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I

I
72-22,288
SHIN, Kuk Bom, 1932THE POST GRADUATION RESIDENCY PLANS OF KOREAN
STUDENTS ATTENDING SELECTED UNIVERSITIES IN
MICHIGAN.
Michigan State University, Ph.D., 1972
Education, higher

U n iv e rs ity M icro film s, A XEROX C o m p an y , A n n A rb o r, M ic h ig a n

THE POST GRADUATION RESIDENCY PLANS OF KOREAN
STUDENTS ATTENDING SELECTED UNIVERSITIES
IN MICHIGAN
By
Kuk Bom Shin

A THESIS
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Administration and
Higher Education

1972

PLEASE NOTE:

Some pages may have
indistinct print.
Filmed as received.

University Microfilms, A Xerox Education Company

ABSTRACT
THE POST GRADUATION RESIDENCY PLANS OF KOREAN
STUDENTS ATTENDING SELECTED UNIVERSITIES
IN MICHIGAN
By
Kuk Bom Shin

The problem undertaken in this study was to investigate
the relationship of selected factors of Korean students in
Michigan to their return plans upon completion of study in
the United States.
Factors considered in the study were length of sojourn
in the United States, difficulties of Korean students in
adjusting to American life, source of financial support,
attitudes toward employment conditions back home, degree
of confidence in relevance of their study to development
of their own country, and their age upon arrival in the
United States.
The research sample was comprised of all Korean
students enrolled in seven colleges and universities in
Michigan as of Spring and Summer, 1971.

The major instru­

ment used in the study was a questionnaire.

The initial

mailing and subsequent followup produced 103 completed
questionnaires

from the total of 132 identified Korean

students in Michigan.
Pearson product-moment correlation, multiple regression
techniques, and t-test were employed in statistical testing

Kuk Bom Shin
of the hypotheses.

The

.05 level of confidence for rejec­

tion or acceptance of the hypotheses was selected.
Within the limitations of the study, the following
conclusions were drawn;
1.

Korean students'

return plans after completion of

study in the United States are related to the length of
their sojourn in the United States.

The longer a Korean

student lives in the United States, the greater likelihood
he will plan to stay in the United States.
2.

Korean students'

return plans are related to their

difficulties in adjusting to American life.

A Korean

student who is better adjusted to American life is more
likely to plan to remain in the United States upon comple­
tion of study in the United States than a Korean student
who is not well adjusted to American life,
3.

There is no statistical difference between return

plans of sponsored Korean students and return plans of
nonsponsored Korean students.
4.

Korean students'

return plans are not related to

their attitudes toward employment conditions back home.
The factors that often influence migration of professional
talent from developing countries to the United States are
not closely related to Korean students*

decision to remain

in the United States.
5.

Korean students'

feelings about the contribution

of their U.S. study to the development of their own country

Kuk Bom Shin
is related to their return plans.

The more strongly a

Korean student feels that his U.S. study will contribute to
the development of his country, the greater likelihood the
Korean student will plan to return home.
6.

Korean students'

age upon arrival in the United

States is related to their return plans.

A Korean student

who came to the United States at a younger age will more
likely plan to remain in the United States than a Korean
student who came to the United States at a more advanced
age .

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In acknowledging my indebtedness to those who helped
me to complete this dissertation,

I wish to express my

sincere thanks to:
Dr. Richard Featherstone, my adviser and Chairman
of the Guidance Committee, for his patient and generous
assistance throughout my study in the United States.
Dr. Cole S. Brembeck for introducing me to this
fine American university and for his untiring and
friendly advice as a member of the Guidance Committee.
Dr. Daniel Jacobson for his kind help and
encouragement as a member of the Guidance Committee.
Dr. Van C. Johnson for his kind assistance as a
member of the Guidance Committee.
Dr. Andrew Porter and Mr. Roy Gabriel for their
help in statistical analysis of the data.
Mrs. Dorothy Trebilcock for her friendly encour­
agement and editorial assistance.
Fellow Korean students and residents in Michigan
for their cooperation and encouragement.
Finally my wife, Sue Jung and children, Yong II,
Yong Tae and Sun Hee for their patience and support.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF T A B L E S ..........................................
I,

INTRODUCTION

......................................

v
1

Introduction to the Problem
................
1
Statement of Problem .........................
4
Significance of the Study
..................
5
Purpose of the S t u d y .........................
8
Methodology
.................................
9
Hypotheses to Be T e s t e d ....................... 10
Limitations of the S t u d y ....................... 14
Definition of T e r m s ....................* . . 15
Organization of the S t u d y .....................17
II.

REVIEW OF L I T E R A T U R E ................................ 19
Introduction ..................................
19
Educational Exchange Between the United
States and Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19
Goals and Motivations of Foreign Study
P r o g r a m s .......................................28
Views on Nonreturn of Foreign Students . . .
32
Studies on the Factors Contributing to
Foreign Student Nonreturn
. . . . . . . .
43
Studies on Characteristics of Nonreturning
Foreign Students ...........................
49
S u m m a r y ......................................... 57

III.

P R O C E D U R E ...................................

59

Introduction ..................................
59
Construction of the Instrument .............
59
Source of D a t a .................................. 63
Treatment of D a t a ..............................65
S u m m a r y ......................................... 66
IV.

A N A L Y S I S .......................................... 6 8
Introduction ..................................
Characteristics of Korean Students in
M i c h i g a n ...........
Korean Student Return Plans
................
Testing of Statistical Hypotheses
.........
Research Hypothesis 1 .................
iii

68
68
76
93
94

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(Continued)
Page

Research Hypothesis... 2 ................
95
Research Hypothesis... 3 ...............
98
Research Hypothesis... 4 ...............
99
Research Hypothesis 5 ............... . . 102
Research Hypothesis 6 ...............
. 103
S u m m a r y ....................................... 1 0 4
V.

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

.

. . 107

Summary of the Study
................. 107
C o n c l u s i o n s ................................ Ill
D i s c u s s i o n ...............................
113
Recommendations
............................. 117
Recommendations for Action ........... 117
Recommendations for Further Research
. 121
BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................

124

APPENDICES
A.

LETTER TO THE FOREIGN STUDENT ADVISORS

..........

B.

LETTER TO THE KOREAN S T U D E N T ................... 132

C.

Q U E S T I O N N A I R E ................................... 134

D.

FOLLOW-UP LETTER ..................................

131

139

LIST OF TABLES

Status of Overseas Study Approved by the
Ministry of Education, 1953-1970 ...........

26

Present Age of Korean Students in Michigan
by S e x ...................................... ..

69

Age of Korean Students When They First
Arrived in the United States ................

69

Highest Level of Education Received in Korea .

70

Distribution of the Korean Students by
..................
Academic Level and by Sex

71

Highest Level of Academic Degree Korean
Students Plan to Achieve ....................

72

Korean Students in Michigan by Major Field . .

73

Marital Status of Korean Students in Michigan

74

Last School Attended by Korean Students
Before Coming to the United States .........

74

Korean Students1 Work Experience Prior to
Arrival in the United States ................

75

Financial Source of Korean Students in
Michigan
..........................

77

. .

Korean Student Return Plans by Sex ...........

79

Korean Student Return Plans by Length of
S o j o u r n ........................ .............

80

Korean Student Return Plans by Age of
Arrival
......................................
Korean Student Return Plans by Degree of
Confidence in the Contribution of Their
U.S. Study to the Development of Korea . . .

v

LIST OF TABLES (Continued)
Table
4.15

Page
Korean Student Return Plans by Present
Academic Level .................... . . . . .

85

4.16

Korean Student Return Plans by Present
Age L e v e l .......................................87

4.17

.Korean Student Return Plans by Major Field
of S t u d y ......................................... 88

4.18

Korean Student Return Plans by Highest Level
of Education Received in Korea .............

90

4.19

Korean Student Return Plans by Highest Level
of Academic Degree They Are Planning to
A c h i e v e ......................................... 91

4.20

Korean Student Return Plans by Sponsorship

4.21

Multiple Correlation Coefficient- -Adjustment
Factors and Return Plans .

96

Simple Correlations Between Return Plans and
Adjustment F a c t o r s ...........

97

4.22

. .

92

4.2 3

Result of Analysis of Mean Values of Return
Plans of Sponsored and Nonsponsored
S t u d e n t s ...................................... 9 8

4.24

Simple Correlation Between Return Plans and
Attitudes Toward Employment Conditions . . . 100

4.25

Multiple Correlation Coefficient--Employment
Conditions and Return Plans
.

vi

101

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

Introduction to the Problem
The number of foreign students in American colleges
and universities has grown at a rapid pace in recent years.
Enrollments have grown from a few thousand in 1900 to over
130,000 in 1970.

This flow of foreign students to study in

the United States is attributed to the accelerated movement
for international understanding and recognition of the
United States as a center of learning since World War I
by most countries in the world.^
States'

To fulfill the United

role as a leading power after World War II, the

government and private organizations have provided expanded
opportunities

for students from abroad to study in American

colleges and universities.
The Committee on Educational

Interchange Policy

developed the following four basic goals for student
exchange:

(1) to promote international understanding and

good will;

(2) to develop friends and supporters for the

1 Isaac L. K a ndal, United States Activities in Intern ational Cultural Relations, American Council on"Education
Series^ Series
Vol". IX, No'. TO (Washington, D .C . :
American Council on Education, 1945), p. 2.
1

U n i t e d St a te s ;
or p o l i t i c a l

(3) to c o n t r i b u t e

d e v e l o p m e n t of o t h e r co u nt r i e s ;

aid in the e d u c a t i o n a l

or professional

o u t s t a n d i n g individ u al s .
Most

to the e co n om i c,

become permanent
consistent

countries u p o n

residents.

f oreign st u d e n t s ,
o f st u de n t s

t e n d to r e m a i n

or a cc u r a t e
there

to

development of

from d e v e l o p e d c o u n t r i e s have

s t u d y in the U n i t e d States, w h i l e m a n y
developing countries

(4)

2

fo reign s t u d e n t s

r e t u r n e d to their home

and

social,

c o m p l e t i o n of their
st udents

in the U n i t e d S t at e s

Although

there

and

is a lack of

data on this n o n r e t u r n
is g r o w i n g

from

rate of

co n c e r n o v e r the n u m b e r

from th e se d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s w h o do not

r et u rn to th e i r n a t i v e

lands

af t er c o m p l e t i n g t h e i r studies

in the U n i t e d S t a t e s . ^
K i n d l e b e r g e r p r e s e n t e d three
often occur among foreign
c o u n t r i e s - - failure
or university,
f ai l ur e to be
4
abroad.

students

types o f f a ilures

f r o m the l e s s - d e v e l o p e d

in t h e i r w o r k at the A m e r i c a n

failure
effective

that

co llege

to return to t h e i r c o u n t r i e s ,

and

as a c o n s e q u e n c e of b e i n g t r a i n e d

^ Ibid. , p . S .
3
E d u c a t i o n and W o r l d A f fairs, The O v e r s e a s S e l e c t i o n
o f F o r e i g n S t u d ents, A Re p or t fr o m E d u c a t i o n an d W o r l d
A f f a i r s (New' York:
E d u c a t i o n and W o r l d A f f a i r s , 1966) ,

p~. 2 2 .
4

C h a r l e s P. K i n d l e b e r g e r , " S t u d y A b r o a d and I m m i g r a ­
t io n ," in W a l t e r A d a m s (ed.), The B r a i n D r ai n (New York:
The M a c m i l l a n Co. , 1968) , p. 136.

3
Grubel and Scott indicated that comparisons of the
cost of the foreign student exchange program with the
benefits arising from the inflow of nonreturnees in terms
of what it would cost the United States to develop similar
manpower showed a tangible profit from the investment,
even when only ten percent of the foreign students were
considered to be nonreturnees.5
There are split opinions among economists, educators,
and administrators as to the seriousness of the loss of
these students to developing countries.

Some feel foreign

student nonreturnees do contribute to the developing
country more than returnees, as these students from
developing countries may be able to make a larger c on­
tribution to international development by working in the
United States, where there are more opportunities to
utilize their skills.

Others believe an adequate supply

of highly trained manpower is essential to the economic
development of a country, and that nonreturnees contribute
to the shortage of such manpower.

(The discussion over

this issue is presented in the review of literature,
Chapter II.)
The controversy over emigration of trained people
from developing countries to the United States has resulted

5Hubert G. Grubel and Anthony D, Scott, "The Cost of
U.S. College Students Exchange Programs," The Journal of
Human Resources. Vol. XIII, No. 4 (Fall, 1966), 81-9 8.

in a search to try to determine the significance of and
reasons for the large numbers of nonreturning foreign
students and the possible actions which should be taken
by the developed and developing nations to solve the
problem.

Several case studies have been undertaken to

identify factors underlying student migration.

These

studies' have included field of study, sponsorship, age,
social class, etc.
However,

there is still a lack of data on the rate

of foreign student nonreturn from different nations, and
a lack of understanding of the relative importance of the
various factors related to the nonreturn of these students.
Statement of Problem
The problem undertaken in this dissertation was to
investigate the relationship of selected characteristics
of Korean students in Michigan to their return plans upon
completion of their study.

Since the 1950's Korea has

been one of the top ten nations that have sent large numbers
of students to study in the United States, but it has one
of the worst records known in getting its trained students
back home.

The estimated nonreturnee rate of Korean

students is from 80 to 90 percent.6

6Gregory Henderson, Koreaj The Politics of the Vortex
(Cambridge, Mass.:
Harvard U n iversityPr ess, 1968), p. ZT3.
See also The Committee on the International Migration of
Talent, The International Migration of High Level Manpower,
Its Impact on the t)evelopment Process (New York:
Praeger
Publishers, l9?0) , p. 136.

5
Why do most Korean students fail to return home after
completing their study?

Do Korean students come to the

United States originally with a hidden purpose of immi­
gration?

What factors affect the students* decision

making for return or nonreturn upon conclusion of their
study?

What are the factors that most influence the

decision of Korean students to stay in the United States?
Significance of the Study
In the past,

foreign student research has been con­

cerned with the personal adjustment of the student to the
American academic community and social life.

Some sociolo­

gists posit there has been too much of this type of
research.

7

Concern for the implications of foreign study

for nation building,

for the development of science and

technology, and for advancement of learning has increased
recently among economists, educators, and administrators.
It is a w e l l -accepted belief that the problem of
development of a nation is linked to the development of
indigenous human resources.

The problem of emigration of

high level manpower, particularly in the case of Korea, is
related to the nonreturn of Korean students from abroad
7

The Council on International Educational and Cultural
Affairs, The International Migration of Talent and Skills,
Proceedings'of a WorTcshopanTTconfererice'Sponsored by the
Council on International Educational and Cultural Affairs
^Washington: Bureau o f SociaT Science Research', Inc. ,
O c t . 1966) , p . 59.

after completing their study.

A recent study of the

Committee on the International Migration of Talent
reported:
The brain drain, when discussed by Koreans,
is almost always related to the flow of the
Korean students abroad for study.
It is assumed
that virtually all emigration of high level
manpower originated in study abroad.
It is
noted that the first large scale flow of students
in Western countries, particularly to the United
States, began about 1953--after the Korean war-that the flow has increased with time and that
most of these students have never returned.®
There are no concrete figures that show the nonreturn
rate of Korean students.

However, a few available litera­

ture sources show that the nonreturnee rate of Korean
q
students is near 90 p e r c e n t , and this high rate of
nonreturn hampers the development of the country.

A keen

foreign observer of Korean affairs indicated the serious­
ness of the situation by saying:
Korea, where more than one half of all
sections of the country have not a single doctor
with modern medical training, provides twenty
anaesthesiologists for the staff of one East
Coast American hospital a l o n e . 10
Interestingly, Korean resident doctors at several
national university hospitals in Korea recently demanded
O

The Committee on the International Migration of
Talent, o£. c i t ., p. 135.
q
Gregory Henderson, oj£. c it.
"^Gregory Henderson, "Foreign Students:
Exchange or
Immigration," NAFSA Newsletter, National Association for
Foreign Student AfTairs^ Vo! . X V I , No. 3 (Nov. 15, 1964), 3

the government to ease restrictions on their travel to
foreign c o u n t r i e s . ^
In the fiscal year from July 1, 1966, to June 30, 1967,
869 Korean students on foreign student visas adjusted their
status and became permanent residents of the United States.
Of these 869 students,

12

there were 332 engineers, scientists,

and physicians, comprising 80 percent of the total immi­
gration of Korean scientists, engineers, and physicians
for the year.
Since early 1960, the Korean government has developed
an ambitious plan for scientific and economic development.
They will have completed two five-year development plans
by the end of 1971, and will begin the third five-year plan
in 1972.

Although domestic training facilities are being

expanded to meet the manpower needs of the country, a large
portion of high-level manpower training will be dependent
upon foreign studies. 13
A recent report of the Comprehensive Long Range
Educational Planning Council of Korea indicated the need
of study on the brain drain of Koreans:

*^Tong-A II Bo ( T o n g - A Daily News), Seoul, Korea,
July 197T7^
12
John Alsop Thames, "Korean Students in Southern
California:
Factors Influencing Their Plans Toward Returning
Home" (unpublished Ed.D. thesis, University of Southern
California, 1971), p. S.
13
Comprehensive Long Range Education Council, Republic
of Korea, "Comprehensive Long Range Education Plan," Seoul,
Korea:
Ministry of Education, Feb. 4, 1970, p. 23.
(Mimeographed in Korean.)

8
The heavy financial loss due to highly educated
Koreans accepting positions in other countries
and not returning to Korea as productive citizens
has not been recognized fully.
This is the type
of loss that developing countries cannot afford
either in terms of financial loss or loss of
highly educated manpower.14
It is expected that the result of the present study
will contribute to government and private agencies in
establishing policies for inducing the return of Korean
students, as well as improving their study abroad policies.
Purpose of the Study
The major purpose of the present study was to deter­
mine if a relationship exists between the characteristics
of Korean students as defined by the selected factors, and
their intention to remain in the United States or return
to Korea upon conclusion of their study.

The study was

conducted for the following specific purposes:
(1) To help Korean students understand the forces
that may affect their return plans after completion of
their study.
(2} To provide information to college administrators,
faculty members, and others dealing with Korean students.
(3)

To provide information to manpower planners in

Korea and to assist Korean government and private agencies
in establishing policies for study abroad, as well as

14

Leroy J. Peterson, "Interim Report on Educational
Finance in Korea," USAID/KOREA, July 1969, p. 79.
(Mimeo­
graphed. )

9
improving counseling and guidance of Korean students in
the United States.
Methodology
The methods applied to the study were normative
survey with analysis of data to compare the selected
factors of Korean students with the groups of students
having different return plans upon conclusion of their
study in the United States.
The factors were selected after intensive reviews
of literature on brain drain, migration of talent, and
foreign students' nonreturn problems.
sidered in the study were:
students'

Major factors con­

the length of the Korean

sojourn in the United States, level of diffi­

culties in adjusting to American life, source of financial
support, attitudes toward employment conditions back home,
the degree of confidence in the contribution of their U.S.
study to their country's national development, and age
levels.
In order to determine if there exists a relationship
between the characteristics of Korean students
by the above selected factors)

(as defined

and their return plans, a

correlation analysis was made of the selected factors of
Korean students with their future intentions to return or
not return to Korea upon completion of their study in the
United States.

