Studying Abroad in Britain: Advantages and Disadvantages

Abstract

There are two sides to every door. This research investigated the advantages and disadvantages of studying abroad at a university in south west England through a sequential exploratory mixed methods design. Except for slight differences in ranking of the perceived top study abroad benefits, interview and survey findings regarding advantages were mostly consistent, suggesting that study abroad issues are generally double-edged to include both positive and negative effects, including for one-year Masters programmes in Britain. In terms of employment advantage, instead of a traditionally so-called ‘Western’ or ‘Eastern’ country of origin commonly stated in existing studies, this research suggests that the degree of economic development seems to be strongly related to differences in international students’ homeland employment opportunities. Finally, advantages rather than disadvantages of study abroad experiences were reported more strongly by research participants throughout the study.