Antecedents of students intention to study abroad higher education an empirical research in viet nam

Results indicate that the influences of attitude toward foreign education, advices of influential people and perceive behavioral control play significant role in predicting intention to

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY

International School of Business

-

Lê Thị Hồng An

ANTECEDENTS OF STUDENTS’ INTENTION TO STUDY

ABROAD IN HIGHER EDUCATION:

AN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH IN VIETNAM

MASTER OF BUSINESS (Honours)

Ho Chi Minh City – Year 2014

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY

International School of Business

-

Lê Thị Hồng An

ANTECEDENTS OF STUDENTS’ INTENTION TO STUDY

ABROAD IN HIGHER EDUCATION:

AN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH IN VIETNAM

ID: 22120041

MASTER OF BUSINESS (Honours) SUPPERVISOR: DR LE NGUYEN HAU

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor - Dr Le Nguyen Hau, who has given me great guidance, valuable advice, suggestions that helping me in implementing this study

I would also like to express my sincere thanks to ISB Research Council who gave valuable recommendations throughout my thesis’s periods as well as all professors, tutors and officers of ISB - MBus Program for academic knowledge and assistance throughout the program at International School of Business

Last but not least, I am grateful to Principals, Vice Principals and teachers at Saigon International College, Nguyen Thuong Hien high school, Le Quy Don high school and Gia Dinh high school for their advice and support in collecting the information Without their support, I could not complete my thesis

Thank you,

Le Thi Hong An

Table of content

List of Tables iv

List of Figures v

ABBREVIATIONS vi

ABSTRACT 1

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 2

1.1 RESEARCH BACKGROUND 2

1.1.1 Studying abroad in higher education in Vietnam 2

1.1.2 Existing studies about factors that impact on study oversea intention 3

1.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 6

1.3 SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH 6

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 7

1.5 THESIS’S ORGANIZATION 7

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURES REVIEW AND HYPOTHESES 9

2.1 LITERATURES REVIEW 9

2.1.1 An overview about the Theory of Planned Behavior 9

2.1.2 Intention 11

2.1.3 Attitude toward the behavior 12

2.1.4 Subjective norm 13

2.1.5 Perceived behavioral control 14

2.2 RESEARCH MODEL 15

2.3 HYPOTHESES 16

2.4 SUMMARY 16

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHOD 17

3.1 RESEARCH PROCEDURE 17

3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN 19

3.2.1 Measurement Scales 19

3.2.2 Selection of Method Research 22

3.2.3 Measurement Refinement 23

3.2.4 Questionnaire Design 24

3.3 MAIN STUDY AND DATA COLLECTION 24

3.3.1 Sampling and sample 24

3.3.2 Data analysis 25

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS 27

4.1 DATA STATISTICAL ANALYSIS 27

4.2 MEASUREMENT SCALES ASSESSMENT 28

4.2.1 Reliability Test 28

4.2.2 Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) 31

4.2.3 Correlation 35

4.2.4 Adjusted Model And Hypotheses 37

4.3 HYPOTHESES TESTING 38

4.3.1 Assumption of Multiple Regression 38

4.3.2 Hypotheses testing 39

4.4 DISCUSSION 42

4.5 SUMMARY 43

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS 45

5.1 MAIN FINDINGS 45

5.2 IMPLICATIONS 46

5.2.1 Managerial implication 46

5.2.2 Theoretical implications 47

5.3 LIMITATIONS 47

5.4 CONCLUSION 48

REFERENCES 49

APPENDICES 52

Appendix A: Questionnaire (Vietnamese Version) 52

Appendix B: Questionnaire (English Version) 55

Appendix C: KMO and Bartlett's Test for Independent variables 58

Appendix D: Cronbach’s alpha Test for AIPI construct 58

Appendix E: Cronbach’s alpha Test for AIPP construct 59

Appendix F: KMO and Bartlett's Test for dependent variable 59

List of Tables

Table 3.2: Measurement scales 20

Table 4-1: Data descriptive statistics 27

Table 4-2: Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients for each measurement scale 29

