Summary of doctoral thesis in business administration: Factors affecting parents' intention to send their children to study abroad

CHAPTER 1: GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THESIS

1.1. Research context

International education has been becoming a growing global education trend. In some countries, the internationalization of education has received special attention (Bodycott, 2009; Tran Le Huu Nghia, 2015; Zhuang et al, 2015).

Parents would like their children to receive an international education because of the benefits it brings to personal development such as the ability to adapt to the international environment, improve language skills, experience cultural diversity, boost career prospects and migration opportunities, and satisfy individuals' desire to enhance their social status (Chen and Zimitat, 2006; Cubillo et al., 2006; Monk, 2012); Li and Bray, 2007; Mazzarol and Soutar, 2002; Petzold and Peter, 2015; Zhuang et al., 2015).

The number of international students at educational institutions abroad has been increasing, with a significant increase in the number of learners coming from Southeast Asia. More than half of the total overseas students in Asia are contributed to the global international education market. 1.2. Reasons for choosing the topic In Vietnam, a country with many economic transformations, Vietnamese parents are concerned about investing in their children's education; especially for middle school and high school kids. Due to the differences in culture and beliefs, when studying international education in Asian countries including Vietnam, Thailand, or China, it is known that parents have a great influence on the educational orientation of their children (Leung, K., 2013; Tran Duy Nam, 2015; Fongkasira and Pupat, 2018). Research on international students at junior high school and high school level (ages 12- 18 years old) will have many differences because children at these ages are still dependent and under the control of the family. Therefore, the intention to study abroad early is not only from the learners but their parents too. Therefore, in Vietnam, to research studying abroad at lower secondary and high school levels, it is necessary to study the intentions of Vietnamese students' parents. In theory, according to Schnusenberg et al; (2012), the application of planned behavior (TPB) to the field of international education is still new. In particular, the results from previous studies applying TBP theory in the field of international study are not consistent. No previous studies have added emotional factors to the TPB model to explain the behavior of having children study abroad. Due to the peculiarities of the research context on studying abroad in Vietnam, the elements of self-perception and materialism were added to the research model for the first time.

+ Determining factors affecting Vietnamese parents' intention of letting their

In Vietnam, there have been some studies on students' intention to study abroad, but the scientific contributions are not many. Therefore, the author chose the topic: " Factors affecting parents' intention to send their children to study abroad" as the research topic for my doctoral thesis. 1.3. Objectives, research questions and tasks of the thesis 1.3.1. Objectives of the study children study abroad today.

+ Measuring the level and influence of factors affecting Vietnamese parents'

intentions of letting their children study abroad.

+ Searching for differences in parents' intentions of having their children study

abroad according to demographic characteristics.

1.3.2. Research questions 1: What factors affect the parents' intentions of letting their children study abroad?

2: How are the influence and effect of the factors on the parents ' intentions of

letting their children study abroad?

3: Are there any differences in the intention of sending their children to study

overseas among groups with different demographic characteristics?

4: What suggestions and recommendations will be produced to make Vietnamese education improve the quality of education and create an international learning environment, attract international students, and retain Vietnamese students to study in their own country?

- Propose a research model of Vietnamese consumers' intention to let their

- Examine the number of factors and relations among the factors affecting the

1.3.3. Research tasks - Provide an overview of research in Vietnam and other countries on factors affecting the intentions to have children study overseas. Then, identify and propose factors affecting the intentions of parents of Vietnamese students to send their children to study abroad. children study abroad. intention to send their children to study abroad of Vietnamese students' parents. - Offer some solutions for international educational institutions so that Vietnamese people can easily access the most prestigious and effective international educational environment. Besides, the thesis also proposes suggestions to help improve the quality of education in Vietnam. 1.4. Research scope and object. - Research issue: A sphere of influence and the relations of each factor to the

- Research subjects: Vietnamese parents whose children are junior and high school

- Research scope: Vietnamese parents in Hanoi, Hai Phong, and Nam Dinh cities

The thesis uses two research methods: qualitative research and quantitative

The author selects and finely adjusts the model to the research on the intention of

other, which affects the intention of parents to send their children to schools overseas. students intending to send their children abroad for studies. who intend to send their children to study abroad. - Research period: The data was collected in three consecutive years during the time of the study from 2017 - 2020. Primary data was collected continuously in three years 2018 - 2020. 1.5. Research methods and procedures research. - Qualitative research: Participants in this study include parents who plan to send their children to study abroad or want them to start studying abroad in 2018-2020. The number of people directly interviewed was 6 parents and the author asked opinions from 4 experts on studying abroad. - Quantitative research: The chosen method is the non-probability sampling method because it best suits the needs of this study. The data was collected through a survey that was conducted using a questionnaire for parents who plan to send their children to study abroad or want them to start studying overseas in the 2018-2020 school year in Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh. 1.6. New contributions of the thesis 1.6.1. Contribute in terms of theory parents to send their children to study abroad in Vietnam. This study complements the theoretical model of planned behavior with three cognitive factors that have an impact on attitudes, namely the self-perception as a traditional person, the self-perception as a modern person, and the success factor (a component of materialism) and three perceived factors that have an impact on intention, consisting of perceived risk, perceived value, and desire to study the intention of parents to send their children to study abroad. 1.6.2. Contribute in terms of practice The study provides data on the relations between the factors affecting the attitude towards the parents' behavior and their intentions to send their children to study abroad; which makes some of the following contributions. + Provide information for educational institutions in Vietnam to take measures to improve educational quality in compliance with Vietnamese students' and parents' wishes and needs; also help international educational institutions to access the Vietnamese market most effectively.

