Social Networks and Student Mobility: Mapping Theoretical Perspectives through Bibliographic Analysis

This chapter provides a brief overview of International Student Mobility by utilizing bibliographic data to map themes reflecting the conceptual and intellectual structures underlying this topic. The results show that there are two dominant theoretical perspectives within the vast body of literature addressing this growing phenomenon. On the one hand, scholars explain student mobility abroad to macro-level factors, such as countries’ economic and political development dynamics. On the other hand, student mobility is analyzed through individual motivations, including network mechanisms and the functioning of different forms of social capital.