Influences of Chinese Students’ Undergraduate Experiences in China on Their US Graduate Studies

• In Event: VIRTUAL HYBRID PANEL: Student Engagement and International Students

Proposal

Introduction

In the US Higher Education, stereotypes abound about Chinese students, including remaining silent during class discussion, lack of critical thinking, and weak proficiency in English (Turner 2013). However, these stereotypical attitudes and assumptions about Chinese students are based on the image of pre-tertiary education and do not reflect the current reality of education in China (Wu 2015). It is, therefore, necessary to re-evaluate these insular attitudes and assumptions about contemporary Chinese students and to ask whether they are still valid (Gordon 2014). This study examines how Chinese undergraduates’ re-socialization at Chinese universities influence their approaches to learning and classroom habits when entering graduate programs of a US university. It is critical in helping US faculty members to be culturally responsive in their pedagogy. Also, it is significant for university and college administrators to prepare faculty and staff for working with international students from China.

Literature Gap

Through synthesizing the current literature, this study finds that, on one hand, research has indicated the substantial different experience between undergraduate education and secondary education in China. Most Chinese students have experienced the “re-socialization” process in Chinese higher education. On the other hand, research has also explored how Chinese international students are actively seeking out ways to better adapt to the new learning environment in US graduate schools. What is missing in the literature is the connection between these two processes. This study fits in this literature gap and aims to investigate what those re-socialization outcomes are for Chinese students, and how the re-socialization process influences their future classroom habits in the US context. Therefore, two research questions will be addressed:

a. How do Chinese graduate students describe their undergraduate experience in China, and how does it differ from their time in secondary schools?
b. How do Chinese graduate students’ experiences at their Chinese alma mater influence their approaches to learning and classroom habits in the US graduate programs?

Research Design

This study applies the mixed methods to collect and analyze data (Creswell and Clark 2017). Participants are Chinese master or doctoral students at a public research university in the East. All of them obtained bachelor’s degrees from Chinese HEIs. Four schools and departments were selected for sampling based on Becher and Trowler’s (2001) disciplines’ categories: the school of physics, department of history, school of engineering, and school of education.

In the quantitative part, the survey questionnaire is designed based on the conceptual framework and applies the five-point Likert Scale. The online link of the survey questionnaire was distributed via email to 457 Chinese graduate students. There is a total of 125 responses (response rate is 27.4 percent). 68 responses are valid for quantitative data analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data. Each interview takes around 30 minutes. A total of 19 Chinese graduate students participated in the interviews.

For quantitative data analysis, the average Likert scale point is calculated to indicate participants’ attitude toward each statement, and “5” means “strongly agree” and “1” means “strongly disagree.” For the qualitative data, all interviews were recorded with interviewees’ consent and transcribed and coded for themes by the researchers using the NVivo qualitative research software.

Key Findings

First, both survey and interviews confirm that Chinese undergraduates have very different experiences regarding study and life at universities and secondary schools. These differences include that study participants have more free time at universities than high schools, which means they have more freedom to choose what they want to experience in HE. Also, interviewees argue that they change the way of learning from passive in high schools to active at universities.

Second, when facing the differences between high school and university in China, participants try to adjust themselves by creating clear learning goals, strengthening time management ability, and seeking peers and teachers for help. From a long-term perspective, such experience influences their future adaptation to the US classrooms.

Third, the survey result shows that most participants do not think English is the most significant barrier to adapt to the US classroom (the average attitude point is 2.92). In contrast, among 19 interviewees, 13 treated English as the biggest barrier. However, before coming to the US, all Chinese students have to prepare the English language proficiency tests to meet the graduate programs’ admission requirements. During the preparation, Chinese students considerably strengthen their English language proficiency. In addition, it is noticeable that current Chinese students have more chances to practice their English and explore a Western culture at university than before, which can be seen as one part of the re-socialization outcomes helping Chinese students better transit to a new learning environment.

At last, it is worth noting that disciplines and majors do influence students’ learning habits, classroom participation, and even expectations to their study in the US classrooms. Study participants from social science majors tend to have more chances to discuss in class and be also more willing to share their views in classroom discussion, while students from natural science and engineering fields are less likely to express their perspectives in the classroom because most of their courses are still in lecture format.

Conclusion

Based upon the findings, this study concludes that most participants did experience a “re-socialization” process from high schools to universities because of the substantial differences in terms of students’ free time, spaces, way of learning, and teachers’ instruction styles between high school and universities in China. After these Chinese students come to study in the US for their graduate degrees, they can be confident and willing to participate in the US classroom discussion due to the exposure to Western culture and preparation of study aboard when they were in China. Although these students still need to face a lot of barriers when studying in the US, many of them have mentally prepared and known how to seek for help from peers, as well as force themselves to better adapt to the new learning environment.

Authors

• Weiyan Xiong, Lingnan University School of Graduate Studies

• Xi Wang, University of Pittsburgh School of Education