Table 4-3: Cronbach’ Alpha results after excluding unsatisfactory items 30

Table 4-4: Rotated Component Matrixa 32

Table: 4-5: Total Variance Explained of independent variables 33

Table 4-6: Total Variance Explained of dependent variable 34

Table 4-7: Representative variables 35

Table 4-8: Correlations between variables 36

Table 4-9: Hypotheses testing result (Model Summary, ANOVA, Coefficients) 39

List of Figures

Figure 2.1: The theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991) 11

Figure 2.2: Research model 16

Figure 3.2: Research procedure 18

Figure 4.6: Adjusted model 37

ABBREVIATIONS

ELICOS: English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students

VET: Vocational Education and Training

TPB: Theory of Planned Behavior

TRA: Theory of Reasoned Action

ANOVA: Analysis Of Variance

EFA: Explored Factor Analysis

KMO: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin

SPSS: Statistical Package for Social Science

ABSTRACT

Higher education has become an increasingly competitive sector for developed foreign education The number of countries that are actively involved in international student recruitment has grown considerably It is important to gain a better understanding of the factors that influencing on intention to study overseas The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of key antecedents on intention

of studying abroad in tertiary education of high school students in the context of Vietnam

After pilot study, a quantitative research was utilized with a sample of 289 students

in some high schools in Ho Chi Minh City The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used as a framework to understand the intention to study abroad

Results indicate that the influences of attitude toward foreign education, advices of influential people and perceive behavioral control play significant role in predicting intention to study abroad of high school students

Overall, the results of this study may help foreign education institutions develop a good understanding of Vietnamese students’ behavior in selecting an institution for studying in English – speaking countries

Keywords: intention, theory of planned behavior, study abroad, higher education,

Vietnamese students

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Chapter I introduces a background and an overview of studying abroad in higher education in Vietnam as well as existing studies about factors that impact on study oversea intention The Introduction also specifies the research objectives, scope of this study and significance of the research Chapter I also provides an overview of all chapters that will be presented in this paper

1.1 RESEARCH BACKGROUND

1.1.1 Studying abroad in higher education in Vietnam

According to the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), over 100,000 Vietnamese students are studying abroad in 47 countries and territories Among them, about 90% is self-funded study Viet Nam has become a productive market for international institutions (Vietnamnet, 2013)

International education is a growing export industry for many developed countries The US’ Open Doors 2011 report showed that the number of Vietnamese students

in the country increased by 14% during the 2010-2011 academic year Vietnam ranks eighth among countries and territories sending students to the US, a considerable increase compared to the 20th place five years ago and around 72.1%

of Vietnamese students in the US pursued tertiary education More and more Vietnamese apply for studying at the schools in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Singapore and so on The list of the destination countries for Vietnamese students has been expanded (Dantri, 2012)

A report of Australian Education International (2014) stated that following China and India, Vietnam is currently the third largest international student source market for Australia Among the higher education, ELICOS, VET and school sectors, the proportion of higher education sector is high with 44%

There is a growing trend of students studying overseas under scholarships as well as self-funded Australia, US, Britain, Canada and France were early market entrants Besides, emerging education markets such as Singapore, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Thailand, Germany, South Korea, and Japan have all increased efforts

to attract Vietnamese students with scholarships, education exhibitions and other recruitment activities Thus, Vietnam’s international education market is highly competitive (AEI, 2014)

Study abroad is an opportunity for students to learn more about themselves, build self-confidence, meet new people, and experience new cultures along with numerous other positive outcomes (Naffziger, Bott, & Mueller, 2008) The growth

of Vietnamese students studying abroad is an opportunity for foreign institutions in countries that have a developed education such as United Stated, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and so on However, study abroad has also become an educational activity for many foreign institutions that compete to attract students

To attract Vietnamese students who intend to study abroad, there are many higher education fairs that organized every year such as Australian education exhibitions, Study USA Higher Education Fairs, UK education festivals, and so on This means more and more international institutions have involved Vietnam market and make the higher education become an increasingly competitive sector

Hence, to study the factors that affect students’ intention to study abroad in higher education is the important part of marketing strategy planning for student’s recruitment of foreign institutes

1.1.2 Existing studies about factors that impact on study oversea intention

There are a numerous researches about factors influencing choice of study abroad as Zhang, Sun and Hagedorn (2013) summarized, for instance, a research of Barnick (2006) in the context of Canada, students considered studying in a different country

as an investment to their future success by becoming global citizens and

internationally competent knowledge-workers; Maiworm and Teichler (1995) claimed that European students were motivated to study abroad to learn a foreign language, gain a better understanding of the host country, and improve career prospects A study with a focus on American students (Carlson, Burn, Useem, & Yachimovicz, 1990) indicated that students were seeking opportunities overseas to enhance their future careers Besides, some studies of international students from Indonesia, Taiwan, India, and mainland China (Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002) identified