10
Hypotheses to Be Tested
In the following presentation of the hypotheses, the
background information leading to the formulation of each
respective hypothesis is discussed prior to the statement
of that hypothesis.
The Education and World Affairs Study Committee on
Foreign Student Affairs found that many foreign students
became alienated from their native cultures and arranged
to stay permanently in the United States* although their
skills are desperately needed in their home countries. 1S
After studying Indian students, Sharma argued that the
fresh Indian student arriving in the United States has
little idea of what is ahead and it is only after a period
of at least a year that he begins to evaluate and compare
his prospects in India and in the United S t a t e s . ^

Lambert

and Bressler found that Indian students acquire a new set
of attitudes and altered behavior traits that may make
their reassimilation upon return increasingly difficult.

17

Hypothesis N o . _1^: The longer a Korean student in Michigan
has I ived m the United States, the greater likelihood the
student will intend to remain in the United States upon
completion of study.

^ E d u c a t i o n and World Affairs, The Foreign Student,
Whom Shall We W e l c o m e , The Report of the Study Committee on
ForeTgn Student Affairs (New York:
Education and World
Affairs, 1964), pp. 1-2.
*^Keshav Deo Sharma, "Indian Students in the United
States," Exchange (Spring, 1969), 51.
17
Richard D. Lambert and Marvin Bressler, Indian
Students on American Campus (Minneapolis, Minn.1
University
of Minnesota Press, 1956), p . 9 8.

11
A study of Norwegian Fulbright returnees indicated
that adjustment seemed to be very good among those who
stayed in America less than six months, and those who
stayed more than eighteen months were better adjusted than
those who left America after a study lasting from six to
eighteen months.

The U-shaped relationship between duration

and adjustment was proved in this study to be the effect of
a genuine time process. 18
Eberhard pointed out that after becoming adjusted to
American life, foreign students become psychologically
unfit for return to their home countries,
major factor of student nonreturn. 19

and this is a

Hypothesis N o . 2:
Korean students in Michigan who are
better lidjust"ecl to American life will more likely plan to
remain in the United States upon completion of study than
those who are not well adjusted to American life.
McConnell stated that the majority of sponsored
students whose education is financed by the government and
private organizations recognize the needs of their coun­
tries, and faithfully endeavor to fit themselves as the
sponsoring program intends.^0

Myers suggested that there

18
Cora DuBois, Fore ign Students and Higher Education in
the United States (Washington, "D.7T7T American Council on
Education, 1956), p. 89.
19
Wolfram Eberhard, "Problem of Students Returning to
Asia," Exchange (Spring, 1970) 41.
20
John W. McConnell, Students From Other Countries in
American Universities; the Voice of^America Porum Lectures,
University Series T~t 1964', pi 31

12
is support for the fact that J-visa holders (exchange
21
students) return home in high percentages.
Hypothesis N o . 5 : Sponsored Korean students in Michigan
will mo re like'ly plan to return to Korea than nonsponsored
students in Michigan.
The factors that appear most frequently in studies of
causes of nonreturn are related to conditions of employment in the student's home country.

22

Meyers hypothesized

the probability of nonreturn is increased by experience
in work situations in the United States,

and nonmonetary

factors appear to be more important than monetary values
23
in the decision.
An early study of Indian students by
Lambert and Bressler indicated that foreign students, when
they return to India, are confronted with two overriding
problems of occupational adjustment:

obtaining employment

at status and income levels commensurate with their training
and expectations, and adapting their foreign training and
24
Western-acquired attitudes to concrete job situations.

21

Robert G. Meyers, "Some Thought on Foreign Student
Nonreturn," Exchange (Fall, 1968), 45-48.
22

Nuri Mohsenin, "The Lost Student Cause and Cure,"
Overseas, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Nov., 1962), 2.
23
Robert G. Meyers, o£. ci t . , 45-48
24
Richard D. Lambert and Marvin Bressler. op. cit.,
p. 94.
---

13
Hypothesis No. 4:
Korean students in Michigan who have a
negative attitude toward employment conditions back home
will more likely plan to stay in the United States than
the Korean students who have a positive attitude toward
employment conditions back home.
A foreign student's stay for an advanced degree
frequently leads the student into rather exotic fields and
areas of specialization which have little or no application
25
in the country to which he is expected to return and work.
Nonreturning foreign students often feel their studies in
the United States have overeducated them for jobs in their
native lands.

26

In the same survey, Japanese students who

returned home stated:

"I must go back to Japan because I
n

must work for my country."^

Relevance of foreign students'

study in the United States to their role back in their home
culture is an important factor which influences student
return plans.

28

Hypothesis No. 5 : The more strongly a Korean student in
Michigan feels his study in the United States will con­
tribute to development of his country, the greater likeli­
hood the Korean student will plan to return home.
Ritterband found in a study of Israeli students that
the probability of return of students 25 years of age or

25
Nuri Mohsenin,

0 £.

c i t . , 4.

26

Peter H. Prugh, "Lure of America, More Foreigners
Stay After U.S. Schooling:
Homelands Fear Effect," Wall
Street J o u r n a l , Vol. CLXVIII, No. 100 (Nov. 21, 1966).

28

Allan A. M i c h i e , Higher Education and World Affairs
(New York:
Education and' World Affairs, 1965) , p . T7~.

14

younger was lower than students aged 26 and older.

Thirty-

five percent of those 25 or less showed a higher probability
of return, while 52 percent of those 26 or older indicated
29
a higher probability.
Hypothesis No. 6 : Korean students in Michigan who originally
came to the United States at younger ages will more likely
plan to stay in the United States than those who came at
more advanced ages.
Limitations of the Study
The Open Doors t 1970, H E

Survey of foreign students

reported that there are 3,991 Korean students attending
American colleges and universities. 30 Because of limita­
tions of time and resources allowed to the researcher, the
present study is limited as follows.
(1)

The present study covers Korean students attending

higher education institutions in the state of Michigan as
of Spring-Summer, 1971.

The eight colleges and universities

that were reported as having Korean students in the 1968
survey of Korean students conducted by the Office of
Educational Affairs of Korean Embassy in Washington were
contacted for inclusion in the present study.
eight institutions,

Of these

five institutions were identified as

having Korean students continuously.

Two more institutions,

which were not listed in the 1968 survey, were identified

29

Paul Ritterband, The Nonreturning Foreign S t u d e n t :
The Israeli Case CNew York!
bureau of Applied Social
R e s e a r c h , Columbia University, 1968), p. 110.
^ I IE, The Open D o o r s , (New York, 1970), p. 26.

15
is having Korean students and the present study covers these
seven colleges and universities in Michigan.

The results

are therefore applicable to all Korean college students in
the state of Michigan.
(2) Among many probable factors that may affect
Korean students'

future plans, this study deals with the

following six factors:

length of Korean students'

stay

in the United States, difficulties in adjusting to American
life, source of financial support, attitude toward employ­
ment conditions back home, degree of confidence in relevance
of their U.S. study to national development, and age levels.
(3) The institutional regulations of some institutions
included in the study prohibited the investigator's access
to students'

records;

therefore, the data were primarily

dependent on self-reported responses on the questionnaire.
This fact may limit the reliability of results of the
s t udy.
(4) The information elicited by the questionnaire was
given in verbal responses and may not necessarily reflect
what the respondents actually believed.

In this respect,

data may further lack reliability.
Definition of Terms
Foreign student:

Until 1965, the Institute of Inter­

national Education defined a student from abroad as one
who is a citizen of a country other than the United States ,
who intends to return to his home country when his study

16
period in the United States is completed.

31

Thus, until

very recently the Institute did not consider the students
who did not intend to return to their home countries as
foreign students.

Since 1966, because of a sharp increase

in the number of foreign students not intending to return
to their home countries, the Institute has changed the
definition to include all students from abroad regardless
of their intentions of return.
In this study the term foreign student is defined as
a student from abroad who is enrolled at an American
college or university as a citizen of a country other than
the United States, regardless of his visa status.
Korean student:

A student who is enrolled at a

college or university in the state of Michigan as a citizen
of the Republic of Korea (non-U.S.
Sojourn:

citizen).

The length cf time that a Korean student

stays in the United States.
Completion of study:

Refers here to graduation from

a college or university, either for a degree or a nondegree
program.
Sponsored student:

A Korean student whose partial or

full expenses for study in the United States are supported

Vol.

31 Institute of International Education,
1, No. 1 (November, 1966), p. 1.

HE

R epo r t ,

17
by a government
organizations,

(Korean as well as other natio ns)t religious
industries, private foundations, ox inter­

national organizations.
Nonsponsored student:

A Korean student whose partial

or full expenses for study in the United States are p r o ­
vided by himself, his family, and/or colleges and
universities.
Organization of the Study
The study was organized into five chapters and an
appendix.
Chapter I contains a discussion introductory to the
study, a statement of the problem, significance of the
study, the purpose of the study, description of methods
and major hypotheses, limitations of the study, and the
definition of terms.
In Chapter II is presented a review of literature
pertinent to the present study.

The literature concerning

an overview of student exchange between the United States
and Republic of Korea, goals of study abroad, migration
of high-level manpower and its impacts on national develop­
ment,

and factors that affect student nonreturn, are d i s ­

cussed in this chapter.
Procedures of the study are described in Chapter III.
Construction of the instrument, collection of data,
description of subjects, and treatment of data are also
included.

IS
Chapter IV contains an analysis of data.
Summary, conclusions and recommendations are presented
in Chapter V.

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Introduction
The problems of nonreturning foreign students became
a concern of educators and administrators in relatively
recent years because of increasing awareness of the p r o ­
fessional and technical manpower need for development of
nations.

The review of literature pertaining to the

present study includes the following areas:

(1) an o v e r ­

view of educational exchange between the U.S. and Korea,
(2) the goals of foreign study programs expressed by
individuals and agencies supporting the foreign students ,
(3) various views on the impact of migration of p r o f e s ­
sional workers on development of nations,

a problem to which

nonreturning foreign students contribute,

(4) studies on

the factors contributing to foreign student nonreturn, and
finally

(5) studies on characteristics of students remaining

in the United States.
Educational Exchange Between the
OnitecT~'5tates and TCorea
Less than a century ago, Korea became open to the
Western world.

In 1885 American protestant missionaries

founded the first modern high school in Korea.
19

Several

20
high schools and colleges were established by various
Christian denominations even after the country was taken
by the Japanese in 1910.

Although some Koreans were sent

to Japan and to the United States prior to the work of
Christian missionaries in Korea, it was after the arrival
of the missionaries that considerable numbers of Korean
students began to appear in the United States.
As early as 1923 there were 96 Korean students in
American colleges and universities;

they were all

Christians, unlike many students from other parts of the
world.^

The political turbulence resulting from Japan's

domination of Korea drove a large number of progressiveminded youths overseas.

Some went into exile and others

sought liberal Western education.

The majority of these

students who came during the early period of Japanese
occupation chose to remain in the United States, primarily
because of the threat of persecution by the Japanese, who
occupied the country from 1910 to 1945.

x

^■Reginald W. Wheeler, Henry H. King, and Alexander B.
Davidson (eds.), The Foreign Student in America, A Study by
The Commission on Survey of Foreign Students in tHe United
States of America Under the Auspices of the Friendly R e l a ­
tions Committees of the Young" M e n 1s Christian Association
and'the Young Womehys Christian Association ( N e w York;
Association Press, 1923) , p . 91.
2

"Overseas--Trained Students Play Vital Roles," Korea
Journal, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Jan. 1962), 21.
3
John Alsop Thames, "Korean Students in Southern
California:
Factors Influencing Their Plans Toward Return­
ing Home?' (unpublished Ed.D. thesis, University of Southern
California, 1971), p. 5.

21
While abroad, many of these students were engaged in
the movement for Korean independence.

When Korea was

liberated from Japanese occupation in 1945, many of them
returned home and played an important role in the political,
social, and economic affairs of the country.

The first

President of the Republic of Korea, Syngman R h e e , who ruled
the country until he was overthrown by the students’
revolution in 1960, was one of the first graduates of the
first missionary school in Seoul and studied at Harvard
and Princeton Universities.
The number of Korean college students seeking o p por­
tunities for study abroad, especially in the United States,
began to increase after the end of World War II.

The

number of Korean students has grown from 16 in 1946 to 203
in 1948, to more than 1,000 in 1954.

Currently there are

3,997 Korean students in the United States, according to
4
I IE survey.
This rapid growth in the number of Korean students
in the United States can be attributed to several factors.
During the Japanese occupation, few Koreans were allowed
to receive higher education.^

^IIE, The Open Doors

With the liberation from

(New York:

HE,

1970), p. 26.

^C. W, Wood, "The Realities of Public Higher Education
in Korea," Journal of Higher Education (Jan. 1962), 379. See
also Richard Werth, "Educational Developments Under the
South Korea Interim Government," School and Society. Vol.
69, No. 1793 (April 30, 1949), 309*^ and 0 - ik Kwon, "Korean
Students Abroad," Korea Journal, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Jan. 1962).
13.

22
Japanese occupation, school gates were flung open to
Koreans and new institutions of higher learning mushroomed.
This sudden expansion of higher education was made with
no provisions f O T trained Korean faculty or adequate
laboratory facilities.

Werth indicated 90 percent of

Korean college teachers in 1948 had no experience with
teaching in colleges, and were mostly drawn from secondary
schools.6

Thus, superior Korean students and university

graduates looked to foreign universities as their hope
for a source of an adequate education.
The Korean War (1950-1953)
condition of the country.

aggravated the educational

It destroyed many of the library

resources and training facilities; large numbers of teaching
staffs were lost.

Dissatisfaction with the quality of

higher education has increased among Korean students since
the Korean War,

On the other hand, the desire to study

overseas has increased.

Some writers have pointed out

that the flight of the sons of the prominent Korean
families from an unfavorable political situation because
of the war contributed to the increase of Korean students
7
in the United States in the mid-fifties.
Another way in which the Korean War might have influ­
enced greater numbers of Korean students to study in America

^Richard Werth, o£. c i t ., 309.
7
The Committee on the International Migration of
Talent, The International Migration of High Level M a n p o w e r ,

T

■

Publishers, 1970), p. 138

ient Process (Mfew York:

Praeger

23
was the establishment of personal relations between Korean
youths and American military and civilian personnel who
served in Korea.

The Korean War brought millions of

Americans to Korea to protect her from Communist invasion.
Many Korean college students and graduates have had o p p o r ­
tunities to be in contact with these Americans.

Although

there is no concrete record, it is evident that these
opportunities enabled Korean youths to improve their
language facilities, as well as promoting their plans to
study in the United States through mediation of their
American friends.
The importance of foreign training of Korean students
has been advocated by many educators.

Werth, an American

advisor on teacher training programs in Korea in 1949,
emphasized:
The best way in which America can serve Korean
education in the future is to admit as many of its
capable young men and women as possible to acquire
a background which will enable them to initiate
changes of their own accord upon their return to
Korea.8
Since the early fifties, the need for such training of
Koreans has been recognized by the United States government.
Two major programs are sponsored by the United States
government.

One is the participant training program that

is supported by the Agency for International Development
(AID); the other is cultural exchange programs administered
fl

Richard Werth,

0 £.

c it. , 309.

24
by the Department of State.

The former is mainly oriented

to economic development of the country, and the latter to
cultural exchange between Korea and the United States.
A total of 2,464 Koreans has been trained under the
AID-sponsored program during 1954-1965, with the training
period ranging from a few weeks of observation tour to a
few years of academic training.

The record shows nearly

100 percent of the Koreans trained under this program
returned to Korea after completing their study designed by
9
the program.
Under State Department support, 940 Koreans were
sent to the United States during 1950-1966.10

This

cultural exchange program also includes mostly short periods
of tour to the United States and a small percentage of
Koreans supported for academic training.
Until the early 1950's, the movement to study in
foreign colleges and universities was largely unregulated
by the Korean government.

Since 195 3 the government has

developed a regulation to control
for study abroad.

the movement of students

This regulation has been changed several

times since its first promulgation.

Currently, the follow­

ing criteria must be met by a Korean student who plans to
study abroad:
9

Bom Mo Chung, "Influence of American Culture Through
Educational Exchange," Asea Yongu (The Journal of Asiatic
Studies), Vol. X, No. 2 (June“1567), 113.
10 Ibid., 114.

25
(1) For majors in natural science, engineering,
medicine, and vocational fields, completion of two years
of college education at an accredited institution;
(2) For all others, graduation from a four-year
accredited college or university;
(3) For men, completion of military service; and
(4) Passing grades in the Ministry of Education
examinations in the language of the country of prospective
study and in Korean history.
The Ministry of Education examination is held four
times a year and once the student passes, it is valid for
three years.

The students who pass the examination are

recommended by the Ministry of Education to the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs for passports.

Having passed a security

clearance and received passports, the students go through
regular visa application procedures for the country to
which they intend to go for study abroad.
By the end of 1970, the Ministry of Education had
approved 10,315 students for foreign study, of whom 9,027
(or 87.51) chose to study in the United States, as shown
in Table 2.1.

These figures do not include the number of

students sent by private and government organizations.
These public-supported students are selected according to
the criteria of their particular program, and are not
required to take the Ministry of Education examination.

26
TABLE 2.1
Status of Overseas Study Approved by the Ministry
of Education, 1953-1970*

Natural Science
and Eng ineering

Humanities and
Social Sciences

Total

Sex

Total

U.S.
Only

Total

U.S.
Only

Total

U.S.
Only

Male

4 ,122

3, 843

3,781

3,013

7 ,903

6 ,856

942

892

1 ,470

1 ,279

2 ,412

2,171

5 ,064

4 ,735

5,251

4,292

10 ,315

9,027

Female
TOTAL

*Source: Ministry of Education, Republic of Korea,
Statistic Yearbook of Education, 1970 (Seoul, Korea:
Minis try of Education}.

In addition,

considerable numbers of Korean students

in the United States may have come originally as visitors
or tourists, and later changed their status to students.
The government effort to obtain data on what happens
to the Korean students who have completed their study is
relatively recent.

In 1965, the Ministry of Education began

to survey the status of Korean students in the United
States.
(1)

The study intended to:
Survey of status of approval of students

for

study abroad,
(2)

Survey of status of Korean students abroad,

(3)

Survey of returnees.

and

27
For the purpose of providing counseling and guidance
services for Korean students in the United Stat e s , the
Ministry of Education established the Office of Educational
Attache in the Korean Embassy in Washington in 1967.

This

office conducts a general survey of Korean students and
scholars in the United States every two years.