+ Offer students and their parents more choices and easier access to all the useful

+ Most of all, this is for the major benefit of education for the whole society.

+ Help the education environment inside and outside Vietnam have healthy competition. Develop more and more advanced education and eliminate inefficient education, which still focuses on theory and is impractical. information in education, especially international education. 1.7. The layout of the thesis

The thesis has a layout of 5 chapters as follows: Chapter 1: Introduction to the thesis Chapter 2: Theoretical basis and research overview of factors affecting the

intention to have children study abroad Chapter 3: Research Methods Chapter 4: Research results Chapter 5: Comments and recommendations

CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BASIS AND RESEARCH OVERVIEW OF FACTORS AFFECTING THE INTENTION TO HAVE CHILDREN STUDY ABROAD

- International education: is about the mobility of students who go to another part

+ On-site study abroad is the study of a training program of a foreign institution in

2.1. Theoretical basis 2.1.1. Basic concepts of the world to attend a course at a foreign training institution. - International students are considered as Vietnamese citizens studying abroad. - Differentiate the forms of study abroad: International students participate in studying abroad in two forms: scholarship students or financially self-supporting foreign students. - In this study, the author only mentions self-supporting foreign students and international students with partial scholarships; which means those who have to pay all or part of the expenses while living and studying abroad. - Distinguish study abroad and on-site study abroad: + According to the OECD ( 2010), foreign students studying abroad are "those who received their prior education in another country and are not residents of their current country of study." the host country where the learner is living. 2.1.2. Theories are applied to study the intention to send children to study overseas - To identify the factors affecting behavior related to behavioral intention, the author has conducted the research based on many different theories such as the Push- Pull motivation theory of Everett S. Lee (1966); Theory of reasoned action (TRA) of Fishbein and Ajzen (1975); Theory of planned behavior (TPB) by Ajzen (1991). Of all theories, the theory of planned behavior (TPB) is selected as the guiding theory for the thesis. - In TPB, customers' behavioral intentions and perceived behavioral control influence their actual behavior. In this case, the behavioral intention of customers is influenced by three factors: (1) Attitude towards the behavior (ATT); (2) Subjective norm (SN); (3) Perceived behavioral control (PBC). 2.2. Research overview 2.2.1. Some domestic and foreign studies on studying abroad

The results of the study of Presley et al, ( 2010) have demonstrated that the TPB theory can improve our understanding of the factors affecting the intention to study overseas. However, the application of TPB theory in studies on international education is still limited. Due to the different research environments, previous research results

have not been consistent. Therefore, in the future, it is necessary to apply more TPB theory in studying abroad to clarify previously published research results.

Presley and his coworker (2010) applied Ajzen's planned behavior (TPB) to study the factors affecting students' intention to go overseas. A survey was conducted with a small sample number of 188 business administration students to test the hypotheses in TPB within the context of studying abroad. The authors' research results continue to support Ajzen's theory.

They confirm that attitude, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms are all positive predictions about the intention to study abroad. Besides, subjective norms about studying abroad are the most predictive factor of intention to study abroad, while attitude towards studying abroad has a relatively low influence. This study also identifies gender differences in the relationships among specific factors in the model.

Goel et al, (2010) developed the TPB theory by adding personality traits. They surveyed 125 business students at a Florida university and hypothesized that behavior, subjective beliefs, and perceived behavioral control were positively associated with academic intention. The results show that behavioral beliefs are positively associated with intention of studying abroad. Those personality traits are: extraversion positively affects behavioral beliefs, and both conscientiousness and extraversion are all positively related to trust control. However, subjective beliefs and control beliefs were included in the research model with no hypotheses, so they did not have any effect on the intention to study abroad. Although previous research showed that oriented and supportive factors from family such as learning orientation and cost of contributions are important (Bodycott, 2009; Bodycott and Lai, 2012; Pimpa, 2003; Pimpa). , 2005), Goel et al., (2010) point to the conclusion it is insignificant that behavioral beliefs are considered. Furthermore, the results show that personal characteristics play a role in overseas study-related beliefs and that different traits have different degrees of influence (Goel et al., 2010). More research in the field of international education needs to be carried out to test hypotheses in the application of the TPB model.

A study applying TPB theory and developing a scale from the study of Presley and his coworker (2010), Fitzsimmons et al (2013) surveyed 204 business students at a university in the Midwest of the United States to find out factors that predict why students choose long-term and short-term programs. Results indicate that students perceive more social pressure to engage in short-term programs, and higher barriers limiting participation in long-term programs. All TPB factors significantly predicted students' intentions to study abroad in both short-term and long-term programs with one exception; perceived behavioral control did not significantly predict intentions to participate in short-term programs. (Fitzsimmons et al 2013). Thus, the choice of research context is a long-term intention or short-term intention to study abroad is

different because the impact level of each predictor in TPB on behavioral intention is different.

A study using the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as a foundation by Schnusenberg et al (2012) to predict the intention of students participating in a short- term (10 to 15 days) study abroad program. Our research model hypothesizes that intention is predicted by affordability, willingness to pay, and desire. A study through a survey of 254 undergraduate business students at a Southern U.S university of Schnusenberg et al. (2012) develops a mediated relationship between beliefs and behavioral intentions, which was first applied in the TPB model to understand the context of studying abroad.

