In our rapidly developing modern world, where there are trends of high growth in science and technology, there is an acute need for professionally motivated and highly qualified specialists. This article discusses the features of professional motivation of students of pedagogical specialties. To determine the specifics of the formation of…

Purpose: This study intends to build up a thorough understanding of social factors that largely influence students' decision-making to opt institution for higher studies in India. Design/methodology/approach: This descriptive research follows two sequential phases consisting of the literature review to identify social factors and validate the…

Over the past forty years, scholars have been studying students' choice of higher education programmes to unravel the complexity of the choice process. Recent studies have shown that students may commit to a programme, i.e. they make a choice to enrol in that programme, when they find a programme that attunes well with their interests. Students…

Considering the educational services, the Brazilian Navy education aims to comply with continuous and progressive process of education, with own characteristics, which are constantly updated and improved based on some principles, such as guarantee of quality standard, continuous and progressive professionalisation, and integral and continuous…

This article analyses the mechanisms that contribute to differences in educational choice in the transition from the second to the third stage of secondary education in Flanders, a highly tracked educational system. The study programme chosen in the eleventh grade, besides being quite predictable from the educational position in the tenth grade…

We use the score reports of 375,000 US-based GMAT® test takers to document patterns of mismatch between student ability and school quality. We find substantial levels of mismatch in candidates' selection of MBA programs for score-sending, and by extension, applications. The evidence suggests that the high levels of mismatch in the selection of…

Understanding students' college enrollment decisions is critical because the admission outcome can affect the school's quality and its reputation. In this paper, we study how students consider their relative academic ability compared to their potential peers. Drawing from social comparison theory, we posit that there are asymmetric effects due to…

In the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic began to substantially disrupt the educational experiences of high school students. In addition to experiencing the pandemic disruption in high schools, students were also likely aware of disruptions in colleges and in the labor market. Fast-forward to the spring of 2023. The students who are now…

In the increasingly complex world of college choice, high school counselors are an important resource for college-bound students, yet the environment these counselors find themselves in is one that focuses on questions of value and return on investment, resulting in the elevation of some academic disciplines over others. Using a multiple case…

The aim of this qualitative study is to examine the perceived impacts that negative stereotypes and/or labels have on the self-efficacy of students who choose to attend historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). This research will give insight into students' perceptions of negative stereotypes and the influences that these perceptions…

While considerable evidence has accumulated on state-funded merit-based scholarships, research on the effects of specific scholarship design choices has been thin, perhaps in part because cross-state comparisons are difficult. As one of the only states to enact major changes in the design of its merit-based scholarship program, Georgia provides a…

This paper draws on research conducted in four publicly funded secondary schools in the South-East of England that explored the higher education decision-making of prospective first-generation university entrants accessing school-based widening participation interventions. It begins by introducing an "ecology of intersecting influences"…

The Latinx population in the United States has drastically increased over the last twenty years. During the same period, the number of first-generation Latinx students enrolling in higher education post-recession has also increased by as much as 1.5 million students. The expansion of the Latinx student population in Oregon has mirrored the…

This study draws attention to the role of similarly educated parents in their children's university choice. We conceptualise, develop, and empirically test a model that links university choice with parents' intention to recommend the university and university brand preference that stems from their own experiences during the university evaluation…

This paper provides the first experimental evidence of how admission outcomes in centralized systems depend on strategic college choice behaviors. Centralized college admissions simplify the application process and reduce students' informational barriers. However, such systems also reward informed and strategic college choices. In particular,…