The first

survey was conducted in 1968 and the second survey in 1970.
The survey was designed to provide information about Korean
students and scholars to prospective employers, both public
and private.

The reports include the names of Korean

students currently enrolled in colleges and universities
in the United States and Korean scholars teaching in
American institutions of higher learning, and their major
fields of study.
Another major government effort to induce the return
of Korean scientists in the United States was the estab­
lishment of the Korean Institute of Science and Technology
(KIST), which was founded in 1966 with American financial
and technical assistance.

One of the goals of the Institute

was to reverse the "brain drain" of K o r e a n s , ^

The

Institute, completed in 1969, brought back about 30
Koreans, mostly from the United States, out of some 500
Korean scientists who showed an interest in returning to
Korea to work at KIST.

Boffey reported that the attractions

^ P h i l i p M. Boffey, "Korean Science Institute; A Model
for Developing Nations," Science (6 March, 1970), 1354.

28
KIST held for many Korean scientists abroad seemed to be
the facilities, the autonomous research environment, the
higher salary scale,

fringe benefits that include inex­

pensive housing, and a year's paid sabbatical overseas
for every three years of service.

12

Goals and Motivations of Foreign
Study Programs
What is the purpose of foreign study?

Several writers

on foreign students have pointed out the diversity of
answers to this question.

DuBois, in her comprehensive

study of foreign students in the United States, cited that
the goals of each agency supporting the students'

study

abroad, as well as individual students and their interests,
are different and sometimes conflicting.
The U.S. government is concerned that students
it sponsors acquire more appreciative understanding
of the country envisaging education as an instrument
of foreign policy and of national interest.
The government of nations intent upon economic
and social development concern no further than
training in skills that will be relevant to the
welfare of their nations. . . .
Considerable portion of the American public
reacts to the foreign students as it does to other
foreigners who have come as immigrants with the
intention of transferring their loyalties to this
country and of being assimilated. . . .
(Foreign students themselves) express broad
curiosity about this country as a dominant world
power and as leader of the democratic nations . . .,

12 I b id., 1356.

29
a sense of adventure and a desire to travel for
its own sake, . . . eagerness to acquire new
skills, . . . study abroad as an opportunity for
personal advancement and enhanced social capital
on their return or discouraged by their life
chances in their homeland . . . study abroad as
the first step toward possible emigration.**
Mills noted that Chinese leaders believed ardently
in the value of educating the ablest young men of Taiwan
in the United States for the following reasons:

(1) a

young man or woman has greater prestige as a result of an
American education,

(2) opportunities for adequate graduate

training in any field are extremely limited in Taiwan, and
(3) young people must get away from Taiwan if they are ever
14
to understand how a democracy works,
McConnell stated that governments and private organi­
zations are primarily concerned with increasing the supply
of trained manpower to carry out essential services in the
home c o u n t r y . ^

However, he differentiated between the

goals of sponsored students and privately financed students.
He pointed out that the majority of foreign students whose
education is financed by government and private organiza­
tions recognize the needs of their countries and faithfully

13

Cora DuBois, Foreign Students and Higher Education in
the United States (Washington, T>.C.': American Council on
Education, 19S6) , pp. 12-17.
14

Richard C. Mills, Narrow is the Road, A Study of
Social Forces and Drives Evident in Asian Young People
TLos Angeles: Claremore F u n d , 1960) , p. 2
*^John W. McConnell, Students From Other Countries in
j^nerican Univer sities, The Voice oiT America Forum Lectures,
University Series T~, 1964.

30
endeavoT to fit themselves as the sponsoring program
intends, while students who are self-supporting are
interested in advancing their own personal and professional
development *
McConnell gave two major reasons why the United States
encourages foreign students to study in the United States:
existence of a deep conviction that international student
exchange is the best way of increasing international and
intercultural understanding, and the belief that standards
of living in the economically less-developed areas of the
world can be improved by increasing the number of men and
women in those nations with technical and professional
training.
More recently, Putman concluded that the only goal
upon which the foreign student, his family, his government,
the education institutions receiving him, the host country
government, and other sponsors of the student sojourn
abroad may agree is the effective education of the student;
beyond that, all have different objectives.

He cited:

The student and his family may be primarily
concerned with enhancing his prestige and prospects
in life.
His government wants him to be trained
as quickly as possible to Teturn home and help solve
the country's development problems.
The host insti­
tution may be most interested in the foreign student's
helping to educate American students internationally,
or having him on campus as a visible sign of the
institution's own reputation and maturity.
The
chief interest of the United States government may

31
be to develop favorable attitudes toward the United
States among future leaders of other countries.16
The report of the Education and World Affairs Study
Committee on Foreign Student Affairs summarized the justi­
fication for the admission of foreign students into the
following four points:
(1) Cold war cultural diplomacy which involves the
belief that training foreign students here is a
way of making friends for the United States in
the cold war.
(2) Education of the most promising individuals
in the world community regardless of their country
of origin.
(3) U.S. responsibility to assist the underdeveloped
areas based on humanitarian and political considerat ion.
(4) Cultural interaction which stresses the value
for American students of cultural interaction with
foreign students.-*-7
It is not possible to put the goal of foreign study in
a single word because of its complexity.

Among many dimen­

sions such as fostering socio-political interests, altru­
istic ideas of helping the development of emerging nations,
individual development, cross-cultural exchange, service
to the home country and the host country, service to
humanity at large, etc., views on which factor should be
emphasized differ widely among writers.

Ivan Putman, Jr., '’International Students," in Asa
S. Knowles (ed.), Handbook of College and University
Administration--Academic (New York:McGraww-Hill, 1970),
pp. 7-2 34.
^ E d u c a t i o n and World Affairs, The Foreign Student
Whom Shall We Welcome. The Report of the Study Committee
on Foreign Student Affairs ( N e w ^ork:
Education and World
Affai rs, 1 9 6 4 ) , p^

32
Haussamen,

former U.S. representative to UNESCO,

posited that "if a student from abroad fails to return to
his homeland, the scholarship is wasted" because he felt
the primary aim of scholarships is to nurture international
18
attitudes that can work like a yeast on "parochial minds."
Chathaparampil , however, stressed individual develop­
ment as well as international understanding:
. . . the basic value of student exchange lies
in what it does for the individual, both p e r ­
sonally and professionally; and for cross-national
and crosscultural understanding in our politically
fragmented world.19
Review of discussions of goals of foreign study indi­
cates there is a conflict between the social and economic
needs of the country, especially those of underdeveloped
countries where trained human resources are required, and
the personal goals of individual students.

How educators

and policy makers should best help students reconcile this
conflict seems an important task which lies ahead.
Views on Nonreturn of Foreign Students
The problems of student nonreturn are closely related
to the issue of so-called "brain drain" or migration of

18

Crane Haussamen, "When Foreign Student Scholarships
Are Misused," Saturday Review (August 21, 1965).
19
Joseph Chathaparampil, "The Brain Drain, A Case
Study," undated, p. 5.
(Mimeographed.)

33
trained people.

Examination of the literature reveals

widely contrasting viewpoints regarding the problems of
student nonreturn.
In discussing nonreturning foreign student problems,
the most fundamental question is how one defines "nonreturn,1'
Walton presented the basic question as follows:
Ascertaining the precise number of foreign
students who remain in the United States is
difficult not only because reliable data are
unattainable, but because it is not easy to say
when a student has definitely reached "the point
of no return."
Is it when he prolongs his stay
beyond 3 or 4 years, or when he says he hopes
to remain permanently or when he actually becomes
a citizen? And what about students who hold
immigration visas but intend to return h o m e ? 2 0
Both Ritterband and West discussed this ambiguity of
definition of nonreturn at a conference on International
Migration of Talent and Skills held in October, 1966,
21
under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of State.
Ritterband pointed out the fact that different agencies
define foreign students differently, and therefore certain
data are noncomparable.

22

He also pointed out the fact

that some nonreturnees who have taken out American citizen­
ship do ultimately return to the country of origin.
20

West

Barbara J. Walton, "Foreign Student Exchange in
Perspective, What the Research Tells Us," Exchange
(Spring, 1968), 5.
21
The Council on International Educational and Cultural
Affairs, The International Migration of Talent and Skills,
Proceedings of a Workshop_and Conference Sponsored by the
Council on lnternational_E'ducatTonal and Cultural Affairs
(Washington: Bureau of Social Science Research, Inc.,
Oct. 1966).
22 Ibid., p. 42.

raised further questions in regard to the complexity of
this problem:
It has been pointed out that many of those who
come on immigrant visas come for the fringe ben e ­
fits or the benefits of not having to make a
decision, and they do not necessarily intend to
emigrate.
With respect to research trainees,
perhaps two thirds are on exchange visitor visas
and a third on permanent resident or immigrant
visas; and here again, about half of those on
immigrant visas are immigrants, that is, they at
least intend to immigrate - -and half are undecided.
Most of the half who are undecided probably will
go back.
Now I think an interesting problem about
this immigration business is that the definition
of immigrant can only be made respectively; until
the person dies he is potentially a returnee.
And
if he goes back to his country, he is potentially
a returnee to the United States and we have a

certain amount of recirculation.23

In addition to the problem of clear definition of
nonreturnee or immigrant, tne cause of disagreement on
student nonreturn, or the "brain drain" in more popular
terms, lies in whether a person places emphasis on indi­
vidual goals or societal goals.

In the foreword of the

recent report of the Committee on the International
Migration of Talent, William Marvel, President of Education
and World Affairs, stated clearly the controversy of the
brain drain problem that is also closely related to the
problem of foreign students’ nonreturn:
It was obvious how misdirected much of their
public discourse was, how complex and subtle were
the issues involved in the "brain drain" problem-economic, political, social, educational and
indeed ethnical issues . . . .

35
Such radical pro or anti-migration positions would
be easy to counter.
The difficulty lay in the
great grey area between where refractory problems
continued to emerge from the interplay between
fundamental individual rights and national require­
ments- -especially the need of developing countries
to retain the services of their own most highly
trained people.
In a world rightly concerned with
the relation between the rich and the poor nations,
the existence of the "brain drain" could be pictured
as contradictory, if not malevolent.
With one
hand, the wealthy countries provided assistance
for the development of the poorer nations, while
with the other hand, they seemed to be taking away
some of the best of the letter’s newly trained
high level manpower, the very resource on which
continuing economic progress depended.24
There are two extreme viewpoints on the impact of
nonreturning foreign students on their home countries.
In discussing the view of the brain drain problems,
Seltzer quoted the following paragraph from an unidentified
source:
The hullabaloo about the brain drain is getting
rather threadbare after centuries of migration by
scholars who have been changing residence and often
national allegiance for pretty much the same reasons
as now prevail.
Only the centers of attraction
have changed from the past to the present.
The
drained have always complained; sometimes they've
stopped complaining lcng enough to take positive
steps to attract the departing scholars.
There
is nothing wrong if American universities, indus­
tries or government seek to employ independent
foreign student graduates.
In most cases, recruit­
ment is not even competitive with respect to
employers in the graduate's home country.
His
home government often does not even know that he
exists.
If his education has progressed beyond

24

The Committee on the International Migration of
Talent, The International Migration of High Level M a n p o w e r ,
Its Impact on the Development Process (New York:
Praeger
Publishers, 197C0", p . 5\

36
the immediate needs of his home country but meets
the United S t a t e s , who is to be blamed?2**
Foreign students' nonreturn is seen often as rooted in
the home countries’ reluctance in attracting trained
people:
The root of the problem of migrating
talent it is now widely agreed lies in the home
country.
Until recently many developing countries
have been ambivalent in their attitude toward
emigration, especially student emigration which
is less easily recognized as an economic loss.
It was not uncommon for such countries to take a
certain pride in the number of students who made
good abroad, and significantly, to view such
students or ex-students as a potential source
of trained manpower for the future even though
they resided in the United States.26
It is not uncommon for political and economic leaders
of certain developing countries to send their children for
study abroad and help them to stay abroad even after the
completion of their study. 2 7
Economists’ views on the problem are widely split.
Taking an economic approach to the problem of nonreturning
students, Grubel found that the nonreturn of foreign
students increases overall world welfare, and therefore

25
The Council on International Educational and Cultural
Affairs, oj>. c i t . , pp. 46-47.
26
Barbara J. Walton, o]>. ci t . , p. 6.
27
Richard C. Mills, Narrow is The Road, A Study of
Social Forces and Drives Evident in Asian Young People
CLos A n g e l e s : Claremore Fund, i960) , p7
See also
The Committee on the International Migration of Talent,
o p . ci t . , p . 139 .

37
the countries from which the students were originally drawn
still benefit from these nonreturnees.

28

G r u b e l 1s argument has been challenged by another
economist.

Shearer argued that the highest rate of

nonreturn is found among Ph.D. graduates, especially those
in the physical sciences and those who are sponsored by
their own or United States university resources, and these
29
graduates are needed by the home country.
He expressed
skepticism about Grubel's theory that these nonreturnees
contribute to the country to which they are drawn, although
he admits the fact that "many individuals from developing
countries, though permanently settled in a developed
country, do serve the developing country by diplomatic
service or as employees of international o r g a n i z a t i o n s . " ^
In another paper, Grubel and Scott, discussing the
international flow of human capital, posited that if the
externality attaches to the profession rather than to the
individual, the emigration of the individual will deprive

28

Herbert G. Grubel, "Nonreturning Foreign Students and
The Cost of Student Exchange," Exchange (Spring, 1966), 20.
29
John C. Shearer, "In Defense of Traditional Views of
The Brain Drain Problem," Exchange (Fall, 1966), 19.
30
John C. Shearer, "Intra and International Movements
of High Level Human Resources," in James Heaphy (ed.),
Developmental Administration Spacial Aspects (New York:
McG'raw HiITT, T9 6
p. 23.---- --------- -----

38
the country of emigration of the externality only until he
11
is replaced by another member of his profession.
Kannappan stated that since there are more skilled
individuals in the developing countries who could take the
vacant positions, the flow of these people rather helps
provide an opportunity for individual development as well
32
as national economic growth.
Groves, in connection with Asian students, pointed
out that foreign students from Asia make a contribution
to their home country regardless of whether they return or
stay in the United States.

He further posited that

nonreturnees contribute more than returnees:
Asians who have studied abroad are today
making important contributions to the development
of Asia.
And those who do not return can often
contribute more to their native countries by
remaining abroad than by returning home --playing
as a funnel to the underdeveloped country.33
Similarly, Johnson, supporting an international model
of human resources, posited:
. . . people who have emigrated may nevertheless
perform their professional services to a sig­
nificant extent in their countries of origin-31

H. G. Grubel and A. D. Scott, "The International
Flow of Human Capital," American Economic Review, Papers
and Proceedings, Vol. 56, >Io. 3 (May, 1966), 2CT-274 .
32
Subhia Kannappan, "The Brain Drain and Developing
Countries," International Labor Review, Vol. 98, No. 1
(July, 1968), 11“
33
Marion H. Groves, "Contribution to Development by
Asians Who Have Studied Abroad," Exchange (Summer, 1967),

may be more efficient for these countries than
the attempt to maintain a national stock of all
the skills that might be needed from time to
time.34
Howland,

in a discussion of brain drain of Philippine

medical doctors, emphasized a long-term view of the impact.
He posited, in the long run brain drain does well for the
country of origin:
What appears in the short run to be a "brain
drain" from a country--and therefore its loss-may in truth, one of that country's unique
contributions to the world's cultural common
market.
The brain drain from one country today
may well be the brain gain of the world t o m o r r o w

.

35

Howland's view of Philippine doctors was challenged
later by Gish, who concluded the problem of brain drain
from developing countries as:
One thing
ignorance
be helped
people in

is certain--that poverty, disease and
in the Philippines or elsewhere cannot
by the emigration of the most skilled
the country.

The people who hold negative views on the impact of
n o n r e t u m i n g students are mainly concerned that the u n der­
developed countries are being drained of human resources,
requisite to

socioeconomic

development of their own

country.

34

Dixon C. Johnson, "Asian Alumni Look Back on Their
American Experience," Exchange (Summer, 19703, 70.
35
Harold E. Howland, "Brain Drain From the Philippines
Exchange (Fall, 1967), 28.
t

f.

Oscar Gish, "Brain Drain From the Philippines--Part
2," Exchange (Winter, 1969), 61.

40
Henderson, former cultural attache at the American
Embassy in Seoul, Korea, cited how important the role of
trained talent in the United States is in the development
and innovation of societies of emerging countries:
The intellectuals we take are the people whose
presence withdrawn from homes, neighborhood shops,
voting booths, newspaper columns, clubs, and tea
rooms in their own lands, deprive us of the
communication that the societies of the emerging
nations so desperately need with the more developed
world.
More than our own citizens, there should be
the communicants within those lands of the experi­
ence of America and of democratic life, in a depth
and variety that only those who have lived in the
U.S. for years--not foreigners, traveling through,
or Americans expressing U.S. born thoughts in a
foreign tongue--can impart. 37
Although it seems a little overstated, Perkins,
President of Cornell University, wrote that loss of its
best trained men and women is one of the greatest problems
facing the underdeveloped world.

He compared the role

of the foreign educated in modernizing societies to that
of yeast:
No more yeasty influence exists in the modernizing
countries than those men and women who have had
an educational experience in Europe and the United
States.
They will always know their life can be
changed.
They will always feel that they are part
of a large society.38

37

Gregory Henderson, "Foreign Students:
Exchange or
Immigration," NAFSA Newsletter, National As-sociation for
Foreign Student Affairs, Vol. XVI, No. 3 (Nov. 15, 1964), 3.
38
James A. Perkins, "The Foreign Aid and The Brain
Drain," Foreign Affairs (July, 1966), 615.

41
tie noted that there is a conflict between the objec­
tives of American foreign assistance programs and the
requirements of the American economy, between U.S.

govern­

ment efforts to train people in the less-developed countries
and drain of foreign specialists to fill important jobs in
the United States.
The recent study of the Committee on the International
Migration of Talent of Education and World Affairs concluded
their position on the problem of brain drain:
An answer must be sought in judgment rather than
proof.
Our judgment is that a continuing loss of
intelligent and highly trained is likely to have
adverse effects on national development--economic
and social.
These people are leaders and organizers,
and their influence spirals far beyond the direct
and specific product of their employment.
Less
developed countries have everything to gain and
nothing to lose by accepting this favorable o b s e r ­
vation as being true and they needlessly forego
one spur to generally useful action by assuming
that the movement is of no consequence to them.^9
The Committee suggested several actions that any
country which is dissatisfied with the rate of return of
students should take to increase the return rate.

They

are:
Cl) identification of manpower requirements of
high priority that can be met by study abroad,
(2) educating students to the highest level at
home, (3) keeping touch with students while they
are studying abroad, and (4) establishing incentives
to return by assuring a satisfactory job on c o m ­
pletion of training.40

39

Education and World Affairs, Modernization and the
Migration of Talent, A Report of The Committee on The
Intern ational Migration of Talent [New York:
Education and
World Affairs, 19?0) , pT 45.
40
Ibid., pp. 69-70.