Results from the study aid in the understanding of students’ decision-making process to participate in a short-term study abroad program and have implications for education and learning in the study abroad context. Three elements were added to the expanded TPB model have been demonstrated as important in the context of short-term study abroad decisions; Moreover, desire and affordability have a significant direct influence on behavioral intention as an independent variable, and willingness to pay is determined as an intermediate variable between beliefs and values and the intentions to study abroad. Understanding these factors will contribute significantly to the development of study abroad programs, as well as help learners and their families easily access appropriate study abroad programs. However, the research context is a short-term study abroad. It is necessary to carry out more scientific studies to confirm the relationship between the desire and intentions to study abroad in a long term and to study abroad in general (Schnusenberg et al. associates, 2012).

According to Zhuang et al (2015), in the context of studying abroad, students make their decision to go abroad based on careful consideration of the benefits they will receive compared to the sacrifices they will have to make. The research results suggest that of the three types of beliefs, only behavioral beliefs are related to the perceived value of international students and the perceived value is a good predictor of behavioral intention to study overseas. Subjective and controlling beliefs have a positive effect on the intention to study abroad. Another study by Presley et al (2010) showed that all three beliefs have an important influence on behavioral intention. According to Zhuang et al. (2015), more future scientific studies are needed to examine the relationship between perceived value and behavioral intention through the extended TPB theoretical framework.

In Vietnam, there are few studies on the factors affecting the intentions to study abroad. Several studies related to the decisions to choose a destination, school to enroll, etc are mainly based on the migration theory of Ernst Georg Ravenstein (1885, 1889) and the Push-Pull theory of Everett S. Lee ( 1966) that later Mazzarol and Soutar (2002) developed the most successful theory and applied it in many studies on

decision-making behavior to study abroad and in learners' home country (research by Tran Duy Nam (2015), Tran Le Huu Nghia (2015). However, this research direction is out of the author's research focus. The issue the author is interested in is behavioral intention in the context of sending children to study abroad, the object that the author is referring to is the study of international study overseas for middle and high school students whose parents have the most influence in the decision. In Vietnam, the research gap for the intention to study abroad is still quite wide, so scientific studies are needed to increase understanding of this issue and improve the theoretical basis for further studies 2.2.2. Factors affecting the parents’ intention to send their children to study abroad 2.2.2.1. Perceived value

With the research objective of the thesis, the author finds that although the definition of " perceived value" by Zeithaml (1988) is not the most perfect, it is most suitable for the research context and is applied in the author's research as follows:

“The perceived value of sending their children abroad to study is the general

assessment of parents about the benefits from sending their children to study abroad.”

The addition of perceived value (emotional value component) to the TPB model to better explain the parents' intention to send their children to study abroad is necessary and is expected many exciting results. 2.2.2.2. Desire

In examining the relationship between desire and behavioral intention in the study abroad context, the author finds that the concept of Shaw et al (2000) is the most appropriate and applied in the study as follows: "The desire to send children to study abroad is the future orientation of the parents towards sending their children to study abroad. "

Examining the relationship between the desire and intentions for children to study abroad is still quite new, according to the author's knowledge, no previous research has not been conducted and tested on this content. 2.2.2.3. Self-concept

The term self-concept captures the idea that we all have images of what we believe ourselves to be and what we wish we were. A study by Nguyen et al.( 2009) suggests two aspects of the self: traditional self and modern self

- Perception of traditional self: The degree to which an individual’s self-concept is consistent with the Confucian norms, values, and beliefs prevalent before the economic transition began.

- Perception of modern self: The degree to which an individual’s self-concept is consistent with the norms, values, and beliefs imported from more developed countries after economic transition began. 2.2.2.4. Materialism

1) Success: The belief that an individual acquires material possessions as a

(2) Centrality: The degree to which the individual strives for material well-being

(3) Happiness: the extent to which materialists view possessions as essential to

Richins and Dawson (1992) conceptualized materialism as a set of centrally held beliefs about the importance of possessions in one's life. Their scale consists of 3 subscales: measure of success in life. as a life goal. their satisfaction and well being in life. Previous studies in emerging economies such as China and Vietnam have empirically found materialism as a significant predictor of luxury purchases. (Nguyen & Tambyah, 2011; Sun et al., 2017). However, in international education research, materialism is still a new concept. Thus, examining the relationship between materialism and attitudes towards the behavior of sending children to study abroad is to help increase the understanding of the research context of international study in Vietnam 2.2.3. Research gap

In domestic and foreign studies into factors affecting the intention to study abroad,

the author found that there are still some following shortcomings:

(1) According to Schnusenberg et al. (2012), the application of TPB theory to the field of international education is quite new. The results were published when applying TPB in the field of studying abroad still demonstrated incompatibility.

(2) Through the study of Fitzsimmons et al. (2013) to explore the factors that predict why students choose short-term and long-term study abroad programs, they discovered the difference between these two types of study abroad. Furthermore, in the context of investment in education in Vietnam, parents mainly send their children to study abroad in search of new and more developed education, and programs usually last between two and three years, which is the most common.

(3) Due to the wide cultural variation, institutional and economic conditions, as well as in research programs abroad, the subject of international education shows a lot of promise for the search of intentions to study abroad in Asia (Tran Le Huu Nghia, 2015; Tran Duy Nam, 2015; Petzold and Moog, 2017). In particular, Vietnam is a country with many economic transformations and is very interested in investing in education. This is a fascinating research context and deserves attention.

