Intercultural Learning in Transnational Articulation Programs

The Hidden Agenda of Chinese Students’ Experiences

Authors

  • Kun Dai Peking University
  • Jaime Garcia University of Queensland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v9i2.677

Keywords:

articulation program, Chinese student, intercultural adjustment, learning experience, transnational higher education

Abstract

Many Chinese universities engage in transnational higher education by establishing articulation programs with international partners. Although research has broadly investigated transnational higher education topics, few studies have explored Chinese students’ intercultural learning and adjustment experiences in these programs. This qualitative study explored seven Chinese students’ experiences in two China-Australia articulation programs to add insights to this under-researched topic. The findings indicated that research participants’ intercultural learning experiences were far more complex than the theoretical model of “stress-adaptation-development.” The students’ agency, identity, and belonging underwent dynamic changes due to academic inconsistencies and differences, including the use of technology, assessment, and teaching strategies. This study suggests that it is important for educators to consider educational differences in designing and implementing transnational articulation programs.

Author Biographies

  • Kun Dai, Peking University

    KUN DAI, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Graduate School of Education, Peking University, China, funded by China International Postdoctoral Exchange Program. He obtained his PhD from the School of Education, University of Queensland, Australia. His articles about transnational education and Chinese students’ intercultural learning have appeared in several peer-review journals, such as Scottish Educational Review, Compare, and Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education.  

  • Jaime Garcia, University of Queensland

    JAIME GARCIA, PhD, is a research assistant in the School of Education, University of Queensland, Australia. His research interests include information and communication technology in teaching and learning and collaborative learning.

References

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. doi: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Chan, S. (1999). The Chinese learner—A question of style. Education+ Training, 41(6/7), 294–305. doi: 10.1108/00400919910285345

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. R. B. (2007). Research methods in education (6th ed.). London: Routledge.

Connelly, F. M., & Clandinin, D. J. (1990). Stories of experience and narrative inquiry. Educational Researcher, 19(5), 2–14. doi: 10.3102/0013189X019005002

Cortazzi, M., & Jin, L. (1996). Cultures of learning: Language classrooms in China. In H. Coleman (Ed.), Society and the language classroom (pp. 169–206). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Dai, K., Lingard, B., & Reyes, V. (2018). 'In-betweenners': Chinese students' experiences in China-Australia articulation programs. Scottish Educational Review, 50(1), 36-55.

Dai, K. (2018). Learning between two systems: A Chinese student’s reflexive narrative in a China-Australia articulation programme. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education. doi: 10.1080/03057925.2018.1515008

Engeström, Y. (1987). Learning by expanding: An activity-theoretical approach to developmental research. Helsinki: Orienta-Konsultit Oy.

Fang, W., Clarke, A., & Wei, Y. (2016). Empty success or brilliant failure: An analysis of Chinese students’ study abroad experience in a collaborative Master of Education program. Journal of Studies in International Education, 20(2), 140–163. doi: 10.1177/1028315315587106

Gill, S. (2007). Overseas students’ intercultural adaptation as intercultural learning: A transformative framework. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 37(2), 167–183. doi: 10.1080/03057920601165512

Gu, Q. (2009). Maturity and interculturality: Chinese students’ experiences in UK higher education. European Journal of Education, 44(1), 37–52. doi:10.1111/j.1465-3435.2008.01369.x

Gu, Q., Schweisfurth, M., & Day, C. (2010). Learning and growing in a “foreign” context: Intercultural experiences of international students. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 40(1), 7–23. doi: 10.1080/03057920903115983

Gu, Q. (2016). Chinese Students in the UK. In S. Guo & Y. Guo (Eds.), Spotlight on China: Chinese education in the globalized world (pp. 107–128). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

Guo, Y., & Guo, S. (2017). Internationalization of Canadian higher education: Discrepancies between policies and international student experiences. Studies in Higher Education, 42(5), 851–868.

Heng, T. T. (2016). Different is not deficient: contradicting stereotypes of Chinese international students in US higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 22–36. doi: 10.1080/03075079.2016.1152466

Heng, T. T. (2017). Voices of Chinese international students in USA colleges: “I want to tell them that.…” Studies in Higher Education, 42(5), 833–850. doi:10.1080/03075079.2017.1293873

Hou, J., Montgomery, C., & McDowell, L. (2014). Exploring the diverse motivations of transnational higher education in China: Complexities and contradictions. Journal of Education for Teaching, 40(3), 300–318. doi: 10.1080/02607476.2014.903028

Hu, M., & Willis, L. D. (2017). Towards a common transnational education framework: Peculiarities in China matter. Higher Education Policy, 30(2), 245–261. doi: 10.1057/s41307-016-0021-9

Huang, F. (2008). Regulation and practice of transnational higher education in China. In L. Dunn & M. Wallace (Eds.), Teaching in transnational higher education: Enhancing learning for offshore international students (pp. 23–33). London: Routledge.