14 common factors impacted international students' decision to pursue a degree in Australia These factors included “students' positive perception of education abroad, accessibility of information on the host country, students' knowledge of the host country, educational quality in the host country, recognition of a foreign degree in the home country, recommendations from family and friends, costs of education in home and host countries, a low crime rate, a presence of students from the home country, and family ties in the host country.” (Zhang, Sun & Hagedorn, 2013, p 141)

In addition, a report by the Australian Education International office (2005) also outlined several factors that may have an impact on participation in study abroad Among these are university educated parents, previous personal international travel experience, family income, program cost, local commitments to work or living (Naffziger, Bott, & Mueller, 2008)

According to a survey of university graduates of Baker et al (1996), the most significant factors attracting overseas students to Australia were the high quality of institutions, quality of courses, good reputation of courses in field, and the potential for improved job prospects when returning their home

Besides analyzing the factors that have impact on study abroad, there are few researches using of theoretical models, such as, the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to examine student motivations for overseas study in some contexts of

studies of Adrien Presley, Dathat Damron-Martinez & Lin Zhang (2010): A study

of business student choice to study abroad: A test of the theory of planned behavior; and Schnusenberg, O., de Jong, P and Goel, L (2012): Predicting study abroad intentions based on the theory of Planned Behavior; a research of Rachel Bobbitt & Cindy Akers (2013) is Going Global: Study Abroad Intentions of Agriculture and Natural Resource Students in Taiwan context; and a research namely The relationship between attitude and behavior: an empirical study in China (Jianyao Li, Dick Mizerski, Alvin Lee & Fang Liu, 2009) in China context These studies used the TBP to predict the intention to study abroad of students and the results affirmed that TPB predictors were highly correlated with the intention

In addition, as Knabe (2012) states that Ajzen’s model has received substantial research support in recent years from social scientists (Ajzen, 2011; Sideridis, Kasissidis, & Padeliadu, 1998) One of the major strengths of the Theory of Planned Behavior is that it is widely applicable to a variety of behaviors in different contexts, including such diverse areas as health communications, environmental concerns, risk communication and so on The theory has been used successfully in hundreds of different studies in the last two decades (Ajzen, 2011) This study offers another opportunity to test the model and apply it to test the theoretical sufficiency of the Theory of Planned Behavior in study oversea industry

In summary, there have been a lot of literatures on students’ enrollment study abroad such as Dembowski, 1980; Chapman, 1981; Coccari and Javalgi, 1995; Broekemier and Seshadri, 1999; Baharun et al., 2001; Dalgety and Coll, 2004 (Li, Mizerski, Lee, & Liu, 2009) However, there has been a few examination of the use

of theoretical models like the theory of planned behavior, to examine student motivations for overseas study especially in Vietnam context

According to current situation of study abroad of Vietnamese students and existing researches about oversea study intention, this paper examines key antecedents that

influences on study abroad intention in Vietnam context by adopting the Theory of Planned Behavior

1.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

The theory of planned behavior was introduced as an extension of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) by Ajzen (Thom, 2007) The TRA suggests that a person's behavior is determined by person’s intention to perform the behavior and that this intention is a function of his/her attitude toward the behavior and subjective norm successively According to TPB, an individual behavior is driven by his/her behavioral intention and perceived behavioral control (PBC) Behavioral intentions

in turn are determined by their attitudes toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived control (Ajzen, 1991)

Intention is the cognitive representation of a person's readiness to perform a given behavior, and it is considered to be the immediate antecedent of behavior Behavioral intention is determined by three factors: their attitude toward the behavior, subjective norms and their perceived behavioral control

By adopting the theory of planned behavior, the study examines key antecedents that participate to predict study abroad intention of high school students in Vietnam The following are specific objectives of the study:

(1) To examine the impact of attitude toward foreign education on study abroad intention of Vietnamese students

(2) To examine the effect of influential people (such as parents, relatives, teachers, friends and others which represent subjective norm) on Vietnamese students’ intention of study abroad

(3) And to examine the effect of perceived behavioral control on intention to study abroad of Vietnamese students

The study assesses the applicability of the theory of planned behavior to explain the behavior of Vietnamese students in selecting a higher education institution in English – speaking country There are a lot of factors that influence on intention to study abroad, this study explores key antecedents that have been mentioned in the

objective and ignore other aspects

The subject of study and observation is high school students The examination is implemented in some high schools in Ho Chi Minh City which have had a great number of students planning to study abroad in undergraduate