(4) Through the research overview, the author found that the research subjects are mainly foreign students studying at universities in developed countries with modern cultures. However, in Vietnam, a country with an emerging economy and is influenced by Confucianism, parents greatly influence their children on almost every educational decision. Especially for high school students, parents are the ones who guide them to education-related choices. Therefore, it is impossible to ignore the research object

which is the behavioral intention of parents when studying international education in Vietnam.

international qualifications,

Sending children abroad to study is not only the dream of young people but also the desire of parents (Kim et al., 2014). On the other hand, awareness of the values that studying abroad brings such as living standards, independence, language development, immigration opportunities also motivates students to pursue education abroad. (Mazzarol and Soutar, 2002; Bodycott, 2009).

In addition, Vietnamese parents continue to owe a special duty to accompany their children in life decisions from the age of 12 to 18. Therefore, the parents' characteristics are predicted to have a significant influence on their intention to send their children to study abroad. In Vietnam, families whose children study overseas are considered wealthy and successful families in society. These are the constituent elements of materialism that affect the parents' intentions to send their children to study abroad in Vietnam. 2.3. Research hypothesis

H1: Parents' attitudes towards sending their children to study abroad have a

positive influence on the intentions to send their children to study overseas.

H2: Subjective norms of behavior towards sending children to study abroad

positively influence the intention to send their children to study abroad.

H3: Perceived behavioral control towards sending children to study abroad

positively affects the intention to send their children abroad for study.

H4: Parents' desire to send their children to study abroad has a positive effect on

their intention to send their children to study overseas.

H5: The perceived value of behavior for sending children to study abroad has a

positive influence on parents' intention to send their children to study abroad.

H6a: Parents perceiving themselves as traditional ones have a negative effect on

the behavior of sending their children to study abroad.

H6b: Parents perceiving themselves as modern ones have a positive effect on the

behavior of sending their children to study abroad.

H7a: The success factor of materialism has a positive effect on the behavior of

sending children to study abroad.

H7b: The centrality factor of materialism has a negative effect on the behavior of

sending children to study abroad.

H7c: The happiness factor of materialism has a positive effect on the behavior of

sending children to study abroad. 2.4. Expected scale - The scale measuring ATT, SN and PBC was modified from Chang (1998) - The perceived value scale was adapted from Relyea et al (2008). - The desired scale was adjusted from Schnusenberg et al (2012).

- The scale of materialistic elements is used from the materialism scale of Richins

- The behavior scale is used the 4-indicator scale of Ang et al (2001).

- The scale measuring 10 indicators of the perception of self ( 5 indicators of the perception of modern self and 5 indicators of the perception of traditional self) is used from Nguyen's scale and collaborators (2009). & Dawson (1992).

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS

3.1. Qualitative research 3.1.1. Purpose of the in-depth interview

Evaluate the influence as well as the relationship between the independent variables on the parents' intention to send their children to study abroad in the research model. Adjust and supplement scales for research concepts. Discover new factors affecting the intention to send children to study abroad. 3.1.2. Methods of conducting in-depth interviews

Interview sample: First, the author interviews 6 parents who were selected to meet the criteria of gender, age, academic level, income level to ensure representativeness: 2 parents had their children study abroad in 2017 and 2018, 4 parents registered their children to study foreign languages at study abroad centers and expected their children to enroll at the schools and universities abroad at the end of 2018, 2019.

However, a new factor identified as “Perceived risk” has been discovered and

Interview content: Focus on 3 main issues: Understanding the parents' intention to send their children to study abroad, factors affecting their intention to send their children abroad, and assessing the relevance of the scale of variables in the model. 3.1.3. Qualitative research results The qualitative research is done with 6 carefully selected interviewees to ensure the quality of information collected, showing that the theoretical model proposed by the author is suitable for the research context. proposed in the research model.

3.1.4. Models and hypotheses are adjusted from the results of qualitative research

H8 -

Perceived risk (PR)

Traditional self

H6a -

H5 +

Perceived value (PV)

(TS)

Modern self

H6b +

H4 +

Desire (DE)

(MS)

Behavioral

H1 +

H7a +

Success (SUC)

intention (BI)

Attitude toward the behavior (ATT)

H7b -

H2 +

Subjective norm (SN)

Centrality (CEN)

H7c +

H3 +

Happiness (HAP)

Control variables : (Gender, age, income, education level)

Perceived behavioral control (PBC)

Figure 3.1. Research model is modified after the qualitative research

Quantitative research follows the survey method with 2 phases: pilot quantitative

- Main information: This is the main content of the survey. - Personal information section: This content includes questions used to collect

3.2. Quantitative research research and official quantitative research. 3.2.1. Research design The main content of the survey includes the following sections: -Introduction: Introduce the purpose of the study. - Selection part: Select parents who intend to send their children to study abroad in the near future from 2019 -2021, and parents whose children study abroad from 2017 - 2019. They are those who have the clearest answers about the intention to send their children to study abroad. personal information from respondents. 3.2.2 Pilot quantitative research Pilot quantitative research objectives: Evaluate the reliability of the scale that has been adjusted from the qualitative research and eliminate inappropriate observed variables. The author used simple random sampling to survey 80 subjects. *Results of pilot quantitative research:

The official quantitative research processing is carried out in the following six steps: Step one: Design the survey form Step two: Determine the research sample Step three: Collect data Step four: Data cleaning and processing Step five: Data analysis Step six: Report research results.

