International educational migration: the case of Kazakhstan

• Botagoz Rakisheva

  Author

• Каламкас Есимова

  Author

• Айнур Ибраева

  Author

• Майра Раушанбева

  Author

This article is part of a research project conducted by the «Public Opinion» Research Institute, initiated by the organization’s staff in 2006. The institute regularly carries out studies on various types of migration — educational, labor, marital, ethnic, and others — within different projects. As part of these projects, surveys of Kazakhstani educational migrants were conducted in several countries around the world, including South Korea, Turkey, the United States, Russia, China, and others. This article is based on the results of a research project launched in 2025 aimed at studying public opinion among foreign students studying in Kazakhstan. Part of the findings from this study is presented in the article. The object of the study includes Kazakhstani students studying abroad and foreign students studying in Kazakhstan. The purpose of the research is to identify students’ motivations and determine key trends in the educational migration process. The objectives of the study are to examine the adaptation process of educational migrants, the factors influencing university choice, the main motives for choosing a country of study, the key difficulties faced during adaptation, the migration potential, and future educational trajectories. The main methods applied are in-depth interview, questionnaire survey, case study, comparative analysis, and statistical analysis.

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