Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Advanced Research in Education
Year: 2024
DOI:
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The Usage of Online Platforms by International Students to Choose New Zealand as an Education Destination
Dr.Syed Jamali, Karishma Parmar
ABSTRACT:
As a result of foreign student enrolments and globalisation, universities all over the globe are competing for students by advertising their institutions and studying programmes or courses in different ways. At the same time, aspiring international students use a variety of information sources to conduct a global university search, decision-making, and selection criteria. Traditional information methods like newspapers, mass media, broadcasting, educational fairs, and academic institutions’ websites dominated well before the emergence of social media. As many youngsters and students communicate, cooperate, and interact in these internet groups, social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google, and YouTube have become additional educational sources of information. This research examines how social media impacts international students’ course or university choices. A questionnaire survey gathered demographic data with multiple-choice, open-ended questions. One hundred thirty-four international students in New Zealand completed the survey form. The findings show (1) that international students use social media extensively, (2) the impact of social media platforms on international students’ course and academic institutional decisions, and (3) the significance of social media in addressing their required information. Overall, this research provides a deeper understanding of which online platforms international students use while selecting New Zealand as an international study destination and why. It also gives universities ideas for developing social media engagement and selection techniques.
keywords: Higher education; international students; New Zealand; online; social media