Thematic analysis of factors influencing Indian students' and their achievement in UK higher education

The percentage of postgraduate students from India studying in the UK (UK) has dramatically expanded in recent years. The largest group of postgraduate students in the UK is made up mostly of Indian students pursuing postgraduate degrees (58%), and through 2024, that number is expected to increase yearly by 3.1%. (HESA, 2018). However, the business is now extremely vulnerable due to rising global competition, changing government limitations on immigration. In order to develop and execute suitable support methods that accommodate the demands of various student groups, higher education institutions (HEI) must first understand the problems and difficulties that students face from a student's viewpoint. By is research study, the researcher is able to record the experiences of the students as they travel to the United Kingdom. The aim of this research is to learn about the educational journeys of Indian students who choose to pursue various postgraduate degrees in United Kingdom. The research used both qualitative and quantitative strategy to collect data, capturing students' experiences as they transition into UK. This enables the researcher to deeply grasp the problems and obstacles via the perspectives of the students.

Unstructured interviews and questionnaire were used to collect research data, and they were done at two pivotal periods in the students' journeys. At two separate points, fifteen pupils were interrogated. The data was subsequently subjected to thematic analysis, which revealed two distinct themes that are presented and debated.

The pre-arrival results included participants' prior education and learning experiences, students' reasons for having further education in UK University, as well as their expectations and degree of preparedness. The post-arrival set of findings describes the problems as well as difficulties that students had in the UK and University’ support services.