42
Concern for nonreturning student problems was expressed
for both sponsored and nonsponsored students.

In an earlier

report, the Education and World Affairs Study Committee on
Foreign Students stressed that success of a sponsored p r o ­
gram of foreign study is attained only if the sponsor
extends his responsibility to include facilitating the
foreign student's return home upon completion of his
educational objective and following up the student's
success or failure in putting his newly acquired talents
to use in his own country. 41
Wolfram Eberhard posited that nonsponsored students
are also obliged to return, for the following reasons:
. . . Yet even these students with American
scholarships or parental support have received
elementary and often high school educations paid
for by taxes collected from their poor citizens,
and the foreign exchange they use is not available
to the country for buying machinery or other
necessary goods.
Thus their government expects
that even these students return and serve their
country, repaying what, it has done for t h e m . 42
However, whether students should return or not is more
of an individual matter and it seems inappropriate to draw

41

E d u c a t i o n and W o r l d A f f a i r s , The Fo r ei g n Student
W h o m Shall We W e l c o m e . The R eport of t h e " S t u d y C o m m i t t e e
on F o re i gn S t u d e n t Af f a i r s (New York:
E d u c a t i o n and W o r l d
A ff a i r s , 1964) , p7 87™

42
Wolfram Eberhard, "Problem o f Students Returning to
A sia,” Exchange (Spring, 1970), 42.

43
a conclusion or generalize from either set of viewpoints,
as Frankel stated at a conference on International Migration
of Talent and Skills:
Distribution of human beings from a rational
economic point of view is not the only objective
of human life and the basic human right--the
right to live where he pleases, to move where
he wishes, to seek occupation of the kind he
tbinks worthy of himself, etc.--should be con­
sidered in judgement on student nonreturn or
brain drain problems.'**5
Studies on the Factors Contributing to
Foreign Student Nonreturn
What lures the brains from one place to another is
succinctly expressed in the following quotation from an
Indian paper:
Brain goes where brains are, brain goes where
money is, bTain goes where humanity and justice
prevail, brain goes where recognition and
healthy competition are assured.44
The question of why foreign students stay in the
United States after completing their studies has been asked
by many investigators.
David reported that foreign students, soliciting
extension of their stay in the United States, may like
to escape

(1) narrow horizons,

(2) limited opportunities,

43
The Council on International Educational and Cultural
Affairs, oj>. c it. , p. 76.
44
Research Policy Program, Brain Drain and Brain G a i n ,
A Bibliography on Migration of Scientists. Engineers,
doctors ana Students (Lund, Sweden, 1367) , p . 1 .

44

(3) restrictive class lines,
* j j 45
s tandards.

and (4) lower living

A report of the Education and World Affairs Study
Committee on Foreign Student Affairs indicated alienation
from their own culture as a major factor influencing
foreign students to arrange to stay permanently in the
46
United States.
It also pointed out lack of oppor­
tunity of employment of the home country, either because
of the foreign student's inadaptability to the home
environment or because of lack of provision in the home
country for his employment in the field for which he was
prepared.
Mohsenin cited:
. . . the main factors that foreign students
prefer to remain in the United States are
cultural isolation and alienation, lack of
employment or research opportunity, higher
standard of living in the United States, lower
pay scale versus higher cost of living and
various personal reasons such as religious and
political affiliation.47

45

James McCoy David, "A University-Sponsored Community
Program of International Understanding Through Students"
(unpublished Doctoral Project Report, Teachers College,
Columbia University, 1953), p. 84.
46
Education and World Affairs, The Foreign Student
Whom Shall We Welcome, The Report of the Study Committee
on Foreign 'Student Affairs (New York:
Education and World
Aiffairs , 1964) , pp. 1-2.
47
Nuri Mohsenin, "The Lost Student Cause and Cure,"
O v e rseas, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Nov., 1962), 2.

45
Among the factors reported by Prugh in the Wall
Street Journal was "over education of foreign students"
48
to meet jobs in their native country.
Johnson, in an interview study of Asian graduates of
the University of Oregon, found that the reasons of foreign
student stay in the United States included:

(1) the

probability of better paying jobs and a higher standard
of living,

(2) the emphasis in the United States on personal

achievement rather than family connections,

(3) the compara­

tive freedom from racial discrimination, and (4) greater
political freedom.

He also found that a feeling of family

obligation was the most frequently cited reason for
returning home, and very rarely was a feeling of responsibility to his country and its development cited. 49
This finding is contradictory to the finding of
another study, that a foreign student's feeling of
responsibility to his country was a major factor in the
decision to return home.

In this study of reasons of

return of graduates of Iowa University, it was found
that "I must go back to work for my country" was the
answer most frequently given by Japanese students as a
reason for going back h o m e , ^

48

Peter H.
Stay After U.S.
Street J o u r n a l ,
49
Dixon C.

Prugh, "Lure of America, More Foreigners
Schooling:
Homelands Fear Effect," Wall
Vol. CLXVIII, No. 100 (Nov. 21, 1966j^
Johnson, oj>. cit. , 78.

^ P e t e r H. Prugh,

o|>. cit.

46

According to Groves in a study of students from
Taiwan, the reasons for not returning were failure of the
country to absorb profitably all its young people into
the economy because of over population, affinity between
Taiwan and the United States, political instability,
unemployment, and social impoverishment in the home
country. 51
In a study of 1,416 Indian students in 322 major
educational institutions throughout the United States,
52
Sharma
found that better opportunities for research and
better occupational advancement were most frequently
mentioned by Indian students as reasons for remaining in
the United States, and next frequently appeared "better
standard of living" and "better salaries."
Adams summarized major factors that create an attrac­
tion to the developed country and dissatisfaction with the
development countTy as:

salary differential, professional

opportunity, lack of receptivity to change in the home
country, relevance of foreign training, lack of realistic
manpower policies, technology gap, political discrimination
or noneconomic grounds, and monopolistic restrictions in
53
advanced countries.

^ M a r i o n H. Groves, ojs. ci t . , 14.
52
Keshav Deo Sharma, "Indian Students in the United
States," Exchange (Spring, 1969), 43-59.
53
Walter Adams (ed.), The Brain Drain (New York:
The
Macmillan Co., 1968).

47
A foreign student’s decision to remain in the United
States is primarily attributed to assimilation of the
student into American life.

Putman stated, ’’Return home

is obviously the intended result when study abroad is
taken but sojourn in the United States may change the
54
student’s original intent."
The following observation by Eberhard illustrates
how foreign students become integrated into American life
and become psychologically unfit for the homeland situa­
tion :
Here in the United States, we try to see that
the foreign student adjusts to American society
and institutions, that he really mixes with
Americans.
We study the difficulties which he
has in his communication with Americans, the
emotional conflicts which arise out of his cross
cultural experience and his cross cultural contacts.
We study the contrasts between the United States
and those countries from which the student comes
and on the basis of the insight we gain from
these studies, we attempt to become even better
hosts.
Our attempts are so successful that
(1) the student decides to remain here and not
return to his country, (2) students who do
finally return are often not happy to be living
in their own countries again, or they become
misfits whose main interest is in overthrowing
the existing order in their own country.55
Overadjustment to American life by foreign students
from a different culture is a real dilemma of the foreign
student program.
Factors causing migration of scientific talent are
also applicable to foreign students' nonreturn.

5 *Ivan Putman, Jr., o£. c i t . , pp.
55
Wolfram Eberhard, 0 £. c i t ., 41.

7-243.

Walton

48
classified these factors into push factors and pull factors,
the former consisting of negative inducements to return
home and the latter consisting of positive inducements
to stay permanently in the United S t a t e s . ^

Push factors

include psychological alienation from the home country
and its culture, limited job possibilities and other
economic deterrents in the home country, and political
persecution or the prospect of it.

Pull factors include

high salaries and rapid advancement in the United States,
favorable conditions for professional growth, high standard
of living permitting enjoyment of the amenities of life,
and personal ties such as marriage to an American.

All

these factors influencing foreign student return and nonreturn
decisions can also be classified into monetary factors and
nonmonetary factors.

Meyers stated that nonmonetary

factors appear to be more important than monetary values
in the decision of foreign students to remain in the United
Sta tes.5 7
Review of the literature on the factors influencing
students'

decision for return upon completion of study

abroad reveals that the problem of nonreturn of students
from abroad upon completion of their study is not influenced
by a single factor, but many factors jointly influence the

Barbara J. Walton,

ojj.

cit. , 17-29.

S7
Robert G. Meyers, "Some Thought on Foreign Student
Nonreturn," Exchange (Fall, 1968), 45-48.

49
decision of foreign students.

The degree of impact of each

factor will be different according to the individual
student's background at home and his experience in the
United States.
Studies on Characteristics of Nonreturning
Foreign 51udents
Scully presented a case study of problems of foreign
students who have studied in higher education institutions
in New York City.

Data on twenty-two cases were drawn

mainly from interviews of foreign student advisors in each
institution who were knowledgeable about each foreign
student who failed to return.

She concluded that each

case is compounded of a complexity of many factors such
as immigration law, United States economic condition,
student employment experience, home country condition,
institution's policy etc., that have bearing upon a
58
student’s nonreturn.
Scully further concluded that most of the students
who do not wish to return home are simply making an
evaluation of the possibilities for self-realization,
and the United States offers more to some students than
does the home country.
S8

Grace Mary Scully, "An Exploratory Study of Students
From Abroad Who Do Not Wish to Return to Their Home Country"
(unpublished Ed.D. thesis, Teachers College, Columbia
University, 1956).

50
Young studied the factors causing defection of
C Q

students from Middle Eastern nations.

Major instruments

used in the study were interviews of officials, both
government and private agencies concerned with student
study abroad, and the Middle Eastern students who returned
from Study.

Although the researcher failed to include the

nonreturnees in the sample, he reached a conclusion that
expatriation appears to be linked to:
alienation existing prior to departure,
(3)

(1) the extent of
(2) marital status,

maturity in terms of the commitment to o n e ’s own

culture,

(4) age, and (5) economic and social expectancies

on return.
Meyers

interviewed a sample of Peruvian students who

remained in the United States and those who had returned
home.60

A correlational analysis showed a difference of

probability of return home between lower and upper social
status of students and among major fields of study.

The

probability of return was greater among graduate students
of higher

socioeconomic

status; also, those students in

science, engineering, and medicine were most likely to
remain in the United S t a t e s .

Students in agriculture were

59

Robert Lee Young, ’’Study Abroad and National Purpose
in The Middle East"(unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Stanford
University, 1965).
6 0 Robert Meyers, "Study Abroad and The Migration of
Human Resources" (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of
C h i cago, 196 7).

least likely to stay in the United States.

A major factor

in nonsponsored students coining to the United States,
Meyers found, was their inability to get into Peruvian
universities.
He recommended further study of the process by which
the decision is made to study in the United States, as
well as to stay in the United States.
Under contract with the U.S. Office o f Education,
Ritterband attempted to explain factors influencing Israel
students to remain in the United States by applying reason
analysis to three groups:

Israeli students and alumni

population in the United States,

Israelis who had studied

in the United States but returned to Israel, and Israelis
who had received all their higher education in Israel.^1
He found that religious background of the family and
social class of origin are related to return to Israel.
As Meyers showed in his study of Peruvian students,
Ritterband found that the higher the social class as
measured by father’s education, the greater the inclina­
tion to return to Israel.

It was also found that Zionist

family background students showed a higher propensity to
62

return.

6*Paul Ritterband, The Nonreturning Foreign Student:
The Israeli Case (New Yor k : bureau of Applied Social
Research, Columbia University, 1968).
62 Ibid. , p. 59.

52
Ritterband also found that expected length of time in
the United States was related to probability of return:
those who expect to remain in the United States for rather
long periods are initially less sure that they will return
to Israel.
Other variables he considered were economic factors
and age levels of students.

He found that student p e r ­

ceptions of economic conditions

(labor market) bear some

relationship to the propensity to return.

Interest in a

good income bears a strong negative relationship to p r o b a ­
bility of return, while opportunity to contribute to the
development of o n e ’s field has a strong positive relation­
ship to r e t u r n . ^
Student age at arrival has some relationship to
probability of return.

Ritterband found 35 percent of

those aged 25 or less showed a high probability of return,
while 52 percent of those 26 years old or above showed a
64
high probability of return.
But he found that the rate
of nonreturn is negatively related to the level of e d uca­
tional achievement in Israel.
There is some variation among findings on propensity
of return of students by major field.

While Meyers, in

the aforementioned study, reported that in the case of
Peruvian students a larger percentage of nonreturnees and

6 3 I b i d . , p. 78.

64 Ibid. , pp. 89 , 91.

65 Ibid., p. 110

53
undecided individuals was among the engineering and business
administration students, Sharma, in a survey of Indian
students,

found that students in the humanities tend to

remain in the United States most often and those in life
sciences tend to remain the least o f ten.66

Sharma stated

that this is because of the strong feeling of life science
students of a moral obligation to return.
In a study to determine the whereabouts of foreign
student engineering graduates from Berkeley, Susskind and
Schill

found that 30 percent of MA holders and 62 percent

of those with doctorates were still in the United States
at the time of the survey.

7

Some evidence was

the more specialized the student's

found that

field, the more likely

he was to stay in the United States.
A recent study of Purdue University's engineering
graduates who received the doctoral degree shows that
only a few of the foreign students had returned to the
professions in their homeland,^®
In an earlier study of Indian students at the University
of Minnesota,

Lamerrt and Bressler found that the longer

66Keshav Deo Sharma, o£. c i t . , 43-59.
67
Charles Susskind and Lunn Schill, Exporting Technical
Education, A Survey and Case Study of Forieign Professionalswith I/. S'. 'Graduate Degrees (ifrew York:
Institute of International Education, 1968).
68
Education and World Affairs, The Professional School
and World Affairs, A Report from The~Coamittee on The Professional School and World' Affairs (T. Reith Clennan,

the

Indian student stays in the United States, the more

merit he must acquire to justify his long stay.

Meanwhile,

he is acquiring a new set of attitudes and altered behavior
traits that may make his reassimilation upon return
69
increasingly difficult.
The student's decision to return or stay is not made
until some time after his arrival in the states.

Sharma

reported that r,it is only after a period of at least a
year that an Indian student begins to evaluate and compare
his prospects in India and in the United States and this
process alone may determine whether or not he returns to
70
India."
He posited that the Indian student’s decision
to remain abroad is largely attributed to his host c o u n t r y ’s
academic, social, or employment conditions.
A study of Iranian students in Southern California
was made by Borhanmanesh. 71 He used an open-end interview
schedule to identify the factors, before and after arrival
in the United States, which influenced the intentions of
Iranian students'

returning plans.

He found that students

Chairman, and Irwin T. Sanders, Study Director), (Albuquerque
University of New Mexico Press, 1970), p. 165.
69
Richard D. Lambert and Marvin Bressler, Indian
Students on American Campus (Minneapolis, Minn.1
University
of Minnesota Press, 191>16) , pp. 94 , 98.
70
Keshav Deo Sharma, o£. c it.
71
Mohamed Borhanmanesh, "A Study of Iranian Students in
Southern California" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation,
University of California, Los Angeles, 1965).

55
who came from lower socioeconomic backgrounds or who
belonged to religious or other types of minority groups
were more likely to remain in the United States.

He also

found that such factors as marriage to Americans, possession
of advanced degrees, and length of stay were strongly
associated with the intention of Iranian students to remain
in the United States.

The study also showed that Iranian

students who had come to the United States to finish their
high school studies tended to remain.

However,

the assump­

tion that the students coming to the United States as
graduates are more

likely

to return than those coming

as freshmen was not supported by the data.
72
Recently, Thames
conducted a study of Korean students
in Southern California.

He sampled 100 students out of

over 300 Korean students in Southern California to study
factors of nonreturn of Korean students.

He used interview

techniques to find out the relative importance of factors
related to Korean students'
United States.

decision to remain in the

The instrument originally constructed by

Meyers in the study of Peruvian students was used.
The findings of the Thames study supported the h y p o ­
thesis that the higher the socioeconomic level of the
student's family and the higher the educational level

72

John Alsop Thames, "Korean Students in Southern
California:
Factors Influencing Their Plans Toward
Returning Home" (unpublished Ed.D. thesis, University of
Southern California, 1971).

56
achieved in Korea, the greater the likelihood of the
student intending to return home.

Another hypothesis

supported by the data was that the longer a Korean student
remains in the United States, the smaller the likelihood
he will return home to live.

The result also supported

the hypothesis that the Korean students who planned to
return home would be motivated largely by a desire to
return to family and friends and a feeling of obligation to
their home country, while those who planned to remain would
be motivated largely by the greater financial reward and
professional opportunity in the United States.
also found that in general,

Thames

Korean women appeared to be

less likely to return to Korea than Korean men.

The source

of financial support of the students while in the United
States was one important factor.

He found that the students

who worked for part or all of their finances were less
likely to intend to return to Korea, while the most likely
to return were those who received most of their support
from scholarships.

Students who had not finished their

undergraduate education in Korea, males who had not c om­
pleted their military obligation in Korea, whose majoring
in engineering or natural sciences, and those who had
already spent more than two years in the United States were
also found to be the students who were least likely to
return.
In this study, Thames found that out of 100 students,
sixty-nine planned to return home to live, twenty-one were

57
undecided, and ten planned to stay in the United States.
However, he expected that most of the undecided students
and many of the students who said they did plan to return
home would eventually decide to stay in the United States,
because of the fact that only twenty students planned to
return home immediately upon completion of their studies,
while forty-two students planned to return only after an
indefinite period in the United States.

In addition,

seventy-one of the 100 students had permanent residence
status, had applied for permanent residence, or planned to
apply for permanent residence.
Review of these studies indicates that students'

ages,

major field of study, their socioeconomic background, sex,
commitment to own country's development, their financial
sources, etc. are important factors to be considered in a
study of characteristics of nonreturning foreign students.
Summary
It was after the Korean War that large numbers of
Korean students came to the United States.

Currently

there are nearly 4,000 students attending American colleges
and universities.

Records show that nearly 90 percent of

all Korean students who went abroad for study came to the
United States.
Goals and motivations of foreign study differ among
various agencies supporting students'

study abroad, families

of students, and the individual students themselves; often

58

conflict exists between societal goals and individual
goals.

This difference of goals has led to the contro­

versy over the impact of nonreturning foreign students
upon developing countries.

In the absence of world

economic homogeneity, the movement of persons between the
"have" and "have not" nations is inevitable.

The factors

which contribute to the substantial number of nonreturning
foreign students, particularly from the poor nations, are
complex phenomena.

The degree of impact of each factor

will differ according to the individual student's background
and conditions at home and his experience in the United
States.
A review of case studies on nonreturning foreign
students reveals that student's age, sojourn period,
major field of study, sex, his commitment to the develop­
ment of his own country,

financial support sources, and

his socioeconomic background, as well as policies of the
U.S.

government and industries and those of his own

country, etc. are important factors related to a foreign
student's returning plans.

