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Becoming a Mobile Student – The Process and Reasons Why Chinese Students Choose Italy
- 1 The University of Padova
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Abstract
In the context of the internationalization of higher education and the yearly increase in the number of Chinese students in Italy, this paper examines the processes and reasons why Chinese students choose Italy. Using a semi-structured interview with ten English-taught Master's students at the University of Padova in Italy, the study illustrates the reasons why Chinese students choose Italy by focusing on previous mobility experiences and the social embeddedness of the students and incorporating push and pull models from the international student mobility literature. The paper finds that previous successful mobility experiences and the social networks in which students are embedded foster the formation of study abroad perceptions. Economic factors, a novel curriculum, high quality of education, and low entry language requirements were key factors in choosing Italy.
Keywords
student mobility, Chinese international student, English-based course
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Cite this article
Zhao,Y. (2025). Becoming a Mobile Student – The Process and Reasons Why Chinese Students Choose Italy. Advances in Social Behavior Research,15,21-25.
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
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