A theoretical framework for understanding Chinese international students’ decision-making in selecting regional Australian higher education

In recent years an increasing number of Chinese international students have made a decision to attend regional Australian universities rather than following the large city tendency. However, so far little attention has been paid to this trend. This paper proposes a holistic theoretical framework to interpret Chinese students‟ decision-making in choosing regional Australian higher education. Inspired by the Engel-Kollat-Blackwell (EKB) model, according to which choices, factors and process are main components in people‟s decision-making, this paper combines the following three theoretical approaches. Firstly, in cognitive perspective, six choices relating to Australian higher education made by international students (Duan, 1997) provide a theoretical basis to explain core choices of Chinese students about regional Australian higher education. Secondly, using migration theory, Mazzarol and Soutar‟s push-pull model (2002) refers to factors influencing Chinese students‟ decision-making of regional Australian higher education. Thirdly, again in terms of cognitive perspective, three classic decisionmaking process models (Lawley (1993), Duan (1997), and Pimpa (2002)) offer an additional insight to analyze Chinese international students‟ decision-making process. By integrating these three approaches, the framework develops a multidimensional and systematic theoretical comprehension of Chinese international students‟ decision-making in selecting regional Australian higher education.