And the last points, the study just focuses on students studying abroad under funded English – speaking country is defined where English used as the mother tongue

self-1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

In the context of study abroad in higher education in Vietnam, by adopting the theory of planned behavior, this study may contribute a new measurement instrument that may helpful for future researches in education industry

In managerial implication aspect, this study may help foreign education institutions

in English – speaking countries develop a good understanding of Vietnamese students’ behavior in selection an institution for studying in English – speaking countries As a result, these institutions can improve their business performance in Vietnam market

1.5 THESIS’S ORGANIZATION

The study is built in five parts including:

Chapter 1 – Introduction

This chapter presents an overview of study abroad trend in Vietnam as well as discusses about the existing researches in study abroad in higher education This leads to propose the research problem, research objectives and significance of the research

Chapter 2 - Literatures review and hypotheses

Chapter 2 indicates the theoretical foundation of the research, particularly, the concept of theory of Planned Behavior and their relationship in literature Thence, the hypotheses are discovered and proposed for this research

Chapter 3 - Research method

Research method describes the way to build the measurement and conducting the survey and the way to choose the sample for information collecting

Chapter 4 –Data analysis and results

The chapter presents the techniques to analyze the data Then, the results are exhibited and discussed

Chapter 5 –Discussion, implications and limitations

The last chapter discusses the main findings, contributions and limitation of the study

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURES REVIEW AND HYPOTHESES

The chapter 2 refers the theory of planned behavior and its constructs, consisting of attitude toward behavior, subjective norm, perceived behavior control and behavioral intention This chapter also discovers applications the theory in predicting the intention of study abroad Therefore, the hypotheses are find out and proposed

2.1 LITERATURES REVIEW

2.1.1 An overview about the Theory of Planned Behavior

The Theory of Planned Behavior which had been developed by Icek Ajzen in the first time in 1985 is an extension of the theory of reasoned action (TRA) The purpose for reviewing The Theory of Reasoned Action and The Theory of Planned Behavior is to provide understanding of the theoretical constructs and variables used

in this study While the Theory of Reasoned Action is not the theory chosen for this study, it provides valuable insight into the Theory of Planned Behavior’s evolution into a leading social scientific theory used to study behavioral intent

The Theory of Reasoned Action

As Knabe (2012) showed that the Theory of Reasoned Action which introduced by Fishbein in 1967 provides background to develope the Theory of Planned Behavior This theory asserts that people consider the implications of behavior before action, hence, the name of the theory, the Theory of Reasoned Action Using the Theory of Reasoned Action as a conceptual framework, Ajzen and Fishbein (1977) surmised that attitudes toward behaviors stem from underlying beliefs concerning these behaviors The Theory of Reasoned Action assumes attitudes result from a combination of beliefs about the characteristics of particular attitude objects and evaluations of these characteristics Intent plays a critical role in this theory, and is identified as the greatest predictor of whether or not someone will complete a

specific behavior (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1977) According to Ajzen and Fishbein (1980), the Theory of Reasoned Action states that the two major determinants of intention are an individual’s attitude toward the behavior and the pressures (perceived) of subjective norms (SN) Together, these forces determine intent Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) contend that in general, individuals will intend to perform a behavior when they evaluate it positively and when they believe important “others” think they should perform it However,the theorists acknowledge the relative weights of Attitude and Subjective Norm vary based on the intent, and also vary from person to person (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980)

The Theory of Planned Behavior

Ajzen (1988) developed the Theory of Planned Behavior as an extension of the Theory of Reasoned Action Then the theory was reviewed to deal with its various aspects Unlike the Theory of Reasoned Action, which is only used for behaviors under a person’s control, the Theory of Planned Behavior considers volitional control as a variable By definition, volitional control means a person must have the resources, opportunity and support available to perform a specific behavior (Ajzen, 1991)

Theory of Planned Behavior uses attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control to predict “intention” with relatively high accuracy According to the theory, intention to perform behaviors can be predicted from attitude toward the behavior, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control The theory proposes that a central factor in human behavior is behavioral intention, which is affected by attitude toward behavior, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control The intention together with perception behavioral control is important factors explaining actual behavior (figure 2.1) (Ajzen, 1991) Because objectives of the paper are to examine the impact of factors on intention to study abroad, actual behavior is not investigated

Figure 2.1: The theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991)

