Critical Thinking and Chinese International Students: An East-West Dialogue

In the West, the teaching of critical thinking, albeit differentially defined, is seen as the core of work at a graduate level. Despite the fact that developing such critical skills is increasing as an expectation of schools in the West, the literature reflects concerns that Canadian educated students arrive at university unprepared to engage at the expected level of criticality. If this is true of domestic students, what is the situation facing those international students who were educated in intellectual traditions, such as China’s, where critical thinking, at least as understood in the West, is rarely encouraged, and often actually discouraged? Do such students arrive prepared to work at a post-secondary level that involves critical thinking? Do such students embrace or resist critical thinking when these skills are taught to them? Is teaching critical thinking to these students a legitimate scholarly pursuit or is it, in effect, a neocolonial conceit? Can the Asian notion of harmony be reconciled with the Western notion of often-times sharp engagement with ideas and debate with their classmates and instructors? The authors, one a Canadian born and raised professor of comparative and international education to Chinese students studying in Canada, the other, a Chinese scholar who recently completed her doctorate in Canada where she now teaches, engage in a dialogue on Western concepts of critical thinking and the reaction of one class of Chinese international students to this pedagogy.

Download Full-text

North-South International Education Partnerships: Two Canadian Projects with Tanzania.

Comparative and International Education ◽

10.5206/cie-eci.v41i3.9211 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 41 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Aniko Varpalotai ◽

Chantal Phillips ◽

Marian Roks

Keyword(s):

International Education ◽

Poverty Reduction ◽

Formal Education ◽

Civil Society Organizations ◽

Educational Opportunities ◽

International Partnerships ◽

Post Secondary ◽

Governmental Organizations ◽

Non Governmental Organizations ◽

Critical Skills

Abstract The following is a review of two Canadian-Tanzanian international partnerships working in Tanzania within the education sector. Project TEMBO (Tanzania Education and Micro-Business Opportunity) supports the development of formal and non-formal education for girls and women in collaboration with other local and international non-governmental organizations. The Huron University College/University of Dar es Salaam project is strengthening post-secondary educational opportunities in collaboration with civil society organizations and local government. Both projects are focused on literacy in the broadest sense to achieve critical skills in civic engagement, poverty reduction, problem solving, decision-making and reducing gender imbalances, and as such are in line with the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Achieving improved access to information and educational opportunities for Tanzanians that support poverty reduction are the shared objectives of these two projects. This article will outline some of the methods which have been used to successfully offer access and educational opportunities despite ongoing challenges and constraints within the project environments.

Download Full-text

Chinese international students and American domestic students’ intercultural communication in response to group criticism: collective face and discomfort feelings

International Journal of Conflict Management ◽

10.1108/ijcma-03-2021-0048 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Yi Zhu ◽

Mary Jiang Bresnahan

Keyword(s):

International Students ◽

Intercultural Communication ◽

Chinese International Students ◽

Analysis Of Covariance ◽

Country Image ◽

Domestic Students ◽

Content Type ◽

American Students ◽

The Usa ◽

Face Concern

Purpose Group criticism plays an important role in intergroup relations and conflicts, but few studies have related group criticism to intercultural communication contexts. This study aims to explore two cultural groups’ (Chinese international students in the USA and American domestic students) collective face concern as a unique experience in intercultural communication and other psychological responses while encountering group criticism targeting their country image. Design/methodology/approach A laboratory experiment was conducted assessing Chinese international students (n = 115) and American domestic students’ (n = 100) responses to a research-confederate critic (whose group membership was manipulated) criticizing participants’ country image such as blaming China and the USA for air pollution or using drugs in the Olympics. analysis of covariance, correlational analysis and regression analysis were adopted to analyze the data. Findings Chinese international students reported higher collective face concerns and lower liking toward the critic compared with American students. When criticism specifically targeted participants’ country image, Chinese international students reported more discomfort feelings than American students; and while responding to the critic who identified as participants’ ingroup member, Chinese international students’ discomfort feelings were more susceptible to their collective face than American students in the same condition. Originality/value This study illustrates cultural differences in collective face concerns and psychological reactions in responding to criticism targeting a country image in intercultural communication contexts.

