Academic integration of Chinese undergraduate students in Canadian universities

• In Event: Understanding the Intentions of International Students

Proposal

Introduction
This study is to understand the academic integration of Chinese undergraduate students in Canadian higher education institutions. Students from Mainland China are the second largest national group in Canada (about 98,565), and their numbers have grown substantially (Institute of International Education (IIE), 2020). The influx of Chinese students has contributed to Canadian higher education institutions academically, financially, and culturally (Hanassab & Tidwell, 2002; Cooper, 2017). In addition, the numbers at the secondary level have grown even more dramatically. In Canada, 55 percent of international secondary students (about 28,540) were from China (IIE, 2020). However, little is known about the lived experiences and demands of Chinese students with secondary education abroad when they enter colleges or universities.
While there are numerous studies addressing Chinese international students’ academic experiences in Canadian universities, few researchers have investigated the lived experiences of Chinese first-degree students with secondary education abroad or in international high schools in China. These students are exposed to western cultures and gain academic experiences in Canadian classrooms before they go to Canadian colleges or universities. Such unique experiences add complexities and nuances to the lived experiences of Chinese undergraduate students with secondary education abroad or international high schools in China.
Given the rapid rise of undergraduate students in Canada, it is necessary to “narrow the focus to international undergraduates, in order to further understand their adjustment problems and illuminate areas of convergence” (Araujo, 2011, p. 6). Furthermore, given the recent increasing trend of Chinese international secondary students in Canada (IIE, 2020), it is important for Canadian higher education institutions to understand the need and demand of this special group of Chinese undergraduate students who spent their secondary education abroad or in international high schools in China.
This study aims to fill in the gap by conducting a study focusing on Chinese undergraduate students with secondary education abroad or in international high schools in China [hereafter, Chinese undergraduate students]. This study is a part of a big project regarding comparisons between Chinese undergraduates in the U.S. and those in Canada. Part of the findings of this project showed that the secondary educational experiences of Chinese undergraduates helped them reduce cultural integration rather than academic integration. Moreover, the results shed light on the fact that Chinese undergraduates in Canada self-reported more academic stress than Chinese students in the U.S. However, deeper exploration of the reason behind this fact was omitted in the two previous papers. Therefore, the purpose of this study aims to make contribution to deeper understanding Chinese undergraduate students’ academic integration in Canadian higher education system. Then this study will identify challenges faced by Chinese undergraduate students in their academic life and reasons behind these challenges. Finally, this study will make policy recommendations for Canadian higher education institutions to better serve those Chinese undergraduate students with special request in academic life.


Research Questions and Methodology
The overarching research question in this paper is: How do Chinese students at Tree University perceive their academic life? Inside the general research question, the perspectives of both students and university on academic integration will be explored. Three questions are then generated:
1. Why do Chinese undergraduate students in Canada perceive their academic the way they described?
2. How do Tree University provide academic support to international students?
3. How efficiently are these academic support provisions delivered to Chinese undergraduate students?
Qualitative method was used in order to gain deeper understanding of Chinese undergraduate students’ perceptions of academic integration in Canadian higher education institutions. To answer questions from students’ perspective, I conducted in-depth and semi-structured interviews with Chinese undergraduate students at Tree University in Canada. 17 interviews out of 35 were used in this study. Three rounds of interviews were conducted as my research questions and interview protocol developed. During the first round of interviews, I asked the students to share their daily lives and academic experiences. I also asked them to share their views of their lives abroad. After initial coding of the first round of interviews, I further specified my research questions. I asked them to share their thoughts on interactions with local students and Chinese students. After rough coding of the second round of interviews, I focused on students’ academic stress. In the third round of interviews, with additional subjects, I specifically asked students to reflect on their academic stress. This study will report in detail about academic experiences of students at Tree University.
To answer questions from university’s perspective, I will conduct intensive document review and analysis regarding Tree University’s academic support provision. I will explore what these academic support provisions are, how they are delivered to international students and how efficient these provisions are.


Preliminary Findings
The preliminary finding from interview data indicates that, the secondary education abroad or in international high school did not help with academic integration of Chinese undergraduate students. They still suffer from significant challenges in academic integration in Canadian universities and demanded extra academic support services.
First, expansion of enrollment of international students may result in the situation where universities are not ready for the increasing population of international students. For example, the teacher-student ratio is not balanced, which reduces interactions and connections between students and faculty.
Besides, relatively loose admission requirements may lead to poorer academic preparation of secondary schools, and then to lower quality of international student population. While the secondary education abroad or in international high school does help students benefit from improving their English skills and gaining academic experience in western-like classrooms, many international students may still not even meet the language proficiency requirement. In this case, these group international students still face academic challenges when entering higher education and require academic support services at the higher education level.
Second, although there is various academic support provided by Tree University, the academic support is not delivered to many international students efficiently. This might be a result of the fact that international students are reluctant to actively search for academic support services.

Author

• Anke Li, Beijing Union University