Migration Mobility of School Leavers in the Volyn Region: the Problem of Choosing Ukraine vs Poland through the Prism of Stereotypes

Abstract

The article analyzes the system of factors of the migratory mobility of university entrants of the Volyn region, which enter the Polish higher educational institutions, through the prism of stereotypes regarding the vision of higher education. It is established that the main one is the statement 1) regarding the most favorable variant of realization of the possibility to obtain a diploma of the international standard; 2) an attractive climate in the labor market; 3) a short period of overcoming the language barrier; 4) the quality of Polish education; 5) sufficient material and technical base; 6) the absence of higher education in Poland and Ukraine. In order to confirm or / and refute the stereotypical statement, a sociological study (N = 84, three goal groups: Ukrainian entrants, Ukrainian students, Polish students, all respondents from Volyn region; October–November 2017) was conducted. The study found that most of them do not have a basement, which is confirmed by the responses of Polish students who come from the Volyn region. In particular, the inadequacy of the studied stereotypes is based on the impossibility of objective comparison and the absence of established criteria for determining the quality of higher education. There are a number of subjective factors and a correlation between the situation in Ukraine and the increase in the inclination of migrants is established. We investigated that emigrants consider themselves unanimous. They also pay attention to their status in society, however, they are not determined to return to Ukraine (only 11 % mentioned). It was investigated that the planting of prevailing stereotypes and the desire to study in Poland is carried out through a powerful information campaign. In this regard, the increase in the number of immigrants from Ukraine correlates with the decrease of the depopulation of Poland, which is one way to overcome the demographic crisis. Consequently, on the basis of the obtained results, a set of consequences of educational emigration is distinguished, differentiated into negative ones (loss of human capital, influence on demographic indicators) and potentially positive (reduction of the labor market burden). For university entrants it is expressed in the expansion of socio-cultural ties, accumulation of money savings, etc.