Research Proposal on Popularity of International Schools (Research Proposal Sample)

Research Proposal on Popularity of International Schools in the European Countries to the Students from other Continents
Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u 1.0.Introduction PAGEREF _Toc427920499 \h 12.0.Literature Review PAGEREF _Toc427920500 \h 32.1.Research Questions PAGEREF _Toc427920501 \h 63.0.Research Methodology PAGEREF _Toc427920502 \h 73.1.Research Objectives PAGEREF _Toc427920503 \h 73.2.Methods of data collection PAGEREF _Toc427920504 \h 83.2.1.Questionnaire PAGEREF _Toc427920505 \h 93.2.2.Interviews PAGEREF _Toc427920506 \h 93.2.3.Observation PAGEREF _Toc427920507 \h 93.3.Method of Data Analysis PAGEREF _Toc427920508 \h 103.4.Research Design PAGEREF _Toc427920509 \h 103.4.1.Location of the Research PAGEREF _Toc427920510 \h 104.0.Ethical Consideration PAGEREF _Toc427920511 \h 11
Research Proposal on the Increase in Popularity of International Schools
1 Introduction
Currently in the last few decades there has been development in the European policies regarding higher education and demand for specific certification in job markets. This development has brought with it different trends where students are moving from their continents going to look for education in other continents where they believe education there complies with the job market needs. This research proposal aims at critically assessing the shifting demand for foreign education. More specifically, the proposal tries to find the answers to this questions: What is the reason for the increase in popularity of international schools? Are government policies shaping the popularity of international schools?
Middle level or tertiary institutions including universities and colleges play a significant role in supporting the economic growth, the creation of job opportunities, improvement of individual lives, and promotion of innovation and invention. Despite all this benefits of all the tertiary institutions, the last few decades have experienced an increase in popularity for international institutions making students from non-European states such as from African, Asian and South American continents to become attracted to these schools. Studies done by Altbach (2004) found out the reason for this move to be the distinct marketing strategy applied by some of the international schools to be one of the reasons why many foreign students seek admission to these schools. Other scholars with other theoretical perspectives argue that unique factors have been there including commercialization of the higher education industry on large scale as well as the international labour market requirements that have helped in increasing the popularity of international schools.
There has been an understanding on the other hand that the increase in popularity of the international schools cannot be because of the marketing strategies but because of the changing demographic structures in many of the western economies (Binsardi and Ekwulugo, 2003). The question that needs to be assessed is whether the mobility of students to the international institutions is as a result of marketing or a result of the case between the current high demand in job markets and the high demand by individuals for higher education to suit in the society. This research proposal further seeks to examine the role of competition and policies in international schools and how the policies facilitate the need for admission in the international institutions.
Looking at the case of the United Kingdom (UK), providing education for students that come from other countries was made to be an industry and as a result, visa policies on exceptional students was made to be flexible thus attracting many more international students (Van der Wende, 2001). This is a typical case that makes universities in the United Kingdom popular Arabic, Chinese and American Students.
2 Literature Review
Looking at what the Institute of International Education says as cited in Waters and Brooks (2010) the popularity of international schools has increased by over 48 percent in the past seven years beginning from 2005. According to the research, the improvement in the number of students seeking admission in countries such as Canada, United States of America and Australia has been due to costs that are now affordable. These popularities have been attributed to good ranking of the international schools according to Waters and Brooks (2010). They concretize their finding by arguing that after the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York City and the attack that was made on the Pentagon in Washington D.C number of foreign students coming to join schools dropped. The figure shows that numbers of students seeking admission in these countries dramatically dropped by 45% (i.e., 7,886), and in the 2011-2012 academic year, the number of Saudi Arabian international students for that matter dropped by 39% representing a total of 34,139 in 2011-2012 academic year. One the one hand, Waters and Brooks (2010) show that popularity of international schools has been due to good rankings and reputations the country or the institution, in particular, enjoys. On the other, these findings suggest questions such as: what strengths and success strategies do international schools use to get learners to their institutions?
Although other findings such as Hemsley-Brown and Oplatka(2010) have also indicated that the popularity of these institutions have been due to strategic marketing and promotional programmes such as scholarships, there are other benefits associated with these international schools; a strategy moving students have not been able to get in their countries or schools within their country. One of these strategies is the employment during the study or upon completion of their studies. According to the research between 2007 and 2010, most students from Asia and Africa always prefer international institutions hoping that at the end of their study their knowledge and skills will be utilized in their country of study (Hemsley-Brown and Oplatka2010). This case is different when compared with countries such as India and Egypt, which have well-ranked institutions but unpopular since they do not offer these incentives at the completion of the study. Hemsley-Brown and Oplatka(2010) findings was earlier found by Bennell and Pearce (2003) who stated that there are two categories of States when it comes to admission of foreign students. The first State is the member termed as ‘Member State.’ These are countries that admit student all over the world but can only offer employment and other incentives to students from the European Union. On the other hand, there are ‘non-member States’ who admit students from all over the world and are flexible in allowing ‘exceptional’ performers work and live in their countries of studies.
The reason for international schools popularity in Europe has undergone considerable changes in the 21st century. In particular, Wilkins et al. (2013) assess marketing strategies that international schools use to attract foreign students. Relating this to the changes in European schools, it is noted that students increased the need for studying abroad has been facilitated by the improved bilateral relations within Europe. What Wilkins et al. (2013) finds is that international schools do not wholly depend on marketing strategies but enjoy the popularity of their institutions as a result of enhanced mutual understanding between different countries, additionally there has been strategies to promote education and professional engagements at the international levels. However, Lawn and Grek (2012) differ with this opinion arguing that what make these schools attractive are the marketing strategies, government policies and policies within these schools. According to Labour Force Survey (Lawn and Grek 2012), foreign students in universities such as Manchester have for long been allowed to seek part time employments in different sectors within the university, a policy that has been the institution famous among students coming from Asian and African countries.
Statistics regarding the flow of foreign students to international universities reveal that the reason is due to policy initiatives (Brooks et al. 2012). Contrariwise, trends in international schools such as opening academic programmes in other foreign countries suggest that they have gained popularity due to a growing number of non-European students who find studying in those schools as an added advantage when they seek employment in their countries of origin. This proposal finds the ideas as suggested by Brooks et al.(2012) to be lacking evidence. It is apparent that national policies regarding higher education differ significantly across different countries and even among member states consequently, higher education market has been segmented into regional or to some cases national market (McClelland and Gandy 2012). This makes it difficult to support the idea that international schools are popular because they offer certifications that are accepted in every market.
For decades, the UK has been at centre stage when it comes to some of the most popular schools. It is no doubt that the country has the most internationally distinguished destinations in Europe thus attracting the maximum of foreign mobile learners (Gribble and Blackmore 2012). Based on this trend, it can be concluded that most of the schools in the UK were popular due to the fact that it colonized most of third world countries and for long these countries felt that their schools were the best. However, according to Bonal (2012) the popularity of schools in The UK took a different a twist since 2000. Since 1996 France and Germany have had schools that have become popular thus attracting learners from other European and non-European countries. According to Bonal (2012), the reason for the rise of these schools is due to the internationali...