Exploring Lifestyle Factors in Study Abroad Decisions

This literature review examines the influence of lifestyle factors on students' decisions to study abroad, drawing from various sociological and educational studies. It highlights that lifestyle, shaped by cultural background, socio-economic factors, and personal experiences, significantly impacts a student's inclination to pursue international education. Key personality traits such as achievement motivation, neophilia (desire for novelty), and a 'migrant personality' (desire for change of location) are identified as major drivers. The review references statistics showing a significant increase in international students over recent decades, with popular destinations including the USA, UK, China, India, and South Korea. Ultimately, the review underscores the complex interplay between personal lifestyle and the aspiration to study abroad. Desklib provides access to similar assignments and study resources for students.

Literature Review
The term lifestyle has its origin in sociology. The term basically signifies the factors of
character like subjects of interest, opinion regarding a matter, the general behaviour of a
person etc. This can be of an individual of a group of people. The lifestyle is strongly
impacted by the culture of the person as stated by Bodycott (2009). The experiences of a
person while growing up contribute significantly in the formation of lifestyle. These factors
involve the socio economic standards, the professions of the parents and as mentioned before
the culture of the family.
There are a large number of students that travel abroad to study each year. Some statistics
suggests that there are 3.7 million international students in the academic year 2008-09 (Li et
al. 2013). This statistics has been increasing at a rate of 12 per cent each year. The increase
has been significant from the earlier times. In the year 1975 a mere 0.8 million students have
travelled abroad which has increased about four times and is increasing at almost an
exponential rate (McKeown 2009). The popular student destinations according to studies by
Kim et al. (2007) are USA, UK, China, India and South Korea respectively.
One of the key personality factors that seems to influence their decision regarding studying
abroad is the motivation of achievement. The students who tend to choose a program abroad
are more likely to be people with higher self confidence (Pampaloni 2010). It has been
observed that the students that are more involved in their high school career and has been
very brave in opting for courses that are difficult to master has been the students who have
opted for studying abroad. Another key aspect of the behaviour of these students is the fact
that they are highly restless in character (Yang 2007). This forces them to leave a place where
the regularity becomes mechanical for them. A study conducted among 400 U.S students
have suggested that the students with high achievement motivation tend to show an
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inclination to travel abroad in comparison to those that are less achievement motivated in
nature (Pope et al. 2014).
Another personality characteristic that has been held responsible for travelling abroad
experience involves neophilia. This particular term represents the desire to experience
something new (Elena 2015). There have been tests that are capable of measuring the level of
neophilia among people. The studies have suggested that personalities with high level of
neophilia are more likely to accept changes in personal life or in the society. They are less
likely to show any orthodox tastes and are more likely to chances in life (Kasravi 2009).
There is a positive correlation between neophilia and desire of travelling abroad in a student.
There is another common terminology called the migrant personality. This is a type of
personality that shows a high level of desire to change locations. These people are more
likely to undergo even small travels just for the sake of changing locations. Even within a
country these people tend to change places (Wilkins and Huisman 2011). Even though the
purpose of studying abroad is to study but the influence of the migrant personality tend to
have a high level of influence in moving abroad.
These are the key lifestyle factors that influence the decision of the students to go abroad.
There are several other demographic factors that influence this decision as well.
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Reference List
Bodycott, P., 2009. Choosing a higher education study abroad destination: What mainland
Chinese parents and students rate as important. Journal of research in International
education, 8(3), pp.349-373.
Elena, L., 2015. A STUDY REGARDING THE NEOPHILIA OR THE TENDENCY
TOWARDS NOVELTY FOR TWO TYPES OF STUDENTS–PARTICIPATING AT THE
PHYSICAL EDUCATION LESSONS AND WITH MEDICAL EXEMPTS. Ovidius
University Annals, Series Physical Education and Sport/Science, Movement and
Health, 15(2), pp.127-135.
Kasravi, J., 2009. Factors influencing the decision to study abroad for students of color:
Moving beyond the barriers. University of Minnesota.
Kim, K., Oh, I.K. and Jogaratnam, G., 2007. College student travel: A revised model of push
motives. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 13(1), pp.73-85.
Li, M., Olson, J.E. and Frieze, I.H., 2013. Students' Study Abroad Plans: The Influence of
Motivational and Personality Factors. Frontiers: The interdisciplinary journal of study
abroad, 23, pp.73-89.
McKeown, J.S., 2009. The first time effect: The impact of study abroad on college student
intellectual development. Suny Press.
Pampaloni, A.M., 2010. The influence of organizational image on college selection: what
students seek in institutions of higher education. Journal of Marketing for Higher
Education, 20(1), pp.19-48.
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Pope, J.A., Sánchez, C.M., Lehnert, K. and Schmid, A.S., 2014. Why do Gen Y students
study abroad? Individual growth and the intent to study abroad. Journal of Teaching in
International Business, 25(2), pp.97-118.
Wilkins, S. and Huisman, J., 2011. International student destination choice: The influence of
home campus experience on the decision to consider branch campuses. Journal of Marketing
for Higher Education, 21(1), pp.61-83.
Yang, M., 2007. What attracts mainland Chinese students to Australian higher
education. Studies in Learning, Evaluation, Innovation and Development, 4(2), pp.1-12.
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