2.1.2 Intention

According to Ajzen, intention is an indication of a person's readiness to perform a given behavior, and it is considered to be the immediate antecedent of behavior Intention is assumed to capture the motivational factors that influence a behavior; they are indications of how hard people are willing to try, how much effort they are planning to exert, in order to perform the behavior In this conceptualization, intention is considered as mediators of attitude-behavior relationship Whereas the attitude represents an evaluation of the action, the respective intention is seen as the result of a decision to execute this action and thus represents the person’s willingness to act

The formation of intention is seen as dependent on the person’s attitude toward the behavior, normative pressure and perception of difficulties and ease to execute the behavior A behavioral intention will be performed when behavioral attitude is

Behavior

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION

positive, subjective norms favor the execution, and individuals perceive the opportunities to perform the action Thus, the intention is based on attitude toward the behavior, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control As a general rule, the more favorable the attitude and subjective norm, and the greater the perceived control, the stronger should be the person’s intention to perform the behavior in question For example, if students have positive attitudes toward study abroad, believe that important members in her or his family (subjective norm) would approve of the behavior, and have available resources (perceive behavioral control)

to undertake study, and then they are more likely to form an intention to perform such behavior Therefore, according to the TPB , the stronger their attitudes, the greater the approval of others and the greater their capability of resourcing overseas study, then the stronger will be a student ' s intention to undertake study overseas (Chen & Zimitat, 2006) An analysis of Bobbitt and Akers (2013) also showed that

a combination of attitude toward the behavior, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control significantly explained student’s intent to study abroad

2.1.3 Attitude toward the behavior

Attitude toward the behavior refers the degree of behavioral performance is positive

or negative that a person holds towards a particular behavior

According to Fishbein and Ajzen (1975), general attitude toward an object is formed by salient beliefs Salient beliefs are defined as “the subjective probability

of a relation between the object of the belief and some other object, value, concept,

or attribute” (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) In principle, product quality beliefs can be established by descriptive, informational, and inferential formation (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) Descriptive beliefs are formed through direct observation of characteristics of products Informative beliefs are formed by accepting information about product attributes provided by outside sources such as friends, advertisements, or consumer magazines Inferential beliefs are formed by a

perception process that is based on prior beliefs activated in memory, concerning the perceived relationship between a cue and a product attributes, and new information acquired from environments (Steenkamp, 1990; Peter & Hans, 1995 as cited in Thom, 2007)

A number of studies have indicated that personal beliefs and attitudes significantly influence participation in study abroad (BaileyShea, 2010) The research of Chen et

al (2006) found that the attitude or perceptions of students towards higher education in the destination country was of greatest importance in shaping their intentions for overseas study in the context of Taiwan This study also indicated that in terms of attitude, the belief of improving career prospects is one of the benefits of study abroad (in Australia and the USA) According to Zhang, Sun and Hagedorn (2013), some researchers such as (Bodycott, 2009) and Zhang (2010) found that Chinese students studying abroad because they believe that study abroad

is an opportunity to receive a better quality education and to become more competitive when they return to China Chinese students are also well aware of the fact that through education, especially the acquisition of an overseas degree, they may obtain skills that could widen their career options (Zwart, 2013) A research of Phang (2013) shows that respondents to choose study broad base on many criterions Among them, university’s accreditation and ranking, reputation of a university and future carrier are important factors which influence their choices in selecting higher education abroad Thus, the author suggests the hypothesis is:

H1 Attitude toward foreign education have positive impact on intention to

study abroad of Vietnamese students

2.1.4 Subjective norm

Subjective norm is the perceived social pressure to engage or not to engage in a behavior (Ajzen, 2006) TRA and TPB propose that behavioral intention should be predicted by both attitudes and subjective norms Individuals differ consistently in

the amount of weight they place on attitudinal and normative consideration Empirical evidences show that for some people, personal considerations were better predictor of intentions than were subjective norms, whereas for other individuals, subjective norms are stronger predictor than attitudes (Ajzen & Fishbein, 2005) However, the empirical research and meta-analysis in social science show that subjective norm is a weakest predictor of intention and behavior (Ajzen, 1991; Conner & Armitage, 1998; 2001) The explanations for such weak effect include measurement’s problems and failure to tap appropriate components of normative influence Especially, some researchers have argued to remove the construct from analysis for reasons of its inadequate and rarely predict intention (Conner & Armitage as cited in Thom, 2007)

