Factors influencing student choice in higher education

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Aukštasis mokslas; Studentų pasirinkimas; Studijų motyvai; Studijų pasirinkimas; Pasirinkimą lemiantys faktoriai; Higher Education; Student choice; Motives for studies; Choosing of studies; Factors influencing choice.

ENIncreasing global competition, globalisation of markets and the global economic downturn encourages the search of ways to maintain the stability and growth of industrial enterprises. Nowadays, when business environment is rapidly changing, enterprises have to increase constantly their competitive advantage. Human resources are crucial in addressing these issues. Motives of human behaviour energy and direct it to a certain direction. Needs, preferences, and interests are by far the strongest reasons for choosing the path of further learning. This article seeks to answer how motivation influences young people to choose a profession and what factors are the most important in this choosing. On the one hand, motivation has explained under structural point of view as a factor or set of reasons. On the other hand, motivation has interpreted as a dynamic phenomenon, process, and mechanism. Development of industrial psychology and especially behaviourism made very big influence on the development of psychological motivation theories since 1990. The field investigation of this psychology is the subject of human behaviour in the choosing of the studies. One or another treatment is depending on environmental conditions. A survey reveals that in order to motivate a person, it is necessary to enable them to meet theirs basic needs in such a way that helps achieving the objectives of all institution. The article also presents the most important criteria influencing the choice and their relative weight. The results of the research carried out by the authors have compared with the results of similar investigations by other authors. There are focused on the main factors encouraging choosing particular higher education institution and studies at it. Based on the results of the research, it was made these conclusions. A survey showed that two factors are most important when students are choosing to study.These factors are the desire to acquire higher education and the desired specialty, as well as the personal desire to develop, expand knowledge, achieve the goal. 57 % of respondents indicated that opinions of parents, relatives, friends or teachers were not relevant to them. When it comes to choosing a higher education institution, the most important are the city were person wants to study and where the institution is located, higher education institution prestige and quality of the studies. [From the publication]