Exploring the experiences of international Chinese students at a UK university: a qualitative inquiry

1.1 International Chinese students at UK universities: a challenging transition

In addition to the well-documented and more universal challenges associated with the transition to higher education (see Matheson et al., 2018), Chinese students also have to adjust to the transnational experience of moving across cultural boundaries (Bethel et al., 2020), which could pose sociocultural challenges (Young, 2017). One of the most prominent sociocultural challenges that Chinese students experience is to establish relationships with host nationals and integrate into the local society. Chinese students report difficulties in interacting with host students due to cultural differences, social expectations, language barriers, limited contact outside of class, and the fear of being rejected (Arkoudis et al., 2013; Belford, 2017; Yefanova et al., 2017). Therefore, they tend to socialise more with co-nationals of similar cultural backgrounds with whom they feel more comfortable, resulting in ethnic clustering or the so-called “Chinese ghetto”. Although this natural inclination to gravitate towards co-nationals does not necessarily reflect a lack of desire to integrate with host nationals, barriers of sociocultural differences exist, obstructing such integration (Gu, 2009; Wang, 2018; Young, 2017). For example, lifestyle differences in socialising, such as the unfamiliar drinking culture in the UK for Chinese students, have been reported to aggravate their isolation in the host society (Bartram, 2007).

Another issue is the language barrier, which is already anticipated before the Chinese students arrive in the country (Haxton et al., 2019), and consequently originates further difficulties in social situations. As non-native English speakers, Chinese students may feel inferior to and threatened by host nationals, as they fear negative evaluations based on their English skills (Liu, 2016; Wang et al., 2017). Additionally, since most Chinese students have only learned English in grammatical contexts prior to arrival and were unexposed to the sociocultural discourses in the UK, they may struggle to find the socially and culturally appropriate language to prevent miscommunications. These transitional challenges can, in turn, negatively affect Chinese students’ psychological well-being (Gu & Maley, 2008; Turner, 2006). Being in a foreign country is a challenge as Chinese students must learn to live alone, solve daily problems and cope with homesickness (Bethel et al., 2020; Young, 2017), which can elicit feelings of confusion, loneliness, discomfort, and alienation (Belford, 2017; Gu & Maley, 2008). Furthermore, according to the intercultural adjustment theory, students can experience strong emotional reactions in the face of cultural changes (see Wang, 2018). The pressure to adapt socially and culturally evokes stress, and if they fail to do so, they might lack a sense of belonging (Gu, 2009; Wang, 2018). The psychological difficulties can then impact the sociocultural adjustment of Chinese students, creating a vicious cycle of maladaptation (Wang, 2018).

To understand some of the academic challenges Chinese students encounter in UK universities, it is necessary to first disentangle the cultural roots of the Chinese education system which they are accustomed to, in other words, the Confucianist tradition. It encourages respect for authority, collectivism, and harmony, manifested in a formal, disciplined, teacher-centred, and didactic approach. First, respect for authority within education systems promoted compliance among students to keep teachers in high regard instead of questions and criticism. Therefore, even though teachers serve as friendly, personal mentors outside the classroom, distance is greatly maintained in the teacher-student dynamic. Indeed, some studies (e.g., Gu & Maley, 2008) have shown that Chinese students have difficulties adjusting to the Western student-centred classroom environment. Second, collectivism and the necessity to maintain harmony and ‘face’ in classrooms result in the habit to avoid conflict among students (Huang, 1999; Xiaohong & Qingyuan, 2013). As a result, learning focuses more on the factual accumulation of knowledge from teachers, discouraging peer discussions and debates. Thirdly, a highly pressurised and competitive environment is also characteristic of the Chinese education system. This includes routine assessments and exams in which student rankings are presented publicly and used for streaming based on abilities. In this environment, students are accustomed to relying on the external source of stress as motivation. Lastly, the respect to Confucianism values accentuate rote learning as the principal pedagogy method of education, which emphasises the importance of memorisation, ultimately disregarding students’ independent and critical opinions. With the profile of the Chinese education system in mind, it is easy to conceptualise a ‘model’ Chinese student as a passive-receptive (Hsieh, 2012) and obedient learner who only accepted knowledge imparted by the teacher and the curriculum (Bush & Haiyan, 2000; Jin & Cortazzi, 2006; Turner, 2006).

Chinese students have been reported to achieve fewer good degrees than host students, with the odds having been reported as low as 32% in the past (Iannelli & Huang, 2014). When these students come to the UK, they tend to maintain their native framework of learning despite its radical difference from the British one, potentially shaping false expectations and beliefs towards UK universities and impacting their learning experience (Jin & Cortazzi, 2006). Consequently, learning shock is a common experience of Chinese students in British HEIs, which refers to the unpleasant psychological, cognitive, and emotional struggles encountered when exposed to and adapting to a new learning environment. Not only does learning shock hinder their learning success in UK universities (Turner, 2006), but it has also been found to be more overwhelming and acute than sociocultural adjustment (Gu, 2011).

Critical thinking, independent studying, and classroom discussion are prominent aspects of learning shock. Due to the aforementioned emphasis on rote learning in China, students were not trained for reflective thinking and independent interpretation (Bush & Haiyan, 2000; Turner, 2006). Ryan and Viete (2010) found that Chinese students struggled with critical thinking upon initial entry to Australia, as they had no prior experience of thinking independently for themselves and struggled to learn without explicit guidance. It is also somewhat easy for them to misuse independence as a licence to not work hard in the absence of supervision from teachers (Gu, 2009; Gu & Maley, 2008; Wang, 2018). Western educators also regarded a lack of active participation as another characteristic of Chinese students compared to their Western counterparts (Ryan & Viete, 2010; Wang, 2018). They are often observed to be ‘silent’ during group discussions and may not ask questions in class as a critical appraisal of the learning material is deemed disrespectful towards educators (Jin & Cortazzi, 2006; Montgomery, 2019).

