Browsing by Subject "Ulkomailla opiskelu"

This Master's thesis for the Faculty of Educational Sciences at the University of Helsinki researched the expectations and values expressed by Finnish students studying for a university degree in Australia. The study considered the reasons and values named by these students by asking why the students are motivated to complete a university degree in Australia. The phenomena investigated focused on both Australian study-based immigration and the value choices made by the young to achieve their personal internationalization goals. The study was conducted as a qualitative research with semi-structured interviews for seven Finnish degree students studying at Australian universities in September-October 2020. The analysis of the transcribed interviews followed the framework of the expectancy-value theory by Eccles and Wigfield (2002) especially for the categories of perceptions, expectations for success, and subjective task values and associated costs. Of the students' subjective task values, the utility values, expenses and psychological costs of studying in Australia were particularly emphasized. While studying in Australia was considered expensive, it was also considered useful. The emphasis on internationality, language skills for future professional life and, in particular, a longer-term residence permit in the country seemed to be significant factors in a student's choice to pursue a university degree in Australia. Beginning tertiary studies appeared to be linked to the country's visa regulations, with the possibility of a permanent residence permit and eventually the chance for a citizenship. The price of the degree influenced the choices of some students who chose a cheaper university or a field of study, even when they would have preferred otherwise. The students’ experiences in Australia showed growth in self-esteem and self-ability to cope with their studies as a contrast to the initial low expectations they set for their own success. Contrary to Eccles and Wigfield’s (2002) expectancy-value theory, the goals set by the students about studying in Australia did not appear to have been influenced by the expectations, behavior, or attitudes of the student’s family and friends in Finland. Even though they may have been against the student’s choice to study in Australia, the student still decided to pursue it. Australian studies seem to attract young people with their exoticism, but they also require the student to have a strong risk-taking ability, wealth and belief in their own abilities. Australian studies can be an important investment for a student for building an international career and life in Australia.