在世界高等教育日益国际化的背景下，来华留学生的数量越来越多，在世界范围内中国已经成为主要留学目的国之一。本文通过对北京、广西以及广东的泰国学生进行访谈，从微观层面深入了解泰国学生来华留学的动机。本文采用质性研究方法，包括文献法、半结构访谈和比较研究方法，深入访谈40位来华留学的泰国学生。本研究将分成三个做决定阶段来了解学生的动机：1）出国和选择中国的动机；2）选择城市的动机；3）选择高校的动机。研究发现，泰国留学生选择中国为留学目的国主要受到经济、教育、文化和环境地理的因素影响。中国经济迅速发展让学生认为汉语对他们未来的工作很重要。来中国留学也是家庭对学生在学业和职业上的期望。奖学金也是促进他们来中国留学的重要原因。中国的高等教育和中国文化也使得泰国学生更愿意来中国留学。虽然来华留学的泰国学生大都有中国血统，但他们表示选择来中国留学并不是因为自己是华裔。除此以外，在地理位置上中泰两国比较近，这也是来华留学的泰国学生选择中国的原因之一。在选择城市的动机上，北京、广东和广西的学生有些不同。在北京的泰国留学生认为北京是中国的首都，经济发达、交通方便、普通话标准、有很多知名大学。在广东的泰国留学生认为广东是贸易大省，方便做进出口贸易，同时广东的气候和饮食跟泰国比较相似，另外生活成本比较低。在广西的泰国留学生因为有很多中国人学泰语，使得泰国学生在学习过程中兼职泰语老师。选择高校时，泰国学生会听取亲朋好友或中介的建议，更倾向于选择有家人或朋友就学的高校。学校的环境和学习气氛也是他们考虑的因素。除此之外，本文还按照学生的学校类型、学科专业和学习层次来分析他们来华留学动机的共性和差异性。本文通过推拉理论分析中国、泰国以及其他国家的推拉因素。泰国学生认为国外的学位比泰国的学位更受欢迎。在泰国，某些学科缺乏课程，因此他们想出国留学。中国其实也存在推因素，比如中国形象等推因素。泰国学生考虑想去留学的其他国家存在的推因素还有课程少、入学要求高、难以毕业、消费水平高等。最后，本研究提出了以下建议：1）中国可以对国家的整体形象进行提升和推广；2）中国可以提高高等教育国际化的水平；3）泰国可以提高高等教育国际化的水平和在高层次人才培养上的能力。
Under the background of the internationalization of higher education in the world, the number of overseas students coming to China has been increasing. China has become one of the major destination countries for studying abroad. This article uses Thai students in Beijing, Guangdong, and Guangxi as examples to research about the motivations of Thai students studying in China on a micro level. The qualitative research method, including literature, semi-structured interview and comparative research method is adopted and in-depth interviews are conducted with 40 Thai students studying in China. This study will be divided into three stages to determine the student's motivation: 1) motivation for going abroad and choosing China; 2) motivation for choosing city; 3) motivation for choosing universities. The study found that Thai students choose China as the destination country for studying abroad because of economy, education, culture and environmental geography factors. The rapid development of China’s economy makes students consider the importance of Chinese for their future career. Studying in China is also the family’s academic and professional expectations on their children. Additionally, it is found that scholarship attracts them to study in China. Chinese higher education and Chinese culture are another factors which attract them. There are numerous Thai students who are Chinese descendants but they decide to come to China not because of the identity of being Chinese. Compared with other countries, China’s political stability and social security have also made Thai students choose to study in China. In addition to this, China and Thailand are close to each other and it is one of the reasons why Thai students choose to study in China.In terms of choosing the city’s motives, students in Beijing, Guangdong, and Guangxi are relatively different. Students select Beijing since it is the capital of China, with developed economy, convenient transportation, Mandarin standards, and numerous well-known universities. Other group of students choose Guangdong as it is a large trading province and is convenient to do import and export trade. At the same time, Guangdong's climate and diet are similar to those in Thailand, and the cost of living is relatively low. While the others opt for Guangxi because many Chinese people there learn Thai, they can do a part-time job as Thai teachers. For selecting university, the suggestions from friends, relatives, or agency affect their decision, and they tend to choose the university in which their friends or relatives study. Apart from this, the school’s environment and learning atmosphere are also their considering factors. In addition, this article also analyzes the commonalities and differences in the motives of students studying in China according to their type of school, subject, and level of study. According to push-pull theory, push-pull factors of China, Thailand, and other countries are found. Thai students tend to study abroad since they believe that foreign degrees are more popular than Thai local degrees, and there is no postgraduate and Ph.D. program in some disciplines in Thailand. Though China is a major destination country, its push factors still exist such as the image of China for Thais etc. For those countries that they had considered to select as a destination, the lack of curriculum, high entry-requirement, difficulty in graduating, and high level of consumption are their push factors. Based on the research, some suggestions are elaborates as following: 1) China can improve and promote the overall image of the country; 2) China can improve the level of internationalization of higher education; 3) Thailand can improve the level of internationalization of higher education and the capability of at a high-level talent cultivation.
