Factors Affecting High School Students’ Decision to Study an Undergraduate Degree or its Equivalent in EEC Area

Abstract

This quantitative research aimed to study the factors affecting the decision-making for high school students to study an undergraduate degree or its equivalent in Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) area. Four aspects were  investigated, including higher educational institution, curriculum, financial, and family factors. Questionnaires were used to collect data from 1,126 high school students or equivalent who study at a school in the EEC area. The results revealed that both general and specific aspects significantly affected high school students’ decision to study undergraduate degree in EEC area. The first-order factor was higher educational institution (= 4.33), followed by curriculum (= 4.24), financial (= 4.00), and family (= 3.82), respectively. The results also revealed that higher educational institution, curriculum, and family factors were positively related to the decision-making at the 0.01 significant level. Moreover, higher educational institution, curriculum, and family factors could be predictors for high school students’ decision-making to study undergraduate degree or equivalent in EEC area. These factors accounted for 45.8 % of total variance.