There were 80 survey forms in total; however, 12 forms were rejected because of lacking important information. The author kept 68 forms (accounting for 85% of all, a rather high rate) to study. The results from the pilot quantitative research show that the reliability of the variables generally meets expectations. In spite of that, 9 observed variables (PV5, DS2, PR3, PR5, TS1, SUC5, CEN3, CEN7, HAP4) are excluded from the study model because they are not suitable for the research context with the index of correlation with the total variable Cronbach's Alpha all < 0.6. The official scale will keep the remaining 52 observed variables and study them on the official quantitative research 3.2.3. Official quantitative research 3.2.3.1. Official quantitative research objectives Test the hypothesis validity through structural equation modeling. To achieve this goal, the observed variables and scales included in the model must meet the requirements of convergent value, discriminant value, and reliability. Besides, in the official quantitative research, we also examine and compare the influence of demographic factors such as age, gender, income, education level, marital status, or family size with the intention of sending children to study abroad in Vietnam 3.2.3.2. Official quantitative research processing

CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH RESULTS

After distributing 350 survey questionnaires, the author collected a total of 335 forms, some of them were invalid. The author cleaned the data, removed 28 invalid forms and kept 307 survey questionnaires for analyzing. 4.1. Sample research description 4.1.1. Descriptive Statistics: Gender, Age, education level

A total of 307 respondents (parents) in three major cities as known as the cultural, political and educational center of the northern region of Vietnam are 148 male parents (accounting for 48. 21%) and 159 female parents (accounting for 51.79%) to ensure gender equality in the survey process.

The sample statistics showed that there were 145 parents under 45 years old

(47.23%) and 162 elder parents (52.77%) to ensure the age factor in the research.

In terms of the education level, the percentage of university graduates and post- graduates made up 53.75% (165/307 parents), which was the highest rate. This is

suitable for the research context of the thesis because studying abroad requires many factors such as financial capability, children's learning capability, parental choice of majors, schools and host countries for their children to study, and many potential risk factors. 4.1.2. Sample descriptive statistics for marital status and household size According to statistics on marital status and household population, there were 203 forms (made up 66,12%) from respondents with the stability of marriage. This is suitable with the studying abroad context: the cost of self-sufficient study abroad or a partial scholarship study abroad is very high. Additionally, international students between the ages of 12 and 18 really need financial and mental well-being support from both parents. 4.1.3. Sample descriptive statistics from the household monthly income According to statistics, a high monthly household income of more than 15 million Dong accounted for a large proportion of parents (64.5%) who responded to the survey. These are considered potential parents who can afford to send their children to study abroad. They are considered potential customers. 4.2. Test scale reliability and the appropriation of the variables in the research model 4.2.1. Check the scale reliability using Cronbach's Alpha test From the results of Cronbach's Alpha test, the observed variables are correlated with the total variable. Most of the scales have Cronbach's Alpha coefficient above 0.7. The total variables with correlation coefficient above 0.3 should be kept for analysis in the next step. However, some factors with a correlation coefficient with the total variable less than 0.3 will be considered to be removed from the scale, including DS3; PR6; PR1, SUC 3. Besides, the factor scale of centrality and happiness is also excluded because the scale is unreliable as a result of all observed variables with a correlation Cronbach's Alpha coefficient < 0.6, and no observed variables are removed which makes the total Alpha coefficient ≥ 0.6. 4.2.2. Results of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the observed variables belonging to the scales of the independent variables * Results of the first exploratory factor analysis: KMO = 0.852; Sig. (Bartlett's Test) = 0.000 < 0.05; total variance explained IBM is 61,578 > 50%. However, the results are still not as expected. Observing the Pattern Matrix rotated component matrix when running the first EFA exploratory factor analysis shows that there is MS5 observed variable uploaded with 2 factors at the same time, but the load factor calculated is: 0.504 – 0.317 = 0.187 < 0.3. Therefore, the observed variable MS5 is removed and return to EFA.

* Results of the second exploratory factor analysis: The results from the second exploratory factor analysis EFA satisfy both the

conditions to ensure the convergent and discriminant validity , as follows:

- KMO is 0.849 > 0.5; Sig. = 0.000 < 0.05 - Total variance explained is 61,862 > 50%

- Load factors are all > 0.5 After exploratory factor analysis EFA, 10 factors included in the model all satisfy the convergent validity of observation scales of each factor. Therefore, the names of the factors were kept the same as the original. 4.2.3. Adjust the research model and hypothesis

H8 -

Perceived risk (PR)

The research model and hypothesis are officially shown in Figure 4.1:

H5 +

Perceived value (PV)

Traditional self

H4 +

H6a -

(TS)

Desire (DE)

Modern self

H1 +

H6b +

Behavioral intention (BI)

(MS)

Attitude toward the behavior (ATT)

H7a +

H2 +

Subjective norm (SN)

Success (SUC)

H3 +

Control variables : (Gender, age, income, education level)

Perceived behavioral control (PBC)

