Nepalese students' reflections on UK university education

This thesis analyses the reflections on UK university Business Studies courses of Nepalese graduates who choose to return home to Nepal after graduating. It considers the personal and cultural influences on educational decision-making that led them to choosing to study in the UK and their post-graduation employment expectations. The primary research was undertaken at a time when UK universities were facing increasing competition to recruit international students and numbers of Nepalese students choosing to study in the UK had dropped. In addition, Nepalese graduates choosing to return home were faced with scarcity of employment opportunities due to political uncertainty and improvements to local higher education. The qualitative, inductive research was based on semi-structured interviews which took place in Nepal with twenty-three Nepalese graduates, their Nepalese employers and Nepalese education consultancies. Data was analysed using the ecological, five systems model of Bronfenbrenner (1979) and Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner’s (2012) Intercultural Awareness Profiling (IAP) of graduates. In addition to identifying five major themes and associate themes, the findings extend beyond existing “push-pull” models by identifying how a graduate’s understanding of cultural orientation affects their decision-making. Although the overall expectations of Nepalese students and employers towards UK higher education remain positive, results indicated a lowering in their estimation of the quality and reputation of UK universities. The outcomes of the research make a valuable contribution to the knowledge of how and why international, specifically Nepalese, students choose overseas higher education. The findings also establish why Nepalese employers are struggling to see clear benefits from employing UK educated Nepalese business graduates. Recommendations are made for changes to be implemented to business studies courses to help university practitioners better meet the needs and expectations of future Nepalese students, graduates and employers. These recommendations reflect a deeper understanding of educational decision-making of international students.