In contrast, a number of studies revealed that, at a certain level, social pressures, such as peers, parents, teachers and relatives, influence enrollment choices (Ray, 1991; Koballa, 1998) According to Chapman (1981), students are strongly persuaded by the comments and advice of their friends and family in selecting a college Even though the final decision to study abroad is mainly decided by students themselves, their family members, friends and others’ opinion such as their teacher influence them significantly by providing information and suggestions (Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002) Besides, a research of Bobbitt and Akers (2013) also indicated that there is a positive role played by peers in encouraging study abroad although the intention to study abroad appears to be a personal choice and influenced by others in lesser level Therefore, the hypothesis supposed:

H2 Advices of influential people such as parents, relatives, teachers, friends

and others) have positive impact on intention to studying abroad of Vietnamese students

2.1.5 Perceived behavioral control

Perceived behavioral control refers to people's perceptions of their ability to perform a given behavior It plays an important part in the theory of planned behavior and make the theory differs from the TRA Perceived Behavioral Control

is determined by the total set of accessible control of factors that may facilitate or impede performance of the behavior (Ajzen, 1991) It performs the perceived ease

or difficulty of the performing of the behavior (Li et al., 2009) Behavioral intention would not be executed if the person perceives that they do not have opportunities and resources to perform the action, in spite of his strongly favorable attitudes and under high social pressures A given behavior will be more likely to occur when individuals have both the ability and motivation to perform the behaviors than when they have only one or neither

In study context, for students, whether they choose to study through an offshore program is also influenced by the perceived behavioral control factors (Li et al., 2009) The study of Chen and Zimitat (2006) states that if individuals believe that they do not have sufficient resources or opportunities to undertake particular behavior, they are not likely to form a strong intention to perform such behavior According to Bobbitt and Akers (2013), resources for implement the behavior of study oversea include finance, language fluency, and knowledge Thus it is hypothesized that:

H3 Perceived behavioral control has a positive impact on Vietnamese

students’ study abroad intention

2.2 RESEARCH MODEL

Base on the literatures review and the framework of the theory planned behavior, the research model is illustrated in figure 2.3 This model consists of three major constructs including attitude toward foreign education, advices of influential people and perceived behavioral control Hypotheses of this study are also summarized

Figure 2.2: Research model 2.3 HYPOTHESES

H1 Attitude toward foreign education have positive impact on intention to study

abroad of Vietnamese students

H2 Advices of influential people such as parents, relatives, teachers, friends and

others) have positive impact on intention to studying abroad of Vietnamese students

H3 Perceived behavioral control has a positive impact on Vietnamese students’

study abroad intention

2.4 SUMMARY

This chapter presents reviews of relevant concepts, hypothesizes, model based some previous studies and experiences related to the research topic The research model was completely developed from the TPB concept Three hypotheses were proposed The following chapter will present how the author develops measurement scales for each constructs in the research model as well as how to collect the data and the research methodology

STUDY ABROAD INTENTION

H3 Attitude toward behavior

Subjective norm

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHOD

This chapter deals with the method and research design to explore the effect of key antecedents on study abroad intention by applying the theoretical frameworks and related constructs to the development of the study’s instrument, a survey The chapter includes research procedure, measurement scales, research design, sampling and methodology for data analysis which will be present clearly in the next chapter

3.1 RESEARCH PROCEDURE

After the research problem was identified, the research objectives and research scope were determined The literature review about TPB and relevant previous studies were also explored for the hypotheses development The draft questionnaire was established from the consolidation of various questionnaires used in some previous studies of the extant literature After pilot study, main study was conducted to collect the data for data analysis and the last step was conclusion and implication Clearly, the research procedure in this study consists of following steps:

Step 1: Developing the initial research model and a consolidated draft questionnaire based on the literature review The draft questionnaire was conducted from various measurement scales in some previous studies that applied the Theory of Planned Behavior in examining study abroad intention

Step 2: Conducting a qualitative pilot study to refine a questionnaire A sample with seven students which selected randomly was interviewed They were required to give their opinion about each statement to ensure that the final questions would be well understood Based on the results of this research, the measurement scales of the questionnaire was refined

Figure 3.2: Research procedure

Step 3: Carrying out a quantitative pilot survey to test the reliability of measurement scales Cronbach’s alpha was used for this step The final questionnaire was launched after all scales were reliable

Step 4: Launching a main survey and collecting the data for data analysis step 300 questionnaires were sent to three high schools, 289 responses were received four weeks after the survey was launched

Step 5: With the data collected from this main survey, after data cleaning, the

Literature review Draft questionnaire Back translation

Qualitative study (n=7)

Quantitative study (n=55) Reliability Analysis Final Questionnaire

Validity analysis (EFA)

