Student Flight: Academic, Cultural and Economic Determinants of Degree Mobility

ABSTRACT Tertiary education is often praised as a way to diminish social disparities. Yet, the growing trend of students seeking degrees abroad could exacerbate these inequalities, especially if the selection for international programmes is influenced by students' academic achievements, cultural and economic capital. In this study, we utilized multilevel logistic regression on extensive administrative data to analyse the characteristics of Slovak graduates in 2018 who pursued tertiary education abroad, compared to their peers who studied at home. Our findings indicate that students with high scores from final upper secondary school examinations are more likely to study abroad. Furthermore, culturally and economically advantaged students, especially those who also excel academically, are significantly more likely to opt for international studies. These insights contribute to the global discourse by highlighting that the effect of academic performance, along with cultural and economic capital, varies. The results also show that the field of study in upper secondary education influences the likelihood of studying abroad beyond these factors. Consequently, our study suggests that policies aimed at fostering international degree mobility should account for the academic, cultural and economic backgrounds of students.