Figure 4.1: Official research model

Source: Author's suggestion

4.2.4. Test the model fit and the scale through confirmatory factor analysis CFA

From the results of the normalized diagram, the model received TLI values = 0.947; CFI = 0.95 ≥0.9; GFI index = 0.873 is smaller than that recommended by Hair et al. (1998). However, Hair et al. also note that GFI is strongly influenced by sample size, so this index has many limitations. Besides, according to Forza and Filippini (1998), Greenspoon and Saklofske (1998), the GFI indicator between 0.8 and 0.9 is acceptable, so the GFI index = 0.873 is accepted in the thesis's research. ; Chi-square/df = 1.432 ranges from 1 to 3, RMSEA = 0.038 ≤ 0.08, it can be concluded that the model included in the study is appropriate. 4.3. Results from research model testing and hypothesis on the intention to send children to study abroad through SEM 4.3.1. Model testing

The theoretical model has 628 degrees of freedom (Figure 4.3). SEM results show

that this model meets the standard of compatibility with market data with P-value = 0.000 < 0.05; TLI value = 0.934 > 0.9; CFI = 0.941 > 0.9; GFI index = 0.863 < 0.9 and is still acceptable (according to Greenspoon and Saklofske,1998); Chi-square/df = 1,536 satisfies the condition in the range from 1 to 3; RMSEA = 0.042 < 0.08.

Figure 4.2: Structural equation modeling

The result model summarized the data from the above analysis is presented as

Perceived risk (PR)

-0.256

Perceived value (PV)

+0.136

Traditional self

4.3.2. Hypothesis testing 4.3.3. The relationship among factors affecting the parents’ intention to send their children to study abroad follows:

- 0.263

+0.192

(TS)

R2 = 0,553

Modern self

+0.302

+0.178

Behavioral intention (BI)

(MS)

Desire (DE) R2 = 0,188 Attitude toward the behavior (ATT)

+0.261

+0.225

Subjective norm (SN)

+0.148

Perceived behavioral control (PBC)

Success (SUC)

Figure 4.3: Result model

The dependent variable is the attitude towards the behavior of sending children to study abroad: R2 = 0.188. It means that the factors of perceptions of self (traditional self and modern self) and success explain 18.8% of the variation of attitude towards the behavior of sending children to study abroad. The dependent variable is the intention to send children abroad: R2 = 0.553. It shows that the factors of perceived value, perceived risk, desire, and 3 TPB antecedents explain 55.3% of the variation of parents' intention to send their children to study abroad in the model. 4.3.4. Compare the differences between demographic characteristics The results of using ANOVA did not find any difference between parent groups with different gender, education, marital status and household size because these factors all have Sig values. ANOVA/Robust > 0.05. It means that there is no difference between the parent groups (See Appendix 8). However, the analysis results of ANOVA demonstrated that two factors with different levels of influence between parent groups on the intention to send their children to study abroad are age and household monthly income.

CHAPTER 5: COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1. Comment on research results 5.1.1. Summary of research results

The results of using the SEM structural model test with the support of AMOS20 software can draw conclusions about the research model and new research hypotheses that have been adjusted in chapter 4. After performing the Cronbach's Alpha test, EFA test has 307 samples as follows:

(1) There are 10 factors built into the research model with 8 independent variables and 2 dependent variables. The research results confirm that three factors are perceptions of self (traditional self and modern self) and success affect the attitude towards the behavior of sending children to study abroad; and six factors including perceived risk, perceived value, desire, attitude towards behavior, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control affect the intention to send children to study abroad.

(2) The testing results of the research hypotheses: The hypotheses H1, H2, H3,

H4, H5, H6a, H6b, H7, H8 are accepted.

(3) The impact direction of the research factors on the dependent variable: The factors with the opposite effect on the dependent variable have a beta estimated coefficient less than 0; including the research factor of the perception of traditional self, which has a negative impact on the attitude towards the behavior of sending children to study abroad with beta coefficient = -0.263 and P-value < 0.001. It means that the more traditional values parents engage with, the more negative attitudes they have towards the intention of sending their children to study abroad. Likewise, perceived risk factors also have a negative effect on the intention to send their children to study abroad with beta coefficient = -0.256 and P-value < 0.001. Therefore, the higher the perceived risk parents have, the less intention they have to send their children to study abroad.

The remaining factors have a positive effect on the corresponding dependent variable because the beta coefficient is greater than 0. Meanwhile, the factor of the perception of modern self and the success factor of materialism have positive effects on the intention to send their children to study abroad. It means that when these factors increase, the attitude towards the intention to send children to study abroad will increase as well in a more positive direction. Similarly, the factors of perceived value, desire, attitude towards behavior, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control have a positive impact on the intention to send children to study abroad. However, the impact level of each factor is different. Hypothesis test results show that the order of impact from low to high on the dependent variable of intention to send children to study abroad is: PV < PBC < DS < SN < PR < ATT. The order of impact on the dependent variable of attitude on the behavior of sending children to study abroad is TS > SUC > MS.

(4) After comparing the intentions to send their children to study abroad between different groups in the same control variable by group test, the thesis gives the following results:

- The ANOVA analysis results showed that there was no difference between male and female parents when assessing the intention to send their children to study abroad due to the Sig significance level. > 0.05. Similarly, ANOVA analysis also found no difference between groups of parents with different marital status (married, divorced, widowed, single parent) and also no difference in the highest education level of parents when assessing their intention to send their children to study abroad. However, results with the value Sig. (ANOVA) < 0.05 indicated the difference in age and household monthly income when evaluating the intention to send children to study abroad:

+ The younger group of parents (under 45 years old) intends to send their children

to study abroad than the older group of parents (from 45 years old and above).

