Qualitative longitudinal research on Lithuanian student migration

Abstract

Emigration of first-rate students is a very significant form of “brain drain” on the national level, with serious long-term consequences for cultural, economic and educational sectors of the nation. Fifty students, some of whom have emigrated for studies in Great Britain and others who have stayed in Lithuania, have been followed by our team by employing repeated in-depth interviews and detailed questionnaires for almost five years. We have seen significant changes with time in the values and importance of variables characterizing the students, finding a greater than anticipated influence of peers and personal contacts on the behavior of the respondents. In contrast, economic considerations seem to have been of less significance than anticipated in modulating the behavior of both kinds of students. The presence of both short term and long term response variables increases social policy possibilities.