Jenkins, R. (2008). Social identity (3rd ed.). Oxon, UK: Routledge.

Kember, D. (2016). Understanding and teaching the Chinese learner: Resolving the paradox of the Chinese learner. In R. B. King & A. B. I. Bernardo (Eds.), The psychology of Asian learners (pp. 173–187). Singapore: Springer.

Kim, Y. Y. (1988). Communication and cross-cultural adaptation: An integrative theory. Bristol, England: Multilingual Matters Limited.

Knight, J. (2007). Cross-border tertiary education: An introduction. In Cross-border tertiary education: A way towards capacity development. Geneva, Switzerland: OECD and World Bank. doi: 10.1787/9789264038493-en

Li, J., Wang, Y., Liu, X., Xu, Y., & Cui, T. (2018). Academic adaptation among international students from East Asian countries: A consensual qualitative research. Journal of International Students, 8(1), 194–214.

Marginson, S. (2014). Student self-formation in international education. Journal of Studies in International Education, 18(1), 6–22. doi: 10.1177/1028315313513036

Mears, C. L. (2012). In-depth interviews. In J. Arthur, M. Waring, R. Coe & L. Hedges (Eds.), Research methods and methodologies in education (pp. 170–176). Los Angeles: Sage.

Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.

Mesidor, J. K., & Sly, K. F. (2016). Factors that contribute to the adjustment of international students. Journal of International Students, 6(1), 262–282.

Mok, K. H., & Han, X. (2016). The rise of transnational higher education and changing educational governance in China. International Journal of Comparative Education and Development, 18(1), 19–39.

Mok, K. H., & Ong, K. C. (2014). Transforming from “economic power” to “soft power”: Transnationalization and internationalization of higher education in China. In Q. Li & C. Gerstl-Pepin (Eds.), Survival of the fittest: The shifting contours of higher education in China and the United States (pp. 133–155). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer.

Ng, J., & Nyland, B. (2016). Internationalisation of higher education and global learning. In T. Barkatsas & A. Bertram (Eds.), Global learning in the 21st Century (pp. 231–250). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. doi: 10.1007/978-94-6300-761-0_13

Qin, Y., & Te, A. Y. C. (2016). Cross-border higher education in China: How the field of research has developed. Chinese Education & Society, 49(4–5), 303–323. doi: 10.1080/10611932.2016.1237851

Reichertz, J. (2007). Abduction: The logic of discovery of grounded theory. In A. Bryant & K. Charmaz (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of grounded theory (pp. 214–228). London: Sage.

Seidman, I. (2006). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences (3rd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.

Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (2003). Handbook of mixed methods in social & behavioral research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Council of Europe. (2001). The UNESCO-CEPES/Council of Europe code of good practice for the provision of transnational education. Paris: UNESCO.

van der Wende, M. C. (2003). Globalization and access to higher education. Journal of Studies in International Education, 7(2), 193–206. doi: 10.1177/1028315303007002006

Wang, T. (2016). Intercultural dialogue framework for transnational teaching and learning. In B. Krishna & F. Charlotte (Eds.), Campus support services, programs, and policies for international students (pp. 223–242). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Xu, X., & Kan, Y. (2013). Cross-border higher education in China in the globalized world: The perspective of the World Trade Organization’s general agreement on trade in services. KEDI Journal of Educational Policy, 10(2), 199–220.

Yang, R. (2008). Transnational higher education in China: Contexts, characteristics and concerns. Australian Journal of Education, 52(3), 272–286.

Zhu, J. (2016). Chinese overseas students and intercultural learning environments. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Downloads

Published

2019-05-15

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 2 (2019)

Section

Research Articles (English)

License

All published articles are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 Unported License.

How to Cite

Intercultural Learning in Transnational Articulation Programs: The Hidden Agenda of Chinese Students’ Experiences. (2019). Journal of International Students, 9(2), 362-383. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v9i2.677