CHAPTER III
PROCEDURE

Introduction
In this chapter, the methodology adopted to investigate
the problem under consideration is described.

The c on­

struction and development of the instrument, the source of
data, and the treatment of the data are discussed.
Because of the nature of data required in this study,
a survey research method was used.

The survey research

method offers the prime benefits of adaptability to generali­
zation, and a breadth of scope that permits study of a wider
range or distribution of behavior than is possible other­
wise.

Data were obtained largely by mailed questionnaires

and personal interviews.
Construction of the Instrument
In order to test the hypotheses, it was necessary to
develop an instrument to assess the information quanti­
tatively.

A questionnaire including 16 major questions

was developed.

The ideas for these items were mainly

derived from literature dealing with problems related to
foreign students and migration of high-level manpower or
"brain drain," particularly from developing countries to
the United States.
59

60
Additional factors to be included in the instrument
were secured from discussions with various people,
including Korean students and university officials c o n ­
cerned with foreign student affairs.
The draft questionnaire was pre-tested on ten Korean
students at Michigan State University.

Some items were

rewritten and new items were added, following the comments
and suggestions
pilot study.

from the students who participated in the

A final form of the questionnaire was revised

and edited with the assistance of the Office of Research
Consultation, College of Education.

Since it has been

true that many foreign students are reluctant to show their
true intention to return or stay in the U .S.,1 extreme
caution was taken to secure reliable data.
In the direction of the questionnaire, the investigator
stressed that the study was strictly for the research
purpose of his doctoral thesis.

No name of the individual

student and no name of the institution he is attending
appeared in the questionnaire;

further, items concerning

the respondent's present personal characteristics were
placed at the end of the five-page questionnaire.
The fixed alternative questions,

including multiple

choice and yes-no, were used in order to obtain qualitative

1See John Alsop Thames, "Korean Students in Southern
California:
Factors Influencing Their Plans Toward
Returning Home" (unpublished Ed.D. thesis, University of
Southern California, 1971).

61
data which could measure the factors that may influence
students'

return plans.

The first seven questions

(Questions 1 through 7)

include the student's background information, such as
length of sojourn in the U.S., age at which he came to
the U.S., highest level of education received in Korea,
major field and name of institution from which he gradu­
ated, and the kind and length of work experience before
coming to the U.S.
Questions 8 and 9 are related to the Korean students'
adjustment to American life.
foreign students'
Question 8.

Fifteen items related to the

adjustment problems were included in

Each student was asked to indicate the degree

of difficulty on a three-point scale

(very difficult,

somewhat difficult, not difficult).

In developing these

15 items, the Michigan Foreign Student Problem Checklist
2
developed by John Porter was consulted.
Question 9 asks
that each student list three items that he sees as most
difficult in his adjustment to American life.
Question 10 deals with the students'
financial support.

sources of

The student was asked to check sources

of his financial support among 15 possible sources, and
one space was provided for other sources not included in

2

John Porter, "The Development of an Inventory for
Problems of Foreign Students" (unpublished Ph.D. thesis,
Michigan State University, 1962).

62
the 15 alternative sources.
foreign students'

Considering the fact that many

financial sources may change after they

come to the States, each subject was asked to indicate
his financial sources at the time he began his study in
the United States and his present financial sources.
Question 11 intends to measure the student's feeling
about the relevance of his U.S. study to the development
of his own country.

Students were asked to choose an

appropriate answer from five alternatives - -very positive
to very negative feelings about their possible contribution
to their own country as a result of their U.S. study.
Questions 12 and 16 are related to the student's
personal factors, the former, to the highest level of
academic degree he plans to pursue in the U.S., and the
latter, to the present status of the respondent including
age, sex, marital status, major field, and academic level.
Question 13 deals with the student's opinion regarding
employment conditions back home.

Fourteen statements

that are known to be major factors influencing migration
of high level manpower from underdeveloped countries to
the more advanced countries are included.

The subject was

asked to mark each statement on a five-point scale, ranging
from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree."
Question 14 is asked in order to learn what Korean
students see as most critical among the factors listed
in Question 13.

63
Finally, Question IS deals with the student*s future
plans.

Ten possible alternative statements are included

to measure the intention of the student to return to his
own country after completion of his U.S. study.

The state­

ments range from immediate return to no intention to return.
Each subject was asked to choose one of the statements
which expresses his intention most appropriately.

The

questionnaire may be found in Appendix A.
Source of Data
All Korean students enrolled in higher education
institutions in Michigan are included in the study.

In

the survey conducted by the Korean Embassy’s Educational
Att ache’s Office in Washington in 1968, eight colleges
and universities in Michigan were reported as having
Korean students.

Letters were sent to the foreign student

advisors of five institutions and three institutions were
contacted in person, to acquire a list of Korean students
enrolled in each institution as of Spring and Summer, 1971.
Two institutions, both junior colleges, reported having no
Korean students and one institution did not reply to the
request.

The latter institution had five students in the

1968 Korean student census and the researcher dropped it
from the sample.

One state university has a strict rule

not to release students’ names without approval of the
individual student.

For this institution, the researcher

contacted the Korean residents’ association in that

64
community and obtained a 1971 list of Korean residents.
The list included the name, sex, address,

and occupation

of all Korean residents in the community,

including students.

From this list, the investigator collected the names
of Koreans whose occupations were listed as "student."
Then the investigator contacted the president of the Korean
Student Club at the university and requested assistance in
updating the list of students drawn from the Korean residents
in the area.

The president of the Korean Student Club

kindly provided the investigator with a revised list,
adding some new names, indicating changes of addresses,
and deleting names of students who had already left the
university.

The rest of the institutions provided the

investigator with names, current addresses,

and major

fields of study of Korean students in their institution.
In every major institution,

there was a Korean student

club which maintained close contact with Korean students.
The investigator contacted these Korean student clubs and
was assisted in obtaining necessary information for the
present study.

By checking Korean residents lists in

different communities, the investigator found two additional
institutions having Korean students.

The students from the

two institutions, one public and the other private, were
added to the study.
A total of 132 Korean students was identified.

In

August, a questionnaire was mailed to each student in the

65
sample with the investigator's letter, in Korean, indicating
the purpose of the research
A follow-up

and requesting cooperation.

letter wassent in September to the

nonrespondents.

Effort wasalso made through the investi­

gator's personal

friends ineach institution to request

cooperation of nonrespondents.

the

By the end of October, 1971,

103 questionnaires had been returned, showing a return rate
of 78 percent.
Treatment of Data
Tabulation of the data collected was accomplished by
placing the results of each questionnaire on IBM cards.
Because of the nature of the data, a number of differ­
ent statistical techniques were employed in the analysis
to test various hypotheses.

The Pearson product-moment

correlation coefficient was computed to establish the
relationships between the variables, length of stay in
the United States
United States

(Hypothesis 1), age of arrival in the

(Hypothesis 6), and confidence in their

ability to contribute to the national development

(Hypo­

thesis 5) with return plans.
Multiple regression techniques were used in testing
Hypotheses 2 and 4.

A multiple correlation coefficient

was computed to establish the relationships between the 15
adjustment factors with return plans to test Hypothesis 2.
A multiple correlation coefficient was also computed to

66
establish the relationships between the 14 employment
conditions with return plans to test Hypothesis 4.
Product-moment correlational analysis is predicted
on the belief that certain assumptions are satisfied by
the data:

(1) a linear relationship exists between the

variables,

(2) the variables are bivariate normal in

distribution,

and (3) the variables are at the interval

level of measurement.
The t-test was used to determine if there were any
significant differences between sponsored students and
nonsponsored students in their return plans
The

(Hypothesis 3).

.05 level of significance was used as the

criterion for rejection of the hypotheses.
Summary
In the present chapter the construction and development
of the instrument, the source of data, and the treatment of
the data were discussed.
In order to test research hypotheses indicated in
Chapter I, a questionnaire including 16 major items was
constructed.

One hundred thirty-two Korean students

enrolled in seven colleges and universities in Michigan
were selected as the population of the present study.

A

total of 103 questionnaires was returned and included in
the analysis.
Simple and multiple correlation techniques and t-test
techniques were used to test the hypotheses, with the

67
criterion for significance being set at the 95 percent
level.
The results of the study are presented in Chapter IV.

CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS

Introduction
The data gathered by the procedure discussed in the
preceding chapter were analyzed in various ways, depending
upon the nature of the data and variables in question.
Included in the present chapter are (1) the character­
istics of Korean students in Michigan,
of Korean students'

(2) cross tabulation

return plans, and (3) the testing of

statistical hypotheses.
Characteristics of Korean Students
in" Mich igan
In this section, the data pertaining to the character­
istics of the sample are presented by actual numbers and by
percentage.

Only those highlights of the data presented in

each table are described.
Table 4,1 presents the distribution of Korean students
by age group and sex.
The age group 30-34 has the largest number in the case
of male students, showing 42.2 percent of total male p o p u ­
lation; the age group 20-24 was the largest in the case of
female students, showing 45 percent.

This difference

between the ages of female and male students originates
68

69
TABLE 4.1
Present Age of Korean Students in Michigan by Sex
Total
Age Group

%

N

Under 2 0
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40 and older
Total

Male
N

Female
%

N

%

0
14
29
38
16
6

13.6
28.2
36.9
15.5
5.8

0
5
22
35
15
6

6.0
26.5
42.2
18.1
7.2

0
9
7
3
1
0

45
35
15
5
0

103

100.0

83

100.0

20

100

in the difference in the ages at which they came to the
United States.
As shown in Table 4.2, male students generally came
to the United States at more advanced ages than female
s tudents,

TABLE 4.2
Age of Korean Students When They First Arrived
in the United States
Total
Age Group
Under 20
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
4 0 and older
Total

N

Female

Male
%

N

%

N

%

6
16
56
15
7
3

5. 8
15 .5
54.4
14.6
6 .8
2.9

5
4
50
15
6
3

6.0
4.8
60. 2
18.2
7.2
3.6

1
12
6
0
1
0

5.0
60.0
30.0
0
5.0
0

103

100. 0

83

100. 0

20

100 .0

70
Approximately 60 percent of the male students came to
the United States at the age of 25-29, while 60 percent of
the female students came to the United States at the age
of 20-24.

A major reason for this difference between male

and female students in age upon arrival might be the military
service requirement for male students.

As indicated in the

review of literature, two years of military service are
required for every male student prior to his becoming
eligible for study abroad.
Table 4.3 shows Korean students'
before coming to the United States,

academic preparation
More than half of the

Korean students came to the United States after completing
four years of college education in Korea.

TABLE 4.3
Highest Level of Education Received in Korea
Total

Female

Male

Educational Level

N

I

N

%

N

High school or below
1-3 years of college
Completed 4 years of
college
Some graduate work;
less than Masters
Degree
Masters Degree
Higher than Masters
Degree

8
1

7.7
1. 0

5
1

6.0
1.2

3
0

15.0
0

53

51 .5

39

47.0

14

70 .0

14
24

13.6
23.3

13
22

15.7
26.5

1
2

5.0
10.0

3

2.9

3

3.6

0

103

100. 0

83

100.0

20

Total

%

0
100.0

71
Male students generally came to the United States with
higher academic preparation than female students.

Approxi­

mately 42 percent of the male students had graduate training
in Korea, while only 15 percent of the female students had
some graduate work before coming to the United States.
Table 4.4 shows the distribution of the sample by
present academic level.

TABLE 4.4
Distribution of the Korean Students by
Academic Level and by Sex

J’

t III X L'

vVC

X

N
Bachelors Degree
Masters Degree
Doctoral Degree
Non/special Degree
Other
Total

Female

Male

1"1

%

N

%

N

%

8
37
54
2
2

7 .8
35. 9
52.5
1.9
1. 9

5
22
53
1
2

6.0
26. 5
63.9
1.2
2.4

3
15
1
1
0

15.0
75 .0
5 .0
5.0
0

103

100.0

83

100 .0

20

100.0

Nearly 64 percent of the male students and 5 percent
of the female students were enrolled in doctoral programs.
Twenty-two percent of the male and 7S percent of the female
students were enrolled at the masters level.

Only 8 s t u ­

dents, or 7.8 percent of the sample, were enrolled in
undergraduate programs.

Thus, approximately 90 percent of

the sample were graduate students.
Table 4.5 shows the highest level of academic degree
the Korean students plan to achieve while in the United

72
States.

Eighty-four percent of the male students and 35

percent of the female students plan to achieve doctoral
degrees while in the United States,

and 13.5 percent of the

male and 55 percent of the female students plan to achieve
masters degrees while in the United States.

Thus, the

highest academic degree male students plan to achieve is
higher than that female students plan to achieve.

TABLE 4 . S
Highest Level of Academic Degree Korean
Students Plan to Achieve

Academic Degree
Planning to Achieve
Bachelors Degree*
Masters Degree
Doctoral Degree
Special/non degree
Undecided
Total

Total

Female

Male

N

%

N

%

N

%

0
22
77
0
4

0
21.4
74 . 7
0
3.9

0
11
70
0
2

0
13.3
84 .3
0
2.4

0
11
7
0
_2

0
55.0
35 .0
0
10.0

103

100.0

83

100.0

20

100.0

*No students plan to receive bachelors degree as their
highest academic degree.

Table 4.6 shows

the distribution of the sample by major

field.
Physical and natural science had the largest total
number of students,

23, followed by engineering and social

science, each with 20 students.

The engineering field had

the largest enrollment of male students, showing 24 percent,
while 45 percent of the female students were enrolled in

TABLE 4.6
Korean Students in Michigan by Major Field
Total
Major Field
Agriculture
Business Adminis­
tration
Education
Engineering
Humanities
Medical Science
Physical and Natural
Science
Social Science
Total

humanities.

Female

Male

N

%

N

%

N

6

5.8

6

7.2

0

0

10
10
20
12
2

9.7
9.7
19.4
11.8
1.9

10
10
20
3
2

12.0
12.0
24 .1
3.7
2.4

0
0
0
9
0

0
0
0
45.0
0

23
20

22.3
19.4

16
16

19.3
19 .3

7
4

35 .0
20 .0

103

100.0

83

100. 0

20

100.0

%

Only about 4 percent of the male students were

enrolled in humanities.

No female students in the sample

were enrolled in agriculture, business, education, engineer­
ing, or medical science areas.
Of the 103 students in the sample, 68 were married,
of whom 58 had their spouse here in the United States.
Table 4.7 shows the marital status of the Korean
students.
Nearly 73 percent of the male students were married,
while 65 percent of the female students were single.

All

married female students had their husbands in the United
States, while 51 of 61 married male students had their
wives in the United States.

74
TABLE 4.7
Marital Status of Korean Students in Michigan
Male

Total
Marital Status

Married
Single
No answer
Total

N

N

%

6 8(58)*
34
1

66.0
33.0
1.0

103

100. 0

Female
%

N

%

61(51)* 73.5
7(7}*
21
25.3 13
0
1
1.2
83

100.0 20

35.0
65.0
0
100.0

*Numbers in brackets indicate students who have their
spouses in the United States.

Table 4.8 shows the last school attended by the Korean
students before coining to the United States.

Nearly 44

percent of the sample came from one national university.
TABLE 4.8
Last School Attended by Korean Students
Before Coming to the United States

Institution Attended
in Korea

N

Seoul National University 45
Yonsei University
5
Korea University
6
Ewha Women's University
13
Other National Colleges
and Universities
6
Other Private Colleges
and Universities
16
High Schools
8
Others
2
No answer
__ 2
Total

Male

Total

103

%

N

%

Female
N
%

43.7
4 .8
5 .8
12 .7

44
5
6
0

5 .8

6

7.2

0

15,6
7.8
1.9
1.9

14
5
1
2

16.9
6.1
1.2
2.4

2
3
1
0

10.0
15.0
5 .0
0

100 .0

83

100.0 20

100 .0

53.0
1
6.0
0
7.2
0
13
0

5.0
0
65 .0
0

75
Sixty-five percent of the female students graduated
from Ewha Women's University in Seoul.

Over 50 percent of

the male students came from Seoul National University.
Seventy-seven of the 103 students in the sample had
certain kinds of work experience before coming to the United
States.

Table 4.9 shows the types of experience Korean

students had and the length of their experience.

TABLE 4.9
Korean Students' Work Experience Prior to
Arrival in the United States

Type of Work

Teaching
Government Official
Business and
Industry
Military Officer
Military Enlisted
Man
Other
Total

1 yr.

Length of Experience
2-4 y r s . 5-7 y r s .
8 §
more

Total

5
4

9
3

6
2

8
1

28
10

17
1

10
13

1
2

0
1

28
17

1
2

13
7

1
5

0
2

15
14

30

55

15

12

112*

*Some students have had two or more types of experience.
Because of this overlapping, the total exceeds the actual
total number of students who indicated having had the
experience.

The types of work most frequently indicated were
teaching experience and work experience in business and
industry.

The majority of students had two to four years

76
of experience.
experience,

Among 12 students who had 8 or more years of

8 students had teaching experience.

Table 4.10 describes the sources of financial support
for Korean students in Michigan.

The largest number of

students began their education with parental support; the
next largest number of students received assistantships
from their colleges and universities.

Many students

indicated that they depend on financial support from more
than one source.

During the duration of their study

abroad, the financial sources of Korean students changed
considerably from their original sources.

A sharp increase

in support through work of the spouse is seen, while there
is a sharp decrease in parental support.

This observation

may be explained by the fact that many of these students
marry after they come to the United States and study under
the support of their spouse,
A considerable increase in the number of students
receiving scholarships from American universities was
also noted.

No students received support from Korean

business and industry or foundations.

Only one student

was supported by the Korean government at the beginning;
however,

that support is discontinued at present.

Prac­

tically all of the sponsored Korean students in the sample
were supported by United States sources.
Korean Student Return Plans
This section presents return plans of Korean students,
cross tabulated according to various characteristics

77

TABLE 4.10
Financial Source of Korean Students in Michigan

Sources

Assistantship from U.S.
University
Work scholarship
Scholarship from Korean
Univers ity
Parents
Brother or sister
Self-support through
own work
Support through work
of spouse
•Business and industry
in U.S.
•Business and industry
in Korea
•Private foundation
in U.S.
•Private foundation
in Korea
•Religious organization
•U.S. Government
•Korean Government
•International o r g a n i ­
zations
Others
Total

At
Beginning
(A)

At
Present
(B)

Difference
(B-A)

31
2

40
7

+ 9
+ 5

4
36
6

1
23
0

- 3
-13
- 6

13

18

+ 5

5

18

+ 13

2

2

0

0

0

0

2

2

0

0
3
10
1

0
0
10
0

0
- 3
0
- 1

1
3

0
1

- 1
- 2

119 • •

122**

•Considered as sponsored students.
**Number in total exceeds the total number of the sample
because many students received support from more than one
source.

