support students in their decision making. At institutional and subject
levels, issues of teaching and research quality, perceived importance and value of the
subject in the labour market, labour market factors and issues of post qualification
progression appear uppermost in the minds of students. However, these factors are
filtered through the moderating influence of perceptions of risks and anxieties
associated with making an overseas study decision and for those already studying
here, their post purchase experience of the HE environment.

Delivering an international HE experience

The question that educators in HE need to be asking themselves is whether
institutional programmes have the desired international element. Already in this
research, it appears that students have a partial view of what an international
education is supposed to be. Recruiting international students and boasting about
high percentages of international students on campus does not constitute an
international HE experience on its own. There is more that requires doing in terms
of the curriculum to make it a truly international education. The issue of an
international HE experience runs far deeper than mere international recruitment. It
requires attention to the curriculum first and foremost. A key aspect which these
students consider important is that their education should prepare them for
leadership roles back in Africa. This is perhaps an issue of curriculum development
worth considering to enhance the international appeal of HE programmes for this
group of international students.
Information requirements for informed decision making Students’
The key element of an information strategy to inform potential applicants can be
discerned from this data. Institutions will need to make sure that not only is
motivations for
information made available, but also the right information. Students want to know studying in UK
about the quality of the courses and how they compare with other providers,
employment opportunities for graduates, progression opportunities (Black students
are more likely to engage with post graduate qualifications than local White 473
students) (UK COSA, 2004), accommodation and labour market aspects. Most
importantly institutions which will be seeking to expand their African recruitment
markets will need to develop creative financial packages to help fund the African
student.

Implications for future research

The model developed here needs to be tested both quantitatively and qualitatively. An
online questionnaire can be developed which can be distributed to larger numbers of African
students already studying in England to examine the efficacy of the six element model.
In order to examine the views of pre-registered students, a combination of
interviews and focus groups can be conducted with students still in Africa who are
considering coming over to England for HE. This will require the use of a variety of
countries perhaps based on regional representation across the continent and may in
addition require joint working with African-based partners.
Finally, a key element in the development of HE globally is the aspect of
internationalisation of education. As markets grow and develop, so should our
understanding of those markets. It is only when institutions have a full understanding
of the markets they serve, that they can begin to provide a HE that is both relevant and
meaningful to international students. Equally, it is through such understanding that
institutions can begin to market appropriately to the needs of emerging consumers and
markets and begin to address the contemporary international recruitment concept of
responsible recruitment.

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About the authors

Felix Maringe is a Lecturer in the School of Education University of Southampton. His specific
research interests are in the areas of student choice and decision making, HE marketing and
international students’ experience of overseas learning. Felix Maringe is the corresponding
author and can be contacted at: fm2@soton.ac.uk
Steve Carter specialises in international and strategic marketing at the Derbyshire Business
School and has worked extensively in many parts of Africa designing and developing masters
level courses for UK-Africa joint educational programmes. He is also engaged in UN
consultancies for developing countries.

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