Additionally, the student-teacher dynamics in the UK is different from Chinese students’ perception cultivated by the Chinese tradition. As mentioned above, teachers are regarded to be highly respected as well as a mentor for academic and personal instruction, whereas lectures in UK universities often aspire to be regarded equally to students in status yet maintain boundaries in personal lives. Chinese students may attribute academic failure to ‘poor’ teacher quality and express disappointment towards insufficient support received. Therefore, outgrowing their overreliance on teachers’ instructions in UK education contexts would be beneficial (Wang, 2018).

1.2 Summary, rationale, and research question

To summarise, a substantial (and increasing) number of international Chinese students are pursuing their overseas higher education in the UK. However, this transition can be challenging due to a number of sociocultural factors, associated with difficulties adjusting to changes in lifestyle, language, and learning approach (not exhaustive), and this can negatively impact upon their learning and attainment, psychological wellbeing, and overall student experience. Recent studies (e.g., Holliman et al., 2022) have emphasised the need for qualitative research in this important area, to provide a more in-depth and nuanced investigation of international Chinese students’ lived experiences. We add here that most studies in the literature on international Chinese students, have focused on undergraduate students and yet, a sizable (and relatively neglected) sample deserving of more research attention, concern the experiences of postgraduate students.

The research question for this study is: “How do international Chinese students describe their experiences of transitioning to a UK university to pursue their undergraduate or postgraduate education?”

2.1 Design

This study sought to explore the experiences of international Chinese students; therefore, a qualitative interpretative approach was adopted. We selected thematic analysis over other approaches due to it not being wedded to any particular epistemological approach and affording the researcher flexibility in selecting the appropriate analysis structure to reflect the reality of the data (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Interviews were conducted with 8 first-year undergraduate students and 10 first-year postgraduate students, from a single higher education institution in the UK.

2.2 Sample

Participants were recruited from a single, public, world-leading, London-based higher education institution in the UK. The participating institution can be regarded as a ‘global university’ with almost 50% of its students coming from overseas (over 10,000 of which are from mainland China). As such, the participating institution offers a designated international support service, as well as student mentors for new students, language courses, and elective modules on academic writing (not exhaustive). Purposive sampling was used to ensure participating students met the following inclusion criteria: their reported ethnicity was Chinese; they previous lived and studied in China and in a Chinese language; and they were enrolled in their first year on either an undergraduate or postgraduate psychology course (we acknowledge level of study is not identical here). The undergraduate sample comprised eight first-year Chinese students (Mage = 19.25) including: 6 females, 1 male, and 1 other. The postgraduate sample comprised ten first-year Chinese students (Mage = 23.24) who were enrolled on a Master’s programme including: 8 females and 2 males. Note, the increased number of female participants relative to males, is representative of the gender grouping statistics for the subject of psychology in the UK (HESA, 2021).

2.3 Procedure

After receiving ethical clearance from the participating higher education institution, eligible participants were approached during and/or shortly after their psychology lessons and invited to take part. They were provided with an overview of the research in the form of a participant information sheet and were invited to ask any questions. If they were still able and willing to take part, they were required to complete an informed consent form.

The interviews with undergraduates were conducted in English but with Mandarin translations to facilitate clarity and understanding. The interviews with postgraduates were conducted in Mandarin, again for clarity and understanding, but also to make them feel more comfortable, and to enable them to provide more complete answers that correspond with their true feelings. Undergraduate participants were interviewed online via Zoom and postgraduate students were interviewed either in person, at a safe, quiet, and mutually convenient location, or online through WeChat, depending on student preferences following the COVID-19 pandemic. Interviews lasted approximately 30–45 min and were audio-recorded. Afterwards, participants were fully debriefed and signposted to relevant support services (e.g., welfare), if needed, within the participating higher education institution. The interviews were later transcribed, translated, and then analysed. All participants were provided with pseudonyms to ensure anonymity: in the Results section UG and PG are used to denote undergraduate and postgraduate students, respectively.

2.4 Materials

2.5 Data analysis

The analysis closely followed the procedure described by Braun and Clarke (2006). Specifically, the first step of the analysis was to transcribe the interviews verbatim. The data were then analysed using thematic analysis, which included: (1) familiarization with the data, (2) generating initial codes, (3) searching for themes, (4) reviewing themes, (5) defining and naming themes, and (6) producing the report.

3.1 Theme 1: Education dialogues and scholarship

3.2 Theme 2: Intercultural relations and notions of difference

4.1 Limitations and future directions

There are some limitations to this study that will now be acknowledged. First, for the analysis, we combined experiences of both undergraduate and postgraduate students, who are clearly at different levels of study. We felt justified in doing so, given that anecdotally, the issues are similar, and the undergraduates and postgraduates in our sample were similar in that their reported ethnicity was Chinese, they previous lived and studied in China and in a Chinese language, and they were enrolled in their first year on either an undergraduate or postgraduate course. There were also commonalities across students with some nuanced findings, as discussed. Despite this, future work might delineate different levels of study, to explore and uniqueness associated with each. Second, this study focused solely on ‘student’ perspectives; therefore, to shed further light on the issues at hand, future work might also explore the experience of other key stakeholders, such as teachers, using multi-informant approaches. Finally, the work reported here took place close to the Covid-19 pandemic; therefore, the findings might have been influenced by factors associated with this (e.g., there was some evidence of discrimination of international Chinese students associated with the pandemic; Guilfoyle & Harryba [2011]). It remains therefore, that some of the experiences here may not reflect the experiences that may occur in a virus-free environment.