An investigation into the push and pull factors that influenced students’ decision to study at Glasgow University
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
The student intake at the University of Glasgow has increased from 23,310 to 26,550 from 2006-2011 (HESA, 2011), indicating a positively inclined student decision to study at the university. The decision making process is a complex process made by the student intentionally or unintentionally (Moogan and Baron, 2003). This process is stimulated by “Push” factors related to home country and “Pull” factors related to host country (Mazzoral and Soutar, 2002). In order to understand the student market, it is necessary to have knowledge of student choice and decision making process (Vaira, 2004). Also it is essential to apprehend factors influencing student purchase aims and comprehend the connection among the factors (Cubillo, 2006). Unluckily, at present there is inadequate information about the factors influencing student decision specific to the University of Glasgow and besides that there is little research done on factors influencing local student decision. Therefore the intent of this research is to investigate into the factors influencing students’ decision to study at the University of Glasgow. This research will incorporate studies by Briggs (2006); Mazzoral and Soutar (2002); Maringe (2006) and Maringe and Carter (2007), which will provide a foundation for the research. This paper will analyse the significance of student decision making to consumer behaviour and choice. It will further examine the different factors that influence the student decision and categorise them into push and pull factors. Finally conclusions will be made by reviewing the main themes and associate them to the present study.
Decision Making Process
The process of decision making for students who want to enter into higher education is a complicate and a multistage process, which requires the problem of choice of destination and
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