Hypothesis testing (Regression)

Main survey (n=289)

Reliability Analysis (Cronbach’s Alpha)

Pilot study

Refined questionnaire

Main study

Item generation

3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN

The research in this paper was designed in two phases: a pilot study and main survey Before implementing these studies, a draft questionnaire was conducted from measurement scales of some previous studies

3.2.1 Measurement Scales

Four first – order constructs were examined There were 24 measurement variables, belonged to four factors and were coded and shown in table below Measurement scales for all factors were summarized in the table 3.2

Measurement scales for attitude toward foreign education were modified from scales of attitude toward study abroad intention of Chen and Zimitat (2006) with 7 items

Advices of influential people scales were adapted from Subjective norm scales of Bobbitt and Akers (2013); Chen and Zimitat (2006) with 6 items

Measurement scale for perceived behavioral control were also adapted from Bobbitt and Akers (2013) and Chen and Zimitat (2006) Perceived behavioral control was also measured by 6 items

Intention to studying abroad was based on Bobbitt and Akers (2013) scales and

Davis et al (2002) with 5 items

These constructs were assessed by series of items with five-point Likert type from 1

- strongly disagree to 5 - strongly agree:

Respondents were asked to indicate their levels of agreement or disagreement with

statements regarding each construct

Table 3.2: Measurement scales

g

Source INDEPENDENT VARIABLES

Attitude toward behavior scale Attitude toward foreign

education

ATT

(1) Education in many

English-speaking countries will improve my

English skills

(1) Education in speaking countries will improve my English skills

English-ATT1 (Chen &

Zimitat, 2006) (2) Qualifications from many

English-speaking countries are

more valuable than Taiwanese

qualifications

(2) Qualifications from English-speaking countries are more valuable than Vietnamese qualifications

ATT2

(3) The academic reputation of

universities in many

English-speaking countries is higher than

those in Taiwan

(3) The academic reputation

of universities in speaking countries is higher than those in Vietnam

English-ATT3

(4) High achievement in

academic research in an

English-speaking country is important to

me

(4) High achievement in academic research in an English-speaking country is one of things that I interested in

ATT4

(5) Studying in many

English-speaking countries can improve my

job prospects

(5) Studying in speaking countries can improve my job prospects after graduation

English-ATT5

(6) A degree from an

economically powerful

English-speaking country is highly valued

in Taiwan

(6) With an international degree, I may have better career opportunities in Vietnam

ATT6

(7) International degree is one

of important things that may can help me get a job with high salary

decision-making process

(1) My parents’ advice influences on my intention to study abroad

AIP2

(3) My teachers can influence my

decision-making process

(3) My teachers’ advice influences my intention to study abroad

AIP3

(4) My friends can influence my

decision-making process

(4) My friends’ opinion influences my intention to study abroad

AIP4

(5) Word of mouth from other

people who have studied overseas

can influence my decision-making

process

(5) Word of mouth from other people who have studied overseas influences my intention to study abroad

AIP5

(6) When it comes to study

abroad, how much do you want to

be like your friends

(6) I may study at the institution which my friends will study/is studying

AIP6 (Bobbitt &

Akers, 2013)

Perceived behavioral control

(PBC) scale

Perceived behavioral control PBC

(1) The cost of university tuition

fees is an important factor for

overseas study

(1) University tuition fees is

an factor that impact on my intention study abroad

PBC1 (Chen &

Zimitat, 2006) (2) Cost of living is an important

factor for overseas study

(2) Cost of living is an factor that impact on my intention study abroad

PBC

2

(3) The length of time taken to

complete my degree is an important

factor overseas study

(3) The length of time taken

to complete my degree is factor that impact on my intention study abroad

PBC

3

(4) It is important to maintain

sufficient contact with my family

when I study overseas

(4) It is important to maintain sufficient contact with my family when I study overseas

PBC4

(5) Entry into university in Taiwan

is so competitive that I would

prefer to study overseas

(5) Entry into university in Vietnam is so competitive that

I would prefer to study overseas

PBC5

(6) They would have difficulty due

to language barriers when

participating in a study abroad

program

(6) I would have difficulty due to language barriers if I study abroad

PBC6 (Bobbitt &

Akers, 2013)