78
considered in the present study.

Each student was asked to

indicate his return plan among nine alternative plans,
ranging from "immediate return upon completion of study"
to "no intention to return."

The responses on return plans

are presented in table form according to the variables
considered in the study.

The tables include percentages;

actual frequencies are shown in brackets.

An attempt was

made to describe only those highlights of the data presented
in the tables.
Table 4.11 shows return plans by sex.

Nearly

40 percent of the sample indicated they plan to
return to Korea after receiving practical experience.
The next highest percentage was those who plan to return
immediately after completion of study, showing 23.3 percent
of the total sample.

Some 11.7 percent of the total sample

indicated they plan to return if a good job is available.
Approximately 5 percent of the sample indicated they have
no intention to return.

No student indicated he would

return to Korea if no job were available in the U.S., or
that he felt he must return against his will.
Table 4.12 shows Korean student return plans by length
of sojourn.

The percentage of students planning to return

immediately after completion of study was inversely p r o p o r ­
tionate to length of sojourn in the United States, except
for those students who had lived in the U.S.

25-36 months.

Fifty percent of the students who had lived in the United
States less than one year, 2.5 percent of those who had

79

TABLE 4.11
Korean Student Return Plans by Sex (by percentage)

% of
Total*

Sex
Return Plans
Return upon completion of
study
Return if a job is avail­
able back home
Return after receiving
practical experience
Return if no job is
available in U.S.
Return if a good job is
available back home
Must wait and see
Must return despite fact
I want to stay in U.S.
Plan not to return for
some time
Have no intention to
return
None of the above
No answer
Approx. Total %

Male

2 S .3 (21)*
4.8

(4)

39. 8 (33)

(10)
(5)

0
3.7

(3)

3.7 (3)
3. 7 (3)
1.2 (1)
100.0

IS .0 (3)

40.0

(83)

10.0
15.0

23.3 (24)
3.9

0
(8)

39 .7 (41)

(2)
(3)

11. 7 (12)
7.8 (8)

0

0

0

2.9

10.0 (2)
10.0 (2)
0
100.0

(4)

0

0

0
12.0
6.0

Female

4 .8 (5)
4.8 (5)
1.2 (1)

(20) 100.0

•Numbers in brackets are actual frequencies.

(3)

(103;

80

TABLE 4.12
Korean Student Return Plans by Length of Sojourn
(by percentage)

Length of Sojourn in U.S. (by
"ggjfo-gJl---------------1-12
13-24
25-36
37-48 over 48

Return Plans

Return upon completion
of study
Return if a job is avail
able back home

50.0
(7)*

25.0
(6)

28.6
(4)

22 .2
(4)

6.1
(2)

8.3
(2)

-

9.1
(3)

21.4
(3)

45 .8
(11)

42.9
(6)

50 .0
(9)

36.4
(12)

Return if a good job is
available back home

7.1
(1)

4.2

7.1

CD

CD

22.2
(4)

15.2
(5)

Must wait and see

7.1

8.3
(2)

7.1

Return after receiving
practical experience

CD
Plan not to return for
some time

12.1
(4)

CD

9.1
(3)

—

Have no intention to
return

7.1

None of the above

7.1

7.1
(1)

CD
CD

5.5

CD

6.1
(2)

8.3
(2)

No answer

6 .1
(2)

7.1

CD
Approx.
Total N

Total %

100

100

100

100

100

(14)

(24)

(14)

(18)

(33)

•Numbers in brackets are actual frequencies.

81

lived in the U.S. two years, 28.6 percent of those who had
lived in the U.S. three years,
had lived in the U.S.

22.2 percent of those who

four years, and 9.1 percent of those

who had lived in the U.S. more than four years indicated
they would return immediately after completion of study.
The largest percentages of students in all student
groups except those who had lived less than 12 months in the
U.S. indicated that they plan to return to Korea after
receiving practical experience.
Table 4.13 presents Korean students'
their age of arrival in the United States.

return plans by
The majority

of Korean students arrived in the United States at age
25-29.

Only three students came to the United States at

over 40 years of age, and all of them plan to return
immediately after their study.
Among the group of students who came before age 20,
the highest percent of students indicated they "must wait
and see," showing 33.3 percent of total of that age group.
For the age group 20-24, the students who plan to "return
after practical experience" showed the highest percentage-37.5

percent.

For the age groups 25-29 and 30-34, those

who plan to return after receiving practical experience
showed the highest percentage --42.9 percent and 53.3
percent, respectively.

For the age group 35-39, 42.9

percent indicated they plan to return immediately after
their study.

also

82

TABLE 4.13
Korean Student Return Plans by Age of Arrival

Return Plans

Under
20

Return upon comple­
tion of study

Age of Arrival
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39

12 .5
(2) *

21.4
(12)

26. 7
(4)

42.9
(3)

16 . 7
(1)

”■“■

S.4
(3)

Return after re­
16 .7
ceiving practical
(1)
experience

37.5

42 .9
(24 )

53.3
(8)

28.6
(2)

13.3
(2)

14 .3

CD

14.3
(8)

33. 3
(2)

18.8
(3)

3.6
(2)

6.7

16. 7

6 .3
CD

1.8

12.5
(2)

5.4
(3)

16. 7

6 .3

CD

CD

3.6
(2)

Return if a job is
available back
home

Return if a good
job is available
back home
Must wait and see
Plan not to return
for some time

"■

”

CD

Have no intention
to return
None of the above

C6)
6.3

No answer

40 and
over
10C
(3]
—

“■

“

—

CD

CD

CD

14 .3

CD

1. 8

CD
Approx. Total %

100

100

100

100

100

100

Total N

(6)

(16)

(56)

(15)

(7)

(3)

^Numbers in brackets are actual

frequencies.

83
One of the variables considered in the study was the
students'

degree of confidence in the relevance of their

study in the United States to the development of their own
country.

Table 4.14 shows the results of responses.

Forty-five of 103 students indicated they feel strongly
that their training will contribute to the development of
their country and 46 of them indicated their training will
somewhat contribute; nine were uncertain and three were
negative about the relevance of their training to the
development of the country.
The percentage of Korean students planning to return
immediately upon completion of their study was directly
proportionate to their degree of confidence in the c on­
tribution of their U.S. study to the development of Korea.
Of those students planning to return immediately, 28.9
percent felt strongly that their study contributed to
the development of Korea;

21.7 percent were somewhat

certain, and 11.1 percent were uncertain.
The students who plan to return after receiving
practical experience occupy the highest percentage in
all confidence categories except "strongly negative."
Table 4.15 presents student return plans by present
academic level.

Of the sample,

graduate students,

12.5 percent of under­

27 percent of masters degree students,

and 22.2 percent of doctoral degree students indicated
they plan to return upon completion of their study.

At

84

TABLE 4.14
Korean Student Return Plans by Degree of Confidence
in the Contribution of Their U.S. Study to
the Development of Korea

Return Plans

Degree of Confidence
Feel
SomeUnSomewhat
Strongly what certain Negative

Return upon c o m­
pletion of study

28.9
(13)*

21.7
(10)

11.1
(1)

Return if a job is
available back
home

2.2

CD

2 .2
(1)

22 .2
(2)

Return after r e ­
ceiving practi­
cal experience

42.2
(19)

41. 3
(19)

22 .2
(2)

Return if a good
job is avail­
able back home

13.3

13.0

(6)

(6)

Must wait and
see

8.9

4.4
(2)

11.1
(1)

Plan not to re ­
turn for some
time

2 .2

CD

2 .2
(1)

11.1
(1)

Have no intention
to return

2 .2
(1)

4.4
(2)

11.1
(1)

None of the
above

8.7

11.1
(1)

No answer

2.2
(1)

Approx. Total %
Total N

(4)

(4)

—

—

50 .0
(1)
—

”

Strongly
Negative

-

—

-

—

—

“

100.0
(1)
”

”

50 .0
(1)

100

100

100

100

100

(45)

(46)

(9)

(2)

(1)

^Numbers in brackets are actual frequencies.

85

TABLE 4.15
Korean Student Return Plans by Present
Academic Level

Return Plans

Bachelors
Degree

Masters
Degree

Non/
Doctoral
Special
0ther
Degree

27.0
CIO)

22. 2
C12)

Return if a job is 12 .5
available back
CD
home

2 .7
CD

3.7
C2)

37.5
(3)

45.9
C1D

35 .2
(19)

8.1
C3)

16 .7
CD

8.1
C3)

7.4
C4)

Return upon c om­
12.5
pletion of study
CD*

Return after r e ­
ceiving p r a c ­
tical experi­
ence
Return if a good
job is available
back home
Must wait and see

12.5
Cl)

Have no intention
to return

12 .5
CD

2.7
CD

5.6
C3)

None of the above

12 .5
CD

5.4
C2)

1 .8
CD

Total N

50 .0
CD

50.0
CD

~ ■*

—

50 .0
CD

1. 8
CD

No answer
Approx. Total %

“
"

5.6
C3)

Plan not to return
for some time

50.0
CD

100

100

100

100

100

C8)

C37)

C54)

C2)

C2)

•Numbers in brackets are actual frequencies.

86
all levels, the students who indicated they plan to return
after receiving practical experience occupied the highest
percentage.
Table 4.16 shows return plans by present age of Korean
students.

No students in the sample fall in the age group

under 20.

For the age group 20-24, the highest percentage

exists in the "must wait and see" plan, showing 28.8 percent.
In the age group 25-29, 51.7 percent of the students indi­
cated they plan to return after receiving practical experi­
ence; 47.4 percent of the age group 30-34 also indicated
they plan to return after receiving practical experience.
On the other hand, 4 3 f8 percent of the age group 35-39
and SO percent of those in the age group 40 and over indi­
cated they plan to return home immediately after completion
of study.
Table 4.17 provides return plans by major field of
study.

Student major fields of study were classified into

eight academic areas--agriculture, business, education,
engineering, humanities, medical science, physical and
natural science, and social science.
The largest percentage of students in agriculture,
business, engineering, medical science, and physical
science indicated they plan to return home after receiving
practical experience.

However, the largest percentage of

students in education, humanities, and social science
indicated they plan to return immediately upon completion

87

TABLE 4.16
Korean Student Return Plans by Present Age Level

Return Plan

Under 20-24
20
14. 3
(2)*

Return upon comple­
tion of study
Return if a job is
available back
home
Return after re ­
ceiving practical
experience
Return if a good
job is available
back home
Must wait and see
Plan not to return
for some time

“

“

Age
25-29
30-34

35-39

40 and
over
50.0
(3)

17.2
(5)

18.4

43.8

CD

CD

2.6

CD

3.4
(1)

21.4
(3)

51.7
CIS)

47.4
(18)

18.8
(3)

7.1

17.2

13.2

CD

(5)

(5)

12 .5
(2)

28.8
C4)

3.4

5.3
C2)

6 .3

2.6

12.5
(2 )

7.1

—

CD
—

7.1

None of the above

14. 3
(2)

CD

6.9
(2)

No answer

""

CD

CD

Have no intention
to return

“

33. 3
(2 )
“

“

CD

5.3
(2)
2.6

6. 3

CD

CD

16 .7
(1)

2.6

CD
Approx. Total %
Total N

100

100

100

100

100

(14)

C29)

(38)

(16)

(6)

^Numbers in brackets are actual frequencies.

TABLE 4.17
Korean Student Return Plans by Major Field of Study

Return Plans

Return upon comple­
tion of study
Return if a job is
available back home
Return after re­
ceiving practical
experience
Return if a good job
is available back
home
Must wait and see
Plan not to Teturn
for some time
Have no intention
to Teturn

Agr.

Bus.

Educ.

33.3 10.0
(2)* CD
16.7
(1)
50.0 70.0
(3)
(7)

60.0
(6)

30.0
(3)

50.0
(10)

25.0
(3)

20,0
(2)

-•~

20.0
(D
10.0
(2)
5.0

8.3

-

41.7
(5)
—

10.0
(1)

50.0
(1)

CD

25.0
(3)

50.0
(D

Physical
§ Nat.
Science

30.0
(6)
5.0
(1)
30.0
(6)

8.7
(2)
8.7
(2)

15.0
(3)

8.7
(2)
8.7
(2)
4.3

CD

Social
Science

17.4
(4)
8.7
(2)
34.7
(8)

CD

10.0
(2)
5.0

None of the above
No answer
Approx. Total %
Total N

Engr.

Major
HumaniMed.
ties
Science

5.0
(1)
5.0
CD

10.0
(2)

-(D

100
(6)

100
(10)

100
(10)

100
(20)

•Numbers in brackets are actual frequencies.

100
(12)

100
(2)

100
(23)

100
(20)

89

of study.

None of the engineering and medical science majors

plan to return immediately upon completion of study.
Table 4.18 shows Korean student return plans by highest
level of education received in Korea before coming to the
United States.
Among the Korean students who came with a maximum of a
high school education, the highest proportion was those who
indicated they plan to return after receiving practical
experience and those who plan to "wait and see," each showing
25 percent.
For the groups who had completed a four-year college
and the masters degree, these who indicated they plan to
return after receiving practical experience showed the
highest percentage.

For the groups who had had some gradu­

ate work and who had education higher than the masters
degree, those who plan to return immediately after completion
of study occupied the highest percentage.
Table 4.19 shows student return plans by the highest
academic level they plan to achieve in the United States.
Of the total sample, 45.4 percent of those planning to
achieve masters degrees and 38.9 percent of those planning
to achieve doctoral degrees indicated they plan to return
after receiving practical experience.

Responses show that

22.7 percent of the students planning to achieve masters
degrees and 2 3.4 percent of students planning to achieve
doctoral degrees indicated they plan to return immediately
after completion of study.

TABLE 4.18
Korean Student Return Plans by Highest Level of Education Received in Korea

Return Plans

Return upon completion of study
Return if a job is available
back home
Return after receiving practical
experience
Return if a good job is available
back home
Must wait and see
Plan not to return for some time
Have no intention to return
None of the above

High
Sch,

12.5
(1)

1-3
Yr. Col.
100.0
(1)*

w J *V

(2)

25.0
(2)
12.5
(1)
12.5
(1)
\^ J
12.5

—-

—

CD

Level of Education
Complete
Some Masters Higher than
4 yr. Col. grad. Degree
Masters
work
Degree
17.0
(9)
1.9
Cl)
45.3
(24)
13.2
(7)
9.4
(5)
3.8
(2)
5.7
(3)
3.8
(2)

35.7
(5)
7.1
(1)
28,6
(4)
21.4
(3)
7.1
(1)

Total N

66.7
(2)

--

—

4.2
(1)
8.3
(2)
A

No answer
Approx, Total %

29.2
(7)
4.2
(1)
41.7
(10)
8.3
(2)

33.3
(1)

—

1

Cl)
100

100

100

100

100

100

(8)

(1)

(53)

(14)

(24)

(3)

‘Numbers in brackets are actual frequencies.

91

TABLE 4.19
Korean Student Return Plans by Highest Level of Academic
Degree They Are Planning to Achieve

Return Plans

Academic Level Planned
------------------------------------------------Bachelors
Masters
Doctoral
Special/
UndeNon
cided
Degree
22.7
(5)*

Return upon com­
pletion of study
Return if a job is
available back
home
Return after re ­
ceiving practical
experience

—

*

*■

4.5

23.4
(18)

CD

3.9
(3)

45.4
(10)

38.9
(30)

9.1
(2)

Must wait and see

“■ *

25 .0

CD
—

“

50 .0
(2)

5 .2
(4)
3.9
(3)

Plan not to return
for some time
Have no intention
to return

9.1
(2)

3.9
(3)

None of the above

9.1
(2)

3.9
(3)
1. 3
(D

No answer

Total N

CD

15.6
(12)

Return if a good
job is available
back home

Approx. Total %

25.0

0

100

100

0

100

0

(22)

(77)

0

(4)

•Numbers in brackets are actual frequencies.

92
Table 4.20 presents Korean students*
sponsorship.

return plans by

A total of 24 students among 103 were sup­

ported by governmental and private agencies for full or
partial expense of their study.
vately financed for their study.

Seventy-nine were p r i ­
Of the sponsored students,

37.5 percent indicated they plan to return immediately
upon completion of their study, and 33.3 percent indicated

TABLE 4.20
Korean Student Return Plans by Sponsorship

Return Plans

Return upon completion of study
Return if a job is available
back home
Return after receiving practical
experience
Return if a good job is available
back home
Must wait and see
Plan not to return for some time
Have no intention to return
None of the above
No answer
Approx. Total %

Sponsorship-----Sponsored Nonsponsored
37. 5 (9)*
8. 3 (2)

19.0
2.5

(IS)
(2)

33. 3 C8)

41.8

(33)

12.6

(10)

8.3

(2)

4.2
4.2
4.2

(1)

CD
CD

8.9 (7)
2.5 (2)
5.1 (4)
6.3 (5)
1.3 (1)

(24)

100

--

100

(79)

^Numbers in brackets are actual frequencies.

they plan to return after receiving practical experience.
In the case of nonsponsored students, 19 percent indicated
they plan to return immediately after completion of study,

93
and 41.8 percent indicated they plan to return after
receiving practical experience.
Testing of Statistical Hypotheses
Tests of hypotheses were intended to investigate
relationships between Korean students’ return plans and
selected factors of Korean students.

Included in the

factors were length of sojourn, students*

adjustment

difficulties, sponsorship of their study, students’ atti­
tudes toward employment conditions back home, Korean
s tudents’ confidence in the relevance of U.S. training
to their country's development, and their age upon arrival
in the United States.
As indicated in Chapter III, the instrument included
an item to measure students* plans to return home upon
completion of study.

The nine alternate plans were scaled

from 1 through 9, with the continuum ranging from immediate
return to no intention to return.

In the statistical

analysis of all hypotheses, return plans were scaled as
follows:
Score 1 .

Immediate return upon completion of study.

Score 2
2..

Return if a job is available back home.

Score 3.

Return after receiving some practical
experience.

Score 4.

Return if I cannot find an adequate job in
the U.S.

Score 5.

Return if there is a good job available
back home.

Score 6.

94
Score 7.

Must return despite the fact that I want to
stay in the U.S.

Score 8.

Plan not to return for some time.

Score 9.

Have no intention to return.

The students who reported "none of the above" were
included in the "must wait and see" category.

One student

failed to answer this item and was also given a score of
6 in the analysis.
The research hypotheses found in Chapter I were re ­
stated in operational form.

The .05 level of significance

was used as the criterion for rejection of the hypotheses.
Research Hypothesis 1
The longer a Korean student in Michigan has lived in
the United States, the greater likelihood the student will
intend to remain in the United States upon completion of
study.
The following null hypothesis was derived from the
above hypothesis.
Null Hypothesis 1 :

There is no correlation between

return plans and length of U.S.

sojourn of Korean students

in Michigan.
The length of Korean students'

sojourn in the United

States was measured by asking students to indicate in the
questionnaire how long they have been in the United States.
Responses were scaled ranging from 1 through 6, with 1
indicating less than 6 months and 6 more than 4 years.