+ The group with a high income of 27 million or more has the highest intention to

send their children to study abroad compared to the other groups. 5.1.2. Research discussion on each specific factor affecting the attitude towards the behavior of sending children to study abroad

Perception as traditional self Beyond all expectations, self-perception occupies a special position. It is the factor with the highest influence and is opposite to the attitude towards the behavior of sending children to study abroad. People who perceive themselves as traditional ones are consistent with traditional norms, values and beliefs associated with traditional culture. They often support collective behavior, mostly consume local products bought by the majority of society. In the educational orientation, they better support their children to study at an educational institution in their home country. From the research results, hypothesis H6a affirms that parents who perceive themselves as traditional people have a negative impact on the intention to send their children to study abroad. According to the author's knowledge, this is the first thesis researching and confirming this impact in the research context of study abroad behavior.

Success Success is the only component of materialism among the three elements (achievement, centrality, happiness) that the research results show a positive impact on the behavior of sending children to study abroad. For every Vietnamese family, sending their children to study abroad is really not easy. An international study needs a solid foundation; Parents are always the companions of their children in many ways such as sponsors, financial supporters, dream nurturers, etc. Sending children to study abroad also becomes a symbol of high social class and a trend among young parents in Vietnam. The research results supporting hypothesis H7 confirm that: The success

factor of materialism has a positive effect on the intention to send children to study abroad.

Perception as modern self According to Nguyen et al. (2009), people who perceive themselves as modern people have more open minds, prefer goods involving Western culture, values and beliefs. They support luxury products derived from more developed countries. The research results supporting hypothesis H6b confirm that: Parents' perception of being modern has a positive impact on the intention to send their children to study abroad. However, against expectations, the perception of modern self has the most minimal impact on attitudes towards the behavior of sending children to study abroad. With a standardized beta coefficient = 0.178; and P-value = 0.005 < 0.05, the factor of perception of modern self can only explain 17.8% of the change in attitude towards the behavior of sending children to study abroad.

5.1.3. Research discussion on each specific factor affecting the intention to send

children to study abroad

* Attitude toward the behavior This is the factor that has the strongest positive influence on the parents' intention of sending their children to study abroad. Research results, support hypothesis H1: Parents' attitudes towards the behavior of sending their children to study abroad have a positive impact on the intention to send their children to study abroad. With the standardized beta coefficient = 0.302; and the P-value <0.001, the attitudinal factor toward behavior explains 30.2% of the variation of intention to send children to study abroad. From the results of qualitative research, it can be seen that the attitude towards sending children to study abroad has a positive influence on the Vietnamese parents' intention to send their children to study abroad. They believe that sending their children to study abroad is a great choice, which brings many benefits to their children and the family's reputation as well. * Subjective norms The research results also support hypothesis H2, confirming that: Subjective norms for the behavior of sending children to study abroad have a positive influence on the intention to send children to study abroad. With standardized beta coefficient = 0.225; and P-value = 0.001 < 0.05, the subjective norm factor explains 22.5% of the variation of the intention to send children to study abroad. In Vietnam, sending children to study abroad early is becoming a trend. In addition, families whose children study overseas are considered successful, financially stable. It is also the parents' pride in today's society.

* Perception of behavioral control The research results support hypothesis H3: Perception of the ability to control parents' behavior of sending their children to study abroad has a positive influence on

the intention to send their children to study abroad. With a standardized beta coefficient = 0.148; and the P-value = 0.009 < 0.05, the perceived behavioral control factor explains 14.8% of the variation on the intention to send children to study abroad. As expected, PBC has a positive effect on behavioral intention but the degree of influence is relatively low. Because those parents are mature and thoughtful people, they know to make careful plans and activities when considering sending their children to study abroad. In the context of foreign studies, parents have more control over their behavior.

* Desire The research results support hypothesis H4, confirming that: Parents' desire to send their children to study abroad has a positive influence on the intention to send their children to study abroad. With a standardized beta coefficient = 0.192; and P- value = 0.004 < 0.05, the desire factor significantly explains the change of intention to send children to study abroad with a proportion of 19.2%. This result reinforces the previous conclusion of Shaw et al (2007) that desire is a good explanatory factor for behavioral intention. The results are also quite similar to the study of Schnusenberg et al. (2012) that desire has a significant influence on the behavioral intention with high reliability.

* Cognitive value The research results accept hypothesis H5, confirming that: The perceived value of the behavior of sending their children to study abroad has a positive influence on the parents' intention to send their children to study abroad. However, the level of impact did not live up to expectations. Perceived value is the weakest factor affecting the intention to send children to study abroad after the impact of perceived behavioral control on the intention to send their children to study abroad. A standardized beta coefficient = 0.136; and the P-value = 0.018 < 0.05, the attitudinal factors to the behavior explains 13.6% of the variation of intention to send children to study abroad. Due to the difference in research context between Vietnam, a country with new economic transformation, and a developed country like the US with a strong economy and cultural openness in Zhuang's research, the study results do not support the previous conclusion from the study of Zhuang et al. (2015) that perceived value well explains behavior intention and is a mediating factor in the relationship between TPB and behavior intention. Therefore, parents always require careful information and preparation when considering sending their children to study abroad.

