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Higher Education Under Market Forces How The "Transnational Shadow Education" Industry Emerged And Persisted To Help Taiwanese Students To Study In The U.S, Kenneth Han Chen

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

My dissertation examines the marketization of higher education, drawing on empirical case studies from Taiwanese students using “education agents” to apply to U.S. colleges and universities. I argue that without these intermediary agents, applicants and parents may be left flying blindly amid uncertainties, emotional distress, and interpersonal tension in families during children’s admission. The existing sociological literature and higher education research mainly concentrates on studying national policies and formal higher education institutions (universities and research institutes), but the private market research is relatively insufficient. Also, the research on international students' transnational movement mostly started from the viewpoint of the students' …