Blog #3: Current Research Question and 3 Academic Sources

My current research question is:

Why do many students, American and international, choose to attend American universities when many international colleges have reduced or free tuition?

Three Academic Sources

Conti, Annamaria, and Patrick Gaule. “Is the US Outperforming Europe in University Technology Licensing? A New Perspective on the European Paradox.” Research Policy, vol. 40, no. 1, Elsevier B.V, 2011, pp. 123–135.
Gapinski, Andrzej J. "Higher Education: Europe vs. USA." 2010.
Rosenfeld, Stuart A. “Community College/Cluster Connections: Specialization and Competitiveness in the United States and Europe.” Economic Development Quarterly, vol. 14, no. 1, Sage Publications, Feb. 2000, pp. 51–62.

Comments

Blog #1: Topic Idea

I am thinking about writing my final paper about college in other countries as compared to the United States. During a recent visit to Austria, I learned that tuition is free or very affordable there as well in many other countries, but the attendance there is much lower as high school graduates often choose to go to trade school or enter the workforce. I thought this was very interesting, because in the United States tuition is much higher, and more often than not forces students and their families into debt for many years, but there is so much pressure for high school graduates to attend university. I would particularly like to explore the demographics of students attending universities in both settings.

Blog #9: Argument and Counterargument

Argument: My argument sets out to address why American students are willing to pay more for their education by attending colleges in America when they have the option of practically (or actually) free college tuition in Europe. Students from the United States choose to attend universities “at home” instead of in Europe because of better graduation rates and employability due to a more career-focused model of education, despite rising tuition costs that result from an increase in privatization. Counterargument: My counterargument comes from Caitlin Zaloom’s enmeshed autonomy. As we’ve seen, the higher education system in the US forces students to rely on their parents to help fund their education. Zaloom argues in favor of traditional models of European education because it puts less of a financial strain on students and their families. She also uses Germany as an example because of its free tuition. Families who send their students there are only required to support with living exp

Literature Review #3

This article provides an interesting analysis of how the idea of Europe or traveling to Europe has been transformed in American minds, and how this transformation affects students and their decision to study abroad. The author brings in multiple authors, most notably Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, and Henry James, whose literature is indicative of the views Americans have of Europe. Woolf paints a romantic picture of study abroad, which makes the idea of traveling to Europe to learn feel elitist and more like a vacation than a time to study. Woolf, Michael. “The Baggage They Carry: Study Abroad and the Construction of ‘Europe’ in the American Mind.” Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, vol. 21, Frontiers Journal, 2011. About the Author: Michael Woolf is the Deputy President Strategic Development at CAPA, the Global Education Network and serves on the Curriculum Committee of the Forum on Education Abroad. Woolf is definitely experienced in the field of study abro

College!

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