China's Self-funded Study Abroad Behavior Research

With the arrival of the era of globalization,international education exchanges have become normal.It is against this backdrop that overseas education enjoys rapid development.At present,the number of Chinese students studying abroad has reached 500 thousand per year,and its growth rate is far higher than the global average annual growth rate of about 7%.Individual's studying abroad is a selective consumption behavior when an individual has the demand for higher education.In the era of globalization,the reason why overseas education can be accepted by consumers as a service product is because of its political and economic significance for the nation,the institutions of higher education and the individual.When one's need for higher education cannot be met within his or her own nation,studying abroad has become the only way which must be passed for a broader development platform.It is considered to be a short cut for personal growth and obtaining occupation skill.In today's world featuring the transition from a single culture to diversified cultures,the emerging culture also makes the experience of overseas education a means of winning others' envy and highlighting one's social status.Young people's curiosity about or pursuit of other societies and cultures also become an important reason for the acceptance of overseas education products.Therefore,cultural exchange,as the product characteristics and values of overseas education,has been widely recognized and has met the needs of specific consumer groups.When confronted with the need for higher education,consumer's motivation is based on his or her personal recognition determined by his or her personal qualities and self-recognition,and is also related to his or her analysis and interpretation of the external environment.The way people perceive and interpret information varies from person to person.The degree of one's attention of the information,the quality of the information,the channel through which the information is spread,the way how the information persuades people all have bearing on how the information functions at last.How people perceive overseas education product is also related to the way their attitude is formed.The higher degree of involvement,the more likely that one's attitude is formed through study and information collection.On the contrary,one's attitude is formed through emotional elements or direct behavior.One's consumption behavior of overseas education is also influenced by his or her social and interpersonal relationship.Subculture,lifestyle,social norms and herd mentality all belong to this relationship.Chinese consumer's overseas education consumption decision-making is relatively rational.The majority of consumers' decisions are based on relatively higher product involvement.However,consumers still lack the awareness of the risks,especially the potential psychological risks which consumers have not paid enough attention to.The influencing factors of consumption intention include motivation,involvement and risk perception,which can better explain and predict the consumption intention in the real decision-making link.Although family income cannot directly reflect the ability to pay,through the analysis of the ability and the willingness to pay,families with the annual income of more than 200 thousand yuan possess overseas education consumption ability and strong consumption willingness to a certain extent.The specific overseas education consumption decision-making depends on consumer's willingness and ability to pay.It is a process of repeated demonstration of consumer's educational needs,the clarification of overseas education motivation,the collection and analysis of overseas education information,the consolidation of overseas education willingness,the evaluation of consumption risks and payment ability.Overseas education consumption decision-making includes two aspects,one is the choice of "go or stay" determined by consumer's willingness and ability to pay and the other is the specific decision-making content,namely the study-abroad plan.The choice of"go or stay" depends on consumer's comparison between domestic education and overseas education,and the decision content depends on consumer's comparison between different overseas education products.The decision making often lasts long and is repetitive.It is a process of repetitive assessment of information which involves the opportunity,destinations,schools,professional courses,budget,feasibility evaluation,planning in the preparation phase and the selection of alternative options.The reasons of problems in self funded study abroad behavior is from aspects of overseas educational market and personal cognitive issue.While the market issue is mainly relating to the trend of marketization,personal cognitive issue causes behavioral deviations.To deal with these problems,consumers need to adjust their cognitive styles.School and intermediary institutions,as providers of overseas education products,need to enhance their self-discipline and abide by social morals.Government authorities,as the competent department,need to assume the social responsibility of maintaining the virtuous circle of the market.