*Perceived risk The research results accept hypothesis H8: Perceived risk has a negative impact on the intention to send children to study abroad. The impact level and direction of impact achieve results as expected. Perceived risk has a significant negative effect on the intention to send children to study abroad only after the influence of attitude on the behavior of sending children to study abroad. Standardized beta coefficient = -0.256;

and the P-value <0.001, the perceived risk factor can explain 25.6% of the variation of intention to send children to study abroad. In which, the negative sign represents the opposite effect in the relationship between perceived risk and the intention to send children abroad for study. It means that parents who are afraid of risks or their perceived risk of studying abroad is too high, the chances of sending their children to study abroad will decrease. This result is also consistent with the conclusion in the study of Relyea et al (2008); (Luethge, 2004); (Mueller, 2008); (Janice et al., 2012). 5.2. Recommendations 5.2.1. Suggestions for international educational institutions and study abroad counseling centers Pay attention to the media messages, community images and educational activities oriented to the values attracting the attention of parents' group who perceive themselves as traditional people.

Develop rules and regulations for Vietnamese international students; convey the message that the right destination for Vietnamese students is a happy and worth living country in the world, etc.

International students can receive a world-class, professional education that provides international students with an international-standard learning environment, modern facilities, and a full range of learning aids.

Broadcast new benefits that studying abroad brings compared to domestic education, such as cultural and artistic exchange activities, sports clubs, science clubs, language development clubs, practical experience activities, projects, etc.

Give attention to Vietnamese parents and broadcast information to family, friends,

colleagues and students' parents in order to attract secondary and high school students.

Provide clear information about the cost and expenses throughout the enrollment

process; Help minimize risks when studying abroad.

Assist international students to pursue higher degrees, get good job opportunities,

and develop professional qualifications and language skills, etc. after graduation.

Take advantages of studying abroad to communicate to Vietnamese parents such as: Get immigrant opportunity, broaden life experiences, live a proactive life; practise self-discipline, have the determination to adapt to a high-pressure environment, have good-paying job opportunities and global connections through international educational seminars. Thereby, make sure parents are well equipped in terms of getting all the information they need about the right international educational institution for them.

institutions and international to domestic training

Assess the perceived risks that parents often think about when sending their children to study abroad to find ways to overcome challenges; Provide parents with detailed information about international educational institutions that they are choosing; suggest study abroad insurance packages, etc 5.2.2. Recommendations educational institutions in Vietnam

- Help the community well understand the on-site study abroad and the quality of the on-site study abroad. On-site study abroad is the study of a training program of a

foreign institution in Vietnam. As a result, learners can acquire professional knowledge and international standard training environments in their own country at a reasonable cost.

- Help the community well understand the on-site study abroad and the quality of the on-site study abroad. On-site study abroad is the study of a training program of a foreign institution in Vietnam. As a result, learners can acquire professional knowledge and international standard training environments in their own country at a reasonable cost.

- Regarding to risk perception: international educational institutions in Vietnam and domestic training institutions need to offer great benefits of studying in Vietnam. In which, many risks can be minimized when students pursue international programs in their own country.

- Promote effective communication in public by using images of community and organize educational activities related to traditional values, the spirit of education and Vietnamese cultural identity. Mention the outstanding achievements that Vietnamese students have achieved in international Olympic competitions.

- Improve foreign language skills for teachers and lecturers according to

international standards.

- Take part in training programs with prestigious international educational institutions abroad to help learners obtain international degrees that are valuable around the world.

- To change attitudes towards the behavior of sending children to study abroad, international educational institutions in Vietnam and domestic training institutions need to collaborate with reputable training institutions overseas to organize cultural exchange activities or summer camps abroad, etc so that learners will be able to communicate confidently with international friends and become a global citizen while living in Vietnam 5.2.3. Recommendations to the International Education management Agency in Vietnam Tightly coordinate with the foreigner management agency in host countries where Vietnamese students study to prevent and take appropriate measures to eliminate risks to people and property for Vietnamese students. Promote effective communication in public to educate young people about Vietnamese culture and traditional values. Innovation must be combined with the inheritance of Vietnamese cultural quintessence. International education management agencies in Vietnam must give accurate information and assessments so that people can receive precise information about educational institutions that have been established legally in Vietnam.

Establish rigid rules and regulations and strictly enforce compliance with those

international educational institutions,

rules and regulations to unaccredited international educational institutions. Promote international education programs in Vietnam in order to increase the facilitate prestigious competitiveness of institutions to access Vietnam, and allow Vietnamese educational institutions to participate in the supply chain of advanced and high-quality education in the world as well.

5.3. Limitations of research and suggestions for future research

After conducting the research, the author found some following limitations: - Theoretically, there are many models and research theories about the behavior of parents sending their children to study abroad. However, the thesis cannot study all of the contents in detail.

- The thesis has only studied several influencing factors and impacts on attitudes towards the behavior of intention to send children to study abroad. However, there are many other factors such as trust that should be added to the research model to increase the understanding of parents' behavior of sending their children to study abroad and provide supplementary information to the research results of the thesis.

- The research scope is only concentrated in big cities in the North of Vietnam, so

there may be differences in orientating children to education in other regions

The author thinks that new research on this issue will be carried out in the

following directions:

- Supply other factors to the research model to enrich the research results. The suggested factors are the influence of financial capability, determination, the view of education objectives, future orientation for children towards the intention of sending children to study abroad.

- Add more demographic variables such as factors of the region to the model to find

out the difference between the survey groups.

- Expand the research scope so that the research results are more extensive. - Study the relationship between the intention and the behavior of sending children

to study abroad.