95
Simple correlation between return plans and length of
sojourn was computed.

The resultant correlation coefficient

r=.24 was significant at the .05 level.

The null h y p o ­

thesis was rejected.
Since the research hypothesis was stated that the
longer a Korean student in Michigan has lived in the United
States, the greater likelihood the student will intend to
remain in the United States upon completion of study, the
resultant positive correlation r=.24 suggests that the
research hypothesis is valid.

Therefore, Hypothesis 1

was accepted.
Research Hypothesis 2
Korean students in Michigan who are better adjusted
to American life will more likely plan to remain in the
United States upon completion of study than those who are
not well adjusted to American life.
The following null hypothesis was derived from the
above hypothesis.
Null Hypothesis 2 :
Korean students'

There is no correlation between

return plans and the difficulty of their

adjustment to American life.
As indicated in Chapter III, the instrument included
items to measure adjustment of Korean students to American
life.

Fifteen factors were included in the adjustment

difficulties scale.

Each student was asked to indicate on

a three-point scale the level of his difficulty with each

96
factor.

The scale ranged from 3 (indicating very difficult)

to 1 (indicating least difficult).
Multiple correlations between return plans and these
15 factors were computed.

Table 4.21 contains data regard­

ing multiple correlation, as well as data concerning the
value of each of the adjustment difficulties variables in
the prediction rule.

TABLE 4.21
Multiple Correlation Coefficient--Adjustment
Factors and Return Plans

N = 103

R 2 = .2781

R « .5274
Standard
Errors
of Betas

S = 2.0404
Partial
Corr, Coefs.

R2
Deletes

Variables

Beta
Weights

Language
Food problem
Hous ing
Health service
Academic requirement
Transportation
Relation with
faculty
Relation with
American students
Relation with other
Americans
Relation with other
foreigners
Relation with
opposite sex
Financial problem
Visa problem
Religion
Discrimination

-.1104
-.0238
-.1183
-.3045
.1947
- .2286

.1093
,1131
.1156
.1078
.1201
.1201

- .1076
-.0226
-.1090
-.2897
.1713
-.1998

.2696
.2777
.2694
.2119
.2563
.2481

.1148

.1300

.0942

.2716

.0234

.1450

.0173

.2779

-.0926

.1496

- .0662

.2749

.2982

.1217

.2539

.2283

-.2573
.1228
.0199
.3871
- .1592

.1208
.1148
.1180
.1115
.1169

-.2226
.1138
.0181
.3488
.1444

.2405
.2686
.2778
.1781
.2627

97
Inspection of the data reveals that five of the
selected variables served as fairly potent predictors in
the rule--health service, transportation, relation with
foreigners, relation with opposite sex, and religion.
Other variables showed relatively low predictive values
in the rule.

The resultant correlation coefficient R-.5274

was significant at the .011 level.

Based on this result,

Null Hypothesis 2 was rejected.
Table 4.22 shows simple correlations between each of
the 15 factors and return plans.

These correlations

TABLE 4.2 2
Simple Correlations Between Return Plans
and Adjustment Factors

Factors
Language
Food problem
Housing
Health service
Academic requirement
Transportation
Relation with faculty
Relation with American students
Relation with other Americans
Relation with other foreigners
Relation with opposite sex
Financial problem
Visa problem
Religion
Discrimination

r
- .12
- .02
-.14
- .25
- .10
- .20
- .03
00
- .02
.14
- .10
.06
00
.19
- .10

indicate the direction of the resultant multiple correlation
coefficient R“ .5274 as negative.
was accepted.

Therefore, Hypothesis 2

98

Research Hypothesis 3
Sponsored Korean students in Michigan will more likely
plan to return to Korea than nonsponsored Korean students
in Michigan.
From the above research hypothesis the following null
hypothesis was derived.
Null Hypothesis 5 :

There is no difference between the

mean value of return plans of sponsored Korean students and
nonsponsored Korean students.
The sample was classified into two categories-sponsored and nonsponsored students.

The students who

received any financial support from government, private
foundations or business ana industry, religious organiza­
tions, or international organizations were defined as
sponsored students; all other students were classified
as nonsponsored students.
A mean value of return plans was calculated for
sponsored students; a mean value of return plans for
nonsponsored students was also calculated.

Table 4.23

presents the result.
TABLE 4.2 3
Result of Analysis of Mean Values of Return Plans
of Sponsored and Nonsponsred Students
Sponsored
24
2.92
4. 80
t = 1.6; not significant at .05 level.

Number fN)
Mean value of return plan
Variance (S^)

(X)

Nonsponsored
79
3.77
5.33

99
The difference between the two means was tested for
significance by means of a t-test.

The difference between

the two means was not significant at the .05 level.
The null hypothesis was not rejected.

Hypothesis 3

was rejected.
Research Hypothesis 4
Korean students in Michigan who have a negative
attitude toward employment conditions back home will more
likely plan to stay in the United States than the Korean
students who have a positive attitude toward employment
conditions back home.
The following null hypothesis was derived from the
above hypothesis.
Null Hypothesis 4 :

There is no correlation between

Korean students’ attitudes toward employment conditions
back home and their return plans.
To test the hypothesis,

14 negative statements that

most frequently appear as factors influencing the flow of
professional manpower from developing countries to the
United States were included in the questionnaire.

Each

student was asked to indicate his feelings about each
statement as to conditions back home.
a five-point scale,
disagree."

Responses ranged, on

from "strongly agree" to "strongly

A score of 5 was given to "strongly agree"

and 1 to "strongly disagree."

100
Both simple and multiple correlations were computed
between return plans and employment conditions.
Table 4.24 shows the simple correlation coefficient
between each statement and return plans.

TABLE 4.2 4
Simple Correlation Between Return Plans and
Attitudes Toward Employment Conditions

Factors
Salary is too low
Lack of opportunity to be creative
Lack of chance to use professional training
Lack of chance to work with respected associate
Government employment system too rigid
Powers of entrenched professors too strong
Lack of research funds
Professionals are isolated
Relatives and friends are too often used
in seeking jobs
Difficult to move from lower position to
higher position
Lack of recognition of talent of younger
people
Lack of hope for the future
Political instability
Too few places to work

r
.23
.05
.11
- .03
- .01
- .12
.10
-.03
- .09
.01
.07
.07
.18
.09

Except for the factors related to salary and political
instability, almost no relationship was found to exist
between return plans and each of the employment condition
factors.
Table 4.25 contains data regarding multiple correlation
as well as data concerning the value of each of the 14
employment condition variables in the prediction r ule.

101
TABLE 4.2 5
Multiple Correlation Coefficient--Employment
Conditions and Return Plans

N - 103
Variables

R 2 = .0950
Beta
Weights

Low salary
Lack of oppor. to be
creative
Lack of chance to
use skills
Lack of respected
associate
Too rigid gov't
employment system
Entrenched professors
Lack of research fund
Professionals iso­
lated
Relatives and friends
are used
Rigid promotion
system
Lack of recognition
of young talent
Lack of hope for
future
There is political
instability
Too few places to
work

R = .3083
Standard
Errors
of Betas

S - 2.2714
Partial
Corr. Coefs.

R
Deletes

.0355

.1240

-.0305

.0942

.0182

.1389

-.0139

.0949

.2488

.1512

.1727

.0672

.1519

.1465

- .1098

.0839

.0341
.0024
.0478

.1138
.1134
.1163

-.0319
.0022
.0437

.0941
.0950
.0933

.0652

.1297

.0535

.0924

.1465

.1223

.1267

.0803

.0165

.1336

.0132

.0949

.0674

.1504

.0477

.0929

.0338

.1267

.0326

.0941

.2169

.1134

.1997

.0574

.0111

.1302

-.0091

.0949

Inspection of the data reveals that except for the
variables "lack of chance to use professional skill" and
"political instability," almost all variables were not of
predictive value in the rule.

The exact contribution of

each of these variables to the variance in the constant

102
return plans is shown by the respective beta weights in the
table produced by Least Square program.
The resultant correlation R*.30 was not significant
at the .05 level.
rejected.

Therefore, Null Hypothesis 4 was not

Hypothesis 4 was rejected.

Research Hypothesis 5
The more strongly a Korean student in Michigan feels
his study in the United States will contribute to develop­
ment of his country, the greater likelihood the Korean
student will plan to return home.
The following null hypothesis was derived from the
above hypothesis.
Null Hypothesis 5 :
Korean students'

There is no correlation between

return plans and their feeling about the

contribution of their U.S. study to the development of
their own country.
In order to measure Korean students'

feelings about

the relevance of their U.S. study to the development of
their own country, each student was asked to indicate the
degree of his confidence that his U.S.
to the development of his country.
from "strongly positive"
tive"

study will contribute

The responses ranged

(scored as 1) to "strongly n e g a ­

(scored as 5).
Simple correlation between return plans and students'

feelings on their contribution was computed.

The resultant

correlation coefficient r=.24 was significant at the
level.

.05

103
Therefore, the Null Hypothesis 5 was rejected.
Hypothesis 5 was accepted.
Research Hypothesis 6
Korean students in Michigan who originally came to
the United States at younger ages will more likely plan
to stay in the United States than those who came at more
advanced ages.
From the above hypothesis, the following null h y p o ­
thesis was derived.
Null Hypothesis 6 :

There is no correlation between

age of arrival of Korean students in the United States
and their return plans.
In the questionnaire, each student was asked to
indicate his age upon arrival in the United States.

The

ages were grouped into six categories, ranging from "under
20" as youngest to "40 and over" as oldest.

A score of 1

was given to the youngest age group and 6 was given to
the oldest group.
Simple correlation between return plans and age of
students upon arrival was computed. . The resultant correla­
tion coefficient r=-0.34 was significant at the

.05 level.

Null Hypothesis 6 was rejected.
Since a score of 1 was given to the youngest age
group and 6 to the oldest group on the age variable, and
a score of 1 was given to immediate return and 9 to having
no intention to return on return plans, negative correlation

104
leads to acceptance of the hypothesis.

Therefore, Hypothesis

6 was accepted.
Summary
In this chapter, the data on characteristics of Korean
students

in Michigan and their return plans were presented

in table form, and six research hypotheses were tested.
Included in the sample were 103 students, consisting
of 83 male and 20 female students.

Most of the students

were over the age of 2 5 and were privately supported.

Only

24 students were supported by governmental and private
sponsoring agencies, either at the beginning of their study
or at the present time.

More than 2 3 percent of the Korean

students came to the United States with masters degrees and
over 50 percent of them came to the United States after
completing a four-year college.

Nearly 75 percent of the

present sample plan to achieve a doctoral degree while in
the United States.

Over 60 percent of the Korean students

in Michigan were concentrated in engineering, physical and
natural science, and social science.
Nearly 60 percent of the Korean students came from
Seoul National University and Ewha Women's University in
Seoul,

two very selective institutions of higher learning

among 70 colleges and universities in Korea.
Nearly 40 percent of the Korean students in Michigan
plan to return to Korea after receiving practical experi­
ence.

Only 2 3 percent of the students indicated they plan

105
to return immediately after completion of study.

Five

students indicated they have no intention to return.
Following are summaries of results of testing of the
hypotheses.

The criterion for rejection was set at the

.05 level of significance.
Null Hypothesis 1
There is no correlation between return
plans and length of U.S. sojourn of
Korean students in Michigan.

Results
rejected

Null Hypothesis 2
There is no correlation between Korean
student return plans and the difficulty
of their adjustment to American life.

rejected

Null Hypothesis 3
There is no difference between the mean
value of return plans of sponsored
Korean students and nonsponsored Korean
students.

failed to
reject

Null Hypothesis 4
There is no correlation between Korean
students’ attitudes toward employment
conditions back home and their return
plans.

failed to
reject

Null Hypothesis 5
There is no correlation between Korean
students' return plans and their feeling
about the contribution of their U.S.
study to the development of their own
country.

^ ctea

Null Hypothesis 6
There is no correlation between age of
arrival of Korean students in the United
States and their return plans.

rej ected

106
Of the six research hypotheses,

four hypotheses were

accepted and two hypotheses were rejected.
return plans were related with the students'

Korean student
length of

sojourn in the United States, their difficulty in adjusting
to American life, their feeling about the contribution of
their U.S. study to the development of their own country,
and their age upon arrival in the United States.
students'

Korean

return plans were not related to their attitudes

toward employment conditions back home.

Although there

was a difference between the mean values of return plans of
sponsored and nonsponsored Korean students,
ence was not statistically significant.

their differ­

CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter will be devoted to a summary of the
study, followed by a discussion of the conclusions generated
from the analysis of the data.

In addition, recommendations

for action and further research are listed.
Summary of the Study
The problem undertaken in this study was to investi­
gate the relationship of selected factors pertaining to
Korean students in Michigan with their return plans upon
completion of study in the United States.
Factors considered in the study were length of sojourn
in the United States, difficulties of Korean students in
adjusting to American life, source of financial support,
attitudes toward employment conditions back home, degree
of confidence in the contribution of their U.S. study to
the development of their own country, and finally their
age upon arrival in the United States.
Major hypotheses of the study were:
Hypothesis 1 : The longer a Korean student in Michigan has
lived in the United States, the greater likelihood the
student will plan to remain in the United States upon
completion of study.

107

108
Hypothesis 2 : Korean students in Michigan who are better
adjusted to American life will more likely plan to remain
in the United States upon completion of study than those
who are not well adjusted to American life.
Hypothesis 3 : Sponsored Korean students in Michigan will
more likely plan to return to Korea than nonsponsored
students in Michigan.
Hypothesis 4 : Korean students in Michigan who have a
negative attitude toward employment conditions back home
will jnore likely plan to stay in the United States than
the Korean students who have a positive attitude toward
employment conditions back home.
Hypothesis S :
Michigan feels
tribute to the
likelihood the

The more strongly a Korean student in
his study in the United States will c on­
development of his country, the greater
Korean student will plan to return home.

Hypothesis 6 : Korean students in Michigan who originally
came to the United States at younger ages will more likely
plan to stay in the United States than those who came at
more advanced ages.
A review of literature indicated that the factors
contributing to the substantial number of nonreturning
foreign students, particularly from the poor nations, are
complex phenomena.

The degree of impact of each factor

differs according to the individual student's background
and conditions at home and his experience in the United
States.
A review of case studies on nonreturning foreign
students revealed that student's age level, sojourn period,
major field of study, sex, his commitment to the develop­
ment of his own country,

financial support sources, and his

socioeconomic background, as well as policies of the U.S.
government and industries and those of his own country are
important factors related to a foreign student's return
p l ans.

109
The research sample was comprised of all the identified
Korean students in seven Michigan colleges and universities
enrolled in Spring and Summer, 1971.
used in the study was a questionnaire.

The major instrument
The initial mailing

and subsequent followup produced an 80 percent response of
completed questionnaires.

A total of 103 completed question­

naires was received from the 132 identified Korean students
in Michigan.
Pearson product-moment correlation, multiple regression
techniques, and t-test were employed in statistical testing
of the hypotheses.

The

.05 level of confidence for rejec­

tion or acceptance of the hypotheses was selected.
All research hypotheses were restated in null form in
order to test the hypotheses.

As a result of these tests,

a statement of support or nonsupport of each hypothesis
was determined.

Following are the results of testing the

null hypotheses:
Null Hypothesis 1 :

There is no correlation between

return plans and length of U.S. sojourn of Korean students
in Michigan.
Result:

The resultant correlation of r*.24 was

significant at the .05 level.
rejected.

The null hypothesis was

The result supported Research Hypothesis 1.

Null Hypothesis 2 :
Korean students'

There is no correlation between

return plans and the difficulty of their

adjustment to American life.

110
Result:

The

resultant multiple correlation of R-

.53was significant at .011

or below the .05 level.

on the result, the null hypothesis was rejected.

Based

The result

supported Hypothesis 2.
Null Hypothesis 3 :

There is no difference between the

mean value of return plans of sponsored Korean students and
nonsponsored Korean students.
Result:
at the

The

resultant t of 1.6 was not significant

.05 level.The result failed

hypothesis.

to reject the null

Hypothesis 3 was rejected.

Null Hypothesis 4 :
Korean students'

There is no correlation between

attitudes toward employment conditions

back home and their return plans.
Result:

The resultant multiple correlation coefficient

of R = .30 was not significant at the

.05 level.

failed to reject the null hypothesis.

The result

Research Hypothesis

4 was rejected.
Null Hypothesis 5 :

There is no correlation between

Korean students’ return plans and their feeling about the
contribution of their U.S. study to the development of their
own country.
Result:

The resultant correlation of r*.24 was s i g ­

nificant at the .05 level.

The null hypothesis was rejected.

The result supported Research Hypothesis 5.
Null Hypothesis 6 :

There is no correlation between

age of arrival of Korean students in the United States and
their return plans.

Ill
Result:

The resultant correlation of r * -,34 was

significant at the
rejected.

.05 level.

The null hypothesis was

Research Hypothesis 6 was accepted.

In summary, of the six hypotheses tested,

four hypo­

theses were supported and two hypotheses were not supported
by the data.

Korean students'

return plans were found to

be associated with the students length of sojourn in the
United States,
life,

their difficulties in adjusting to American

their confidence about the contribution of their

U.S. study to the development of their own country, and
their age upon arrival in the United States.
students'

Korean

return plans were not associated with their

attitudes toward employment conditions back home.

No

statistical difference was found between the return plans
of sponsored students and nonsponsored Korean students.
Conclus ions
Within the limitations of this study, the following
conclusions were drawn:
1.

It is concluded that Korean students'

return plans

are related to the length of their sojourn in the United
States.

The longer a Korean student lives in the United

States, the greater likelihood he will plan to stay in
the United States.
2.

It is concluded that Korean students*

return

plans are related to their difficulties in adjusting to
American life.

A Korean student who is better adjusted

112
to American life is more likely to plan to remain in the
United States upon completion of study than a Korean student
who is not well adjusted to American life.
3.

It is concluded that statistically there is no

difference between the return plans of sponsored students
and nonsponsored students in Michigan.
'4.

It is concluded that Korean students’ return plans

are not related to their attitude toward employment co n ­
ditions back home, as defined in the instrument.

In other

words, the factors that often influence migration of p r o ­
fessional talent from developing countries to the United
States are not closely related to Korean student s’ decisions
to remain in the United States.
5.

It is concluded that Korean students'

feelings

about the contribution of their U.S. study to the develop­
ment of their own country are related to their return
plans.

The more strongly a Korean student feels his U.S.

study will contribute to the development of Korea, the
greater likelihood he will plan to return home.
6.

It is concluded that Korean students'

age upon

arrival in the United States is related to their return
plans.

A Korean student who came to the United States at

a younger age will more likely plan to remain in the United
States than a Korean student who came at a more advanced
age.

