Examining the Purposes of Higher Education with a Transnational Lens: Perspectives of Chinese International Undergraduate Students in the U.S.

• In Event: Transnational Perspectives on Higher Education: Examining Institutional Mission, Equity, Strategy, and Societal Relevance

Proposal

The purpose of higher education has long been a topic of global discussion. While extensive academic literature exists on the subject (Chan, 2016), much of it tends to be either highly theoretical (Delbanco, 2023) or primarily confined to the views of high-level personnel (Pasque, 2010). Despite being direct participants in higher education, how students perceive its purposes has received limited academic attention. It is only in recent years that an emergent stream of empirical studies, conducted across national contexts, has begun to focus on students’ perspectives on this enduring topic (Ashby-King & Anderson, 2022; Ashwin et al., 2023; Brooks et al., 2021; Budd, 2017; Cuellar et al., 2022; Muddiman, 2020; Schäfer, 2024; Scherer, 2023). Students’ perspectives on higher education purposes warrant continued academic engagement since they can complement theoretical and institutional narratives with insights from their first-hand, real-time participation, informing how confidence in higher education can be sustained, strengthened, and elevated (Cuellar et al., 2022). Granted, numerous studies have explored why students pursue higher education (Kennett et al., 2011), but those that examine students’ perspectives on its purposes address a dimension that goes beyond individual motivations––their beliefs about “the real and also the ideal purpose of HE [higher education]” in broader sociocultural contexts (Schäfer, 2024, p. 272).
This study aims to contribute to the emergent literature on students’ perspectives regarding the purposes of higher education. To move away from methodological nationalism––the tendency in social sciences to study prevailing trends as if they originate within and are internal to specific nation-states (Shahjahan & Kezar, 2013)––this study introduces a transnational lens by focusing on Chinese international undergraduate students at U.S. higher education institutions, who represent the largest international undergraduate student population in the country (IIE, 2023). Specifically, the study compares the perspectives of students in two fields of study: business, and social sciences and humanities. Empirical evidence has shown that degree discipline and curricula significantly influence students’ college experiences (Budd, 2017), leading to varied perspectives on higher education purposes (Muddiman, 2020; Schäfer, 2024). The study thus raises three research questions:
1. How do Chinese international undergraduate students at U.S. higher education institutions perceive the purposes of higher education, if at all? Specifically:
a. What are students’ perspectives on the private and instrumental purposes of higher education?
b. What are students’ perspectives on the social and civic purposes of higher education?
2. In what way do these perspectives differ by students’ fields of study?
3. In what way are these perspectives constructed by their socialization before and during college?
Research Design
Comparison is inherent in this study, but the focus extends beyond comparing perspectives of students from different fields of study (RQ 2). The study also seeks to explore how interconnected social forces at various levels of context (micro, meso, macro, etc. as in Bronfenbrenner’s (1979, 2005) ecological model) construct these perspectives (RQ 3). The study hence employs Comparative Case Study (CCS) as its guiding methodological approach. The three axes of comparison central to the CCS approach––horizontal, vertical, and transversal––are instrumental in addressing the research questions (Bartlett & Vavrus, 2017).
The study primarily foregrounds the first two axes: the horizontal axis pertains to the “case” of the study, comparing how similar social processes related to the phenomenon of interest unfold and influence different cases (RQ 2); the vertical axis pertains to the study’s “context,” tracing the complex interplay of social forces across different levels within and beyond nation-states (RQ 3). Additionally, the study incorporates elements of the transversal axis by historically situating the phenomenon of interest through a literature review of how the purposes of higher education have evolved in the U.S. and China.
Semi-structured interviews will be the primary data collection method. I plan to recruit twelve participants for the two cases from my institution. One theme in existing literature is that students may give little to no thought to the purposes of higher education (Brooks et al., 2021; Budd, 2017). Influenced by families, peers, and teachers (Budd, 2017), an increasing number of students perceive higher education as the natural next step after high school (Brooks et al., 2021). Consequently, they might not take the time to reflect on the purposes of higher education for themselves, let alone situate the question within a larger sociocultural context. Therefore, this study employs accessible interview questions and writing prompts designed to encourage students to think about this topic and elicit their responses. I anticipate collecting data in Spring 2025 and presenting preliminary findings at the conference.
Implications
By incorporating the perspectives of a transnationally mobile student population in U.S. higher education institutions, this study aims to move beyond methodological nationalism and expand the discussion on the purposes of higher education beyond national boundaries. By capturing the notion of transnationalism in students’ perspectives, the study aspires to offer insights into reimagining higher education as a global public good, thereby elevating its purposes onto a global scale (Marginson, 2007, 2011). Additionally, the study seeks to explore the potential for revitalizing citizenship education as post-nationalism, redefining civic responsibility in terms of common humanity, and reframing it as global citizenship education (Soong, 2018).
The study also carries significant implications for policy and practice. First, understanding the perspectives of Chinese international undergraduates can provide valuable insights into the priorities of this substantial international student population, thereby guiding U.S. higher education institutions in enhancing their educational experiences. Second, consistent with the trend of international student returnees (Armstrong, 2022; Beine et al., 2023), most Chinese international undergraduates aspire to return to China after graduation (Ma, 2020; Su, 2022). Some of these students are likely to become part of China’s future elites (Zhang, 2016), whose ideas about the purposes of higher education, shaped by their U.S. experiences, could influence Chinese higher education discourses. Considering that China is the U.S.’s largest collaborator and competitor in scientific research (Nature Index, 2023), it is in the interest of U.S. policymakers to understand how U.S. higher education influences the beliefs and values of Chinese international students, given its implication for Sino-U.S. relationships.

Author

• Mianmian Fei, The Ohio State University-Columbus - Columbus, OH