DEPENDENT VARIABLE

(1) I have previously considered

participating in a study abroad

program

(1) I have previously considered participating in a study abroad program

ISA1 (Bobbitt &

Akers, 2013) (2) Participating in a study abroad

program is something that interests

me

(2) Participating in a study abroad program is something that interests me

ISA2

(3) I intend to participate in a

study abroad program

(3) I intend to study abroad ISA3

(4) I expect to study abroad (4) I expect to study abroad ISA4 (Davis,

Ajzen, Saunders,

&

Williams, 2002)

(5) I will try to study abroad in

future

(5) I will try to study abroad

in future

ISA5

3.2.2 Selection of Method Research

As the author has mentioned in the measurement scale part, scales of each construct

mainly for this paper However, the qualitative study is performed in focus group interview with the purpose of measurement refinement

3.2.3 Measurement Refinement

Above these scales were used in many countries, but not in Vietnam They need to

be tested and modified before using them to examine empirical study

Measurement refinement was performed by the pilot study in two steps:

Qualitative pilot study

In the first step, a qualitative study was implemented A draft questionnaire based

on scales that conducted from literatures review This draft was in English originally and was translated into Vietnamese to ensure that students do not misunderstand the meaning of all questions A focus group was designed with seven high-school students who chosen randomly The group read all statements of the prepared questionnaire They were required to ensure that all questions are clear and appropriate with the constructs

The result of this step is all statements were kept as initially However, a number of minor changes were recommended by the pilot study survey participants These included clarifications in wording, reduction of redundant questions Besides, the construct “Intention to study abroad” was added one more statement “I intend to study abroad because of my parents’ request” Explanation for the addition, Interviewees commented that they themselves and many their friends have to study oversea as their parents had the plan before

Quantitative pilot study

In the second step, a quantitative pilot survey was explored after the questionnaire refined It was implemented by sending the questionnaire to 55 students in grade 12

of Saigon International College The validity of scales was assessed via Cronbach’s

Alpha The results indicate that all scales were accepted because Cronbach’s alpha

of each construct above 0.6

3.2.4 Questionnaire Design

The final questionnaire which shown in Appendix A was done after the pilot study

It was structured into 2 sections:

Section A explores respondents’ opinion about statements of attitude toward foreign education in English – speaking countries, advice of influential people and ability to control the behavior of intention to study aboard This section shows measurement scales including 25 statements Among them, 7 statements belong to the construct

of attitude toward foreign education, 6 scales are of advice of influential people, perceived control the behavior construct has 6 measurement scales and 6 statements are for intention construct Each statement is measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly agree (5) to strongly disagree (1)

Section B mentions individual information of respondents The purpose of this section is to evaluate diversify of the data and to show the difference in behavior among different segment, different group, including gender, occupation and income

3.3 MAIN STUDY AND DATA COLLECTION

The main survey was conducted with the sample of 300 students in three high schools in Ho Chi Minh City after the final questionnaire completed

3.3.1 Sampling and sample

As mentioned in the scope, this study focuses on high –school students who intention to study oversea under self-funded, sampling was collected from 3 high schools in Ho Chi Minh City, namely, Le Quy Don, Nguyen Thuong Hien and Gia Đinh These schools are not gifted schools because students from the gifted school tend to study abroad under scholarship

Study abroad is long-term study plan Thus, high school students and their parent usually find out relating information as soon as students enter to high school Therefore, the sample of the research is students in grade 11 and grade 12

Convenience sampling method was used to collect the data with a structured questionnaire by face to face method

Regarding to the sample size, according to Tho (2011), it depends on a number of aspects, such as method of data analysis the expectation of reliability, and others Because the study uses EFA and regression analysis technique, the sample size must satisfy both The sample size required for Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), according to Hair et al (2006), as cited in Tho (2011) stated that the minimum sample size is 50, however it is better if sample size is 100 Besides, the ratio of observations/items is 5:1 and the ratio 10:1 is better The sample size requires for using multi liner regression, as Harris (1985) calculated that: n ≥ 104 + m (n is sample size and m is the number of independent variables)

Based on the literature review of sample size for data analysis and the number of items of four constructs, sample size needed for this study should be at least 110 observations In this research, 300 questionnaires were distributed to 3 high schools

in Ho Chi Minh City which have a great number of students study abroad under self

- funded About 100 questionnaires were allocated to each school The amount was divided into 5 classes including 11 and 12 grade by teacher’s in-charge After four weeks, with the support of teachers of these schools, 289 responses were collected The data was cleaned and 88 responses were eliminated Finally, 201 responses were used as a valid data for this research

3.3.2 Data analysis

The study employed SPSS program software and data analysis including preliminary assessment of the scale and reliability of variables by Cronbach Alpha