113
Discuss ion
It would be improper in a study of this nature to
attempt to suggest reasons for those demonstrated r e l a ­
tionships between Korean students’ return plans and
factors considered in the study, as this should be the
purpose of further research.
In this section, however, the investigator will
discuss some of the possible reasons why the two research
hypotheses were rejected.

The findings, that there was

no relationship between return plans of the sponsored and
nonsponsored Korean students, and that there was no rela­
tionship between Korean students1 return plans and their
attitudes toward employment conditions back home,

are

contradictory to past studies.
As

indicated in the review of literature and s t a t e ­

ments preceding each hypothesis in Chapter I, sponsored
foreign students generally show a higher rate of return than
nonsponsored students.

A recent study of Korean students

in Southern California by Thames'*' also indicated that the
Korean students who received most of their support from
their family or scholarships showed more interest in
returning home than the students who worked for their
financial support.

He found that 12 out of 100 students

in the total sample reported scholarships were their main

*John Alsop Thames, "Korean Students in Southern
California:
Factors Influencing Their Plans Toward Return­
ing Home" (unpublished Ed.D. thesis, University of Southern
California, 1971).

114
source of finance.

In the present study, sponsored students

were defined as those students who received partial or
full support for their study in the United States from
government and private sources,

including U.S.

governments, religious organizations,
business and industry.

and Korean

foundations, and

All the other students were included

in the nonsponsored students category.
In the sample, 24 Korean students were identified as
sponsored students.

However, most of these sponsored

students were also dependent upon their family or personal
sources for their financial support, in addition to support
from a sponsoring agency.
Furthermore, only nine students indicated they still
were receiving support from the sponsoring agencies which
had given them support at the beginning of their study.
Ten of the 24 students received support at the beginning
but were not supported at the time of the study, and 5
of the 24 sponsored students originally came as s e l f ­
supported students.
The above fact may suggest that there is a lack of
planning on the part of public and private scholarship
agencies, and incongruencies exist between the need of the
students and actual amount of support provided.
The major reason for the contradictory findings of
the present study may exist in the difference of the
definition of scholarship student or sponsored student.
It is a matter of future study to determine how one should

115
redefine the sponsored student and to find out how these
changes in financial sources affect Korean students'

future

plans upon completion of study.
Another contradictory finding of the present study is
that Korean students'

return plans are not related to their

attitude toward employment conditions back home.

Of the

14 factors that are commonly accepted as major reasons for
migration of professionals

from developing countries to the

United States, only two factors were found to have a low
relationship to Korean students'

return plans; all other

factors were unrelated to return plans.
Several possible reasons for this finding can be
discussed.

As was noted earlier, nearly 80 percent of the

Korean students in the sample were privately financed.
Therefore, they undoubtedly are from families of upper
socioeconomic levels and are less concerned about employment
conditions back home when they relate this factor to their
return plans, since they would not have to depend completely
on earned income upon return to Korea.

Thames,

study of Korean students in Southern California,

in his
reached

the conclusion that the higher socioeconomic background a
student has, the more likely he will return to Korea than
the student with a lower socioeconomic background.

However,

his study also pointed out that the students with high
socioeconomic backgrounds are less concerned about employment
conditions back home.
^Ibid., p . 81.

2

In addition, Thames found that

116
Ph.D. students were not concerned about finding jobs upon
returning home.

This fact is evidenced in recent findings

of "brain drain" studies conducted by the Committee on the
International Migration of Talent."*

The committee report

included a quotation from an interview with a prominent
Korean professor as follows:
A returnee can be virtually guaranteed a
teaching job in one of the four or five high
prestige universities if, first, he is capable,
second, he has a Ph.D. from the States, and
third, he is known.
The last, of course, is
the most difficult.
But being known plays such
an important part in determining who is able to
go to the States for study in the first place,
the third factor is automatically met by most
who return.
Further, the less capable returnees
and those holding only U.S. masters degrees can
still find teaching jobs so long as they are
willing to go to the provincial universities
which are desperately short both in terms of
absolute need and of financed vacancies.^
In the present study over 75 percent of the sample
indicated they plan to achieve doctoral degrees.

Therefore,

the facts that they are mainly from families with high
socioeconomic backgrounds and that they plan to achieve
doctoral degrees which enable them to expect broader
opportunities back home might have been the reasons that
their return plans are not related to their attitudes
toward employment conditions back home.
3
The Committee on the International Migration of Talent,
The International Migration of High Level Manpower, Its
Impact on the Development Process (New^ York": T r a e g e r
P u B l x s h e r s 7 T t 9 r O ) .— --------------------------4 Ibid. , pp.

131-32.

117
Another possible reason is that Korean students in
Michigan may not yet have formulated their attitudes toward
employment conditions back home.

If the assumption is

accepted that negative attitudes toward employment condi­
tions back home may be reinforced by positive factors in
employment conditions in the United States,

it can be

concluded that Korean students are still in the process
of change and they do not have the kind of job experience
in the United States that may build up their negative
attitudes toward employment conditions back home.
Over 40 percent of the sample indicated they plan to
/

return to Korea after receiving practical experience.

The

attitude of the Korean students on employment co ditions
back home will largely depend upon the kind of \ i ^.tical
experience they obtain after completion of their

icty

and will influence their return plans.
Recommendations
Based on the findings of the study, the following
recommendations are presented.
be listed in two parts:

(1) recommendations to various

government and private agencies,
universities,

The recommendations will

including American

for action; and (2) recommendations for

further research.
Recommendations
1.

for Action

It is recommended that a National Scholarship Fund

be established jointly by the Korean government and Korean

1X8
business and industry, in order to support Korean students'
study abroad.
Although the sample of the present study was limited
to Korean students in Michigan,

the fact that almost no

students were supported by the Korean government and
private organizations
for Korean students'

indicates there is a lack of support
study in the United States.

Most

students were supported by family or foreign sources.
Since most of these Korean students are not intending to
return to Korea for an indefinite period of time, the
Korean government should establish a plan to invest her
own resources to provide advanced training abroad, which is
essential
2.

for national development.
In order to promote the scholarship fund d i s ­

cussed above, the Korean government should consider a tax
exemption system for contributions to the scholarship
fund, as practiced in other countries.
This policy will serve as an incentive for private
Korean sources to participate in the scholarship program.
3.

It is recommended that the Korean government

review the effectiveness of current government policies
and regulations for foreign study by Korean students.
The Korean government exerts strict control of Korean
students'

study abroad, both for self-supported and

sponsored students, as discussed in the review of literature.
Do present criteria discourage sending some Korean students,
who would more likely return to Korea if they were sent,

119
than those who have met the criteria and came to the
United States?

Also a considerable number of Korean

students originally came to the U.S. without regular
student status.

Based on such an evaluation, revision of

present regulations for study abroad should be made to meet
their goals best.
4.
studies

It is

recommended that priority for foreign

should be given to those

able in Korea.

areas that are not avail­

It is further suggested that the student

should be prepared to the highest level in domestic
universities, in order to enable him to reduce his study
period in the United States.
The present study found that the longer a Korean
student stays in the United States, the more likely he
will be to remain in the United States.

By preparing the

Korean student to the maximum level in domestic universi­
ties,

the study period necessary for him to complete require­

ments in
5.

U.S. universities can be considerably reduced.
It is

recommended that a mechanism to coordinate

Korean graduate students'

research projects and domestic

research needs be established.
Many foreign students often lose contact with their
domestic problems by the time they complete course require­
ments

for advanced degrees.^

Establishment of an

^This concern was discussed by the M.S.U. graduate
council.
See M.S.U. News Bulletin (Nov. 24, 1971), Vol.
No. 10.

3,

120
organization to encourage and assist Korean students in
the United States who are interested in undertaking
research on domestic problems for their theses, will help
both the Korean government and the Korean student.

The

government will be benefitted by the result of such
research, and this program will enable the Korean student
to re-establish his contact with domestic affairs.
Suggested functions of this coordinating organization
for research are (1) to inform Korean graduate students
of domestic research needs,

(2) to review the research

proposals of Korean students, and (3 ) to facilitate actual
conduct of research by means of providing information on
resource materials available in Korea, and resource
personnel in Korean institutions interested in the' subject.
6.

It is suggested that Korean government,

industry,

and higher education institutions develop a plan to utilize
the talent of Korean graduates remaining in the United
States.
There are many Korean scholars and researchers in
American universities and industry.

Most of them are

undoubtedly holders of permanent residenceship or American
citizenship, and it is very unlikely that these Korean
scholars will return to Korea permanently in the near
future.

However,

their talent can be utilized by Korean

universities and industries in various ways.

For instance,

an arrangement can be made to help them spend their

121
sabbaticals in Korea.

This will not only help Korean

authorities, but also will provide Korean scholars the
opportunity to re-establish their contacts with Korean
problems,

as was the case wit h graduate students d i s ­

cussed above.
7.

Exchange programs between American universities

and Korean universities should be expanded.
should include exchange of students,

The program

faculty, and research

information.
8.

It is suggested that American universities c o n ­

sider modification of their counseling and scholarship
programs that may encourage

Korean students to return home.

The major justification of foreign student programs
in American universities exists in the hope that the
foreign students will ultimately return home and better
serve their society as a result of their U.S.

study.

This

expectation is not met by many Korean students.
Therefore,

it is suggested that the priority of

scholarships from universities should be given to Korean
students who intend to return.
9.

The present study found that there are incon­

sistencies in scholarships provided for Korean students
by sponsoring agencies.

It is recommended that sponsoring

agencies review the actual needs of their sponsored
students and provide such scholarships consistently until
the academic gc'ls of Korean students are met.

122
Recommendations for Further Research
Since the statistical techniques employed in this
study show relationships only, cause and effect have to be
inferred from a theoretical base.

Further research co n ­

cerned with decision processes affecting Korean students'
return plans should be conducted to substantiate these
relationships.

Based on the findings of the present study,

the following suggestions for further investigation are
made :
1.

Most Korean students in Michigan came to the

United States under private sponsorship, and a majority
of the Korean students have other members of their family
or relatives in the United States.

What impact do these

family members have upon return plans of Korean students?
2.

The present study found that Korean students'

attitudes toward employment conditions back home were not
related to their return plans.

It was assumed that the

Korean students in Michigan came from relatively higher
socioeconomic background families and would be less con­
cerned about their future jobs in Korea than students from
lower socioeconomic families.

Literature often indicates

that leaders in developing countries take pride in their
children staying in the United States.

On the other hand,

they express concern over nonreturn of their students.
What will be parental influence upon return plans of
Korean students?

Future study may include such factors as

123
the influence of parental expectations on their children's
return plans.
3.

The study found that Korean students ' sources

for financial support of their study considerably changed
during their stay in the United States.

This change was

found for both sponsored and nonsponsored students.

The

impact of these changes in financial sources upon Korean
students'

decisions for return or nonreturn is suggested

as a subject for future study.
4.

A majority of Korean students included in the

present study indicated they plan to return home after
receiving practical experience,

instead of returning

immediately upon completion of their study.

It is s ug­

gested that future studies include the impact of such
practical experience in the United States upon return
plans of Korean students.

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX A
LETTER TO THE FOREIGN STUDENT ADVISORS

July 26, 1971
Dr. Marlon Gerould
Foreign Student Advisor
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Michigan 49001

Sear Dr* Gerouldj
I am a doctoral student at Michigan State
University studying higher education and plan to
conduot research on Korean students in the United
States for my dissertation.
In order to do the study I would like to
have the names and addresses of Korean students who
are enrolled at your university. I plan to mail
a questionnaire to each Korean student.
It will be deeply appreciated if you send me
this information at the earliest possible time* In
case this is not available at your office, please
let me know whom I should contact for this information*
Thank you for your assistance in advance*

Sincerely,

*/

Kuk Bom Shin
Dept, of Admin, and
Higher Education
College of Education
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan
48823

APPENDIX B
LETTER TO THE KOREAN STUDENT

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3

(Translation)

August 1971
Dear Fellow Korean Student;
I am a student of education at Michigan
State University and currently have been engaged in
research on problems of Korean students for ay
dissertation.
Enclosed is a questionnaire to collect
infoxmation to be used for my dissertation and
your kind response is requested.
As a Korean student, I realize it is
not easy to find spare time since every one of
us is under academic pressures. However, the
success of my research will depend upon the rate
of return of this questionnaire. Therefore I
solicit once again your cooperation by responding
to the questionnaire and returning it to me in
the enclosed envelope.
Thank you for your cooperation and I
wish you good health.

Sincerely,
s/

Kuk Bom Shin
1428 I Spartan Village
East Lansing, Michigan
48823

APPENDIX C
QUESTIONNAIRE

K. B. Shin
Dept. AdiQ. & Higher Ed.
C.O.E., M.S.U., Aug. 1971
QUESTIONNAIRE

Di n c t i o n i :

1.

How long have you been in the United States?
appropriate answer)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

2.

(Circle the number of

less than 6 months
6-12 months
13-24 months
25-36 months
37-48 months
more than 4 years

At what age did you coma to the United States?
appropriate answer)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

3.

The information which you give us on this questionnaire is complete
confidential and will be used only for research purposes. Please
answer the questions as completely as possible.

(Circle the number of

under 20
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40 and more

What is the highest level of education you have received in your country?
(Circle the nuaber of appropriate answer)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

high school or below
1-3 years of college
ooapleted 4 year college
some graduate work but less than Masters degree
Masters degree
higher than Masters degree

4*

Mhat was your major field of study in the last school you attended in your
country?

5.

itiat is the name of the last school you attended in your country?

6.

Do you have other members of your family or relatives in the United States?
______ yes

no

2

7.

Have you had soma work experience in your country before coming to the
United States?
_____ yes

no

a. If yes r what kind of work experience have you had and for how long?
(Circle the number of appropriate answer and check the length of
experience on the space on the right. If you have had more than one
kind of experience please check all of them and put (X) mark on the
last experience you had.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

teaching:
year
government official:
year
employed by business and industry:
employed by religious organization:
military officer:
year
military enlisted man:
year
other (specify)

year
year
:

year

b. Do you plan to go back to the same type of job in your country after
you conplete your study in the United States?
______yes
8.

no

notcertain

Foreign students in the United States often are faced with problems in
adjusting themselves to American life. Do you still have difficulty in
the following areas? (Please indicate your present level of difficulty
by checking one of 3 spaces provided on the right of each item.)
very
difficult
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10 .
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

9.

somewhat
difficult

not
difficult

language problem
....... .
food problem................. .
housing...................... .
health service.............. .
academic requirements.........
transportation......... ......
relation with faculty.........
relation with American student.
relation with other Americans..
relation with other foreigners ,
relation with opposite sex....
financial problem.............
visa problem........ .........
religion.................. .
discrimination................

Among the items on the above which items do you feel as most difficult
problems in your adjustment? Select 3 items in order of difficulty.
a.

b.

c-___

3
10.

Please indicate financial sources for support of your study in the United
States. (Circle the number of appropriate answer and check both at the
beginning of your study in U.S. and present time*
If you have more than
one source please indicate all such sources.)
At beginning of
study in U.S.
1.
2.
3.

Assistantship from U.S. university........
Work scholarship from U.S. university.....
Scholarship from college or university
in my country............................
4. Parents'.....................................
5. Brother or sister...... ...................
6. Self-supporting through my own work.......
7. Support through work of my wife/husband....
8. Private foundation in U.S.....................
9. Business and industry in U . S ...............
10. Private foundation in mycountry............
11. Business and industry in my country.......
12. Religious organization in U.S.................
13. U.S. government............................
14. My own government............. ........... .
15. International organizations................
16. Other (specify) ...........................
11.

....

....
....
....
___
....
....
....
....
____
____
_ _ _ _____ ____
....
....
....
___
....
....
___
____
....
....
....
....
____
....
....

How strong do you feel that your study in the Itoited States will contribute
to the development of your own country?
(Circle the number of appropriate
answer)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

12.

....
....

At
Present

I
I
I
I
I

feel
feel
feel
feel
fell

very strongly that it will contribute.
somewhat strongly that it will contribute.
uncertain that it will contribute.
somewhat that it will not contribute.
strongly that it will not contribute.

What is the highest level of academic degree you plan to pursue in the
United States?
(Circle the number of appropriate answer)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

bachelors degree
masters degree
doctoral degree
special/nondegree
undecided

4

13. In regard to the employment conditions in your country do you agree or
disagree with the following statements? (Please indicate your opinion
on the space provided on the right of each statement with letters a thru e :
a “ strongly agree
b « somewhat agree
c ■ neigher agree nor disagree
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
14.

Salary is too low. _____
There is lack of
opportunity to be creative. _
There is lack of chance to use professional training. _ _ _ _
There is lack of chance to work with respected associates. ______
Government employment systems are too rigid. _____
Powers of entrenched professors are too strong. _____
There is lack of research fund. _____
Professionals are isolated. ______
Relatives and friends are too often used in seeking jobs. ______
it is difficult to move from lower position to higher position. _ _ _ _
There is lack of recognition of talent of younger people. _____
There is lack of
hope for the future. _
There is political instability. _____
There is too few places to work. _____

In your opinion which factors among the above are most critical problems
that must be solved?
(Please list numbers of the 3 factors that you feel
most important in order of importance.)
a.

15.

d ■ somewhat disagree
e - strongly disagree

b.

c.

What is your future plan after your study in the United States? Please
circle the number of one statement that indicates your intention for
your future among thefollowing.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Plan to return tomy country as soon as I complete my study in U.S.
Plan to return after receiving soma practical experience.
Plan to return if I can't find adequate job in the U.S.
Plan to return if there is a good job available back home.
Plan to return if a job is available back home.
Must wait and see.
Plan not to return for some time.
Must return despite that I want to stay in the U.S.
Have no intention
to return.
None of the above (specify)
.

5

16.

What is your present age?

(Circla the nuaber of appropriate answer)

Under 20
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-above

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Sex:

female

Marital status:

male
married

single

If married, do you have your wife/husband in the United States?
______yes

no

What is your major field of study?

What degree program are you presently enrolled?
appropriate answer)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

(Circle the number of

bachelors degree
masters degree
doctoral degree
non-degree/special
other (Specify)

Thank you for your cooperation.

APPENDIX D
FOLLOW-UP LETTER

Or

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(Translation)
23 September 1971
Dear Fellow Korean Student:
This letter is in relation to the questionnaire
which was sent to you in late August. The questionnaire
was designed to collect information to he used for my
dissertation* I am still in need of your response*
Another copy of the questionnaire is en­
closed in case the first letter did not reach you.
I realise that you are involved in a busy
schedule.
However the success of my research will
depend upon your return of this questionnaire and I
solicit again your kind cooperation*
Let me assure you again that the information
in this questionnaire will be used only for research
purposes.
It will be appreciated if you could return
this questionnaire in the enclosed envelope as soon
as possible*
Best wishes.
Sincerely*
s/

Kuk Bom Shin
1428 I Spartan Village
Bast Lansing* Mich.
48823