Download Full-text

Basic Need Satisfaction Intervention for Mainland Chinese International Students’ Adjustment to College

Journal of Studies in International Education ◽

10.1177/10283153211052772 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 102831532110527

Author(s):

Wilbert Law ◽

Shuang Liu

Keyword(s):

International Students ◽

International Education ◽

Well Being ◽

Need Satisfaction ◽

Chinese International Students ◽

Mainland Chinese ◽

Basic Need Satisfaction ◽

Psychological Need ◽

Adjustment To College ◽

Basic Need

With an increasing number of students pursuing their tertiary studies overseas, ways to improve their adaptation into a new environment become of the utmost importance. By applying self-determination theory, the current research investigated the extent that a basic psychological need intervention can increase need-satisfying experiences and promote the adjustment of Mainland Chinese international students to college. In total, 55 participants were randomly assigned to an intervention or control condition. They completed questionnaires on basic need satisfaction and college adjustment before the start of the study, right after the completion of the intervention, and after a 5-week follow-up. Participants who received the intervention had significantly higher need satisfaction and adjustment to college than those in the control condition. The intervention effect was maintained after a 5-week delay. In addition, the results showed that the increases in psychological need satisfaction after the intervention predicted higher levels of students’ adjustment to college. Theoretical implications for the universality of basic need satisfaction to students’ well-being and practical implications for international education are discussed.

Download Full-text

International students in Canada: policies and practices for social inclusion.

10.32920/ryerson.14656581 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Courtney Rae Cox

Keyword(s):

International Students ◽

International Education ◽

Social Inclusion ◽

Legal Status ◽

Federally Funded ◽

Post Secondary ◽

The Social ◽

Canadian Immigration ◽

Settlement Services ◽

International Graduates

Despite federal policy changes facilitating the recruitment and retention of international students in Canada, programming at Canadian universities is uneven and has created conditions for the population’s social exclusion. Canadian immigration policy has positioned international students as a desirable cohort of prospective immigrants, due to their age, economic potential, education, and official language skills. Canada’s 2014 International Education Strategy aims to double the number of international students, retaining them as economic migrants, and later permanent residents. However, temporary legal status and limited access to federally funded settlement services positions post- secondary institutions as the population’s primary settlement service provider, compounding the barriers to successful societal integration. As such, international graduates face barriers that mirror those of traditional immigrants. Critically exploring Canadian policy and post-secondary programming relating to international students, this paper applies the social inclusion perspective to recommend policy modifications and service approaches to ensure greater inclusion of international students.

Download Full-text

Incorporating Spirituality into Post-Secondary Institutions’ Policies and Services as it Relates to International Students

10.32920/ryerson.14645490 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Melanie Zuzarte

Keyword(s):

International Students ◽

Attachment Theory ◽

Culturally Responsive ◽

Youth Care ◽

Tuition Fees ◽

Domestic Students ◽

Attachment Figure ◽

Post Secondary ◽

Child And Youth Care ◽

Culturally Responsive Interventions

Some international students arrive in Canada with the assumption that academic institutions will treat them equally in comparison to domestic students. However, equal access to opportunities is not always the case. Unregulated annual tuition fees, immigration policies and a lack of culturally responsive services create challenges for international students that are not shared by domestic students (Chen, 2008; Mayuzumi et al., 2007; Montison, 2018). Canadian post-secondary institutions lack culturally responsive spiritual services that may support international students with their acculturation issues. Child and youth care practitioners may encourage the use of culturally responsive interventions which incorporate spirituality when providing support to international students in their acculturation to Canadian life. Keywords: spirituality, attachment theory, attachment figure, religion, faith, international students, Child and Youth Care Practitioners, post-secondary institutions, Canada, Canadian Government.

Download Full-text

International Students Attending Canadian Universities: Their Experiences with Housing, Finances, and Other Issues

Canadian Journal of Higher Education ◽

10.47678/cjhe.v46i2.184585 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 46 (2) ◽

pp. 92-110

Author(s):

Moira J. Calder ◽

Magdalena Solina Richter ◽

Yuping Mao ◽

Katharina Kovacs Burns ◽

Ramadimetja Shirley Mogale ◽

...

Keyword(s):

International Students ◽

Secondary Students ◽

Service Providers ◽

International Graduate Students ◽

Domestic Students ◽

Post Secondary ◽

International Graduate ◽

University Personnel ◽

Canadian City ◽

Financial Issues

Universities recruit international students for a number of reasons, including enhancement of global contacts and reputation, to increase enrolment, and to generate revenue from tuition. These students face unique challenges as compared with domestic students, but no published studies or reports exist on this issue. In this article we report our findings from a survey and interviews with international graduate students, university personnel, and service providers assisting students. Students reported difficulties with finding affordable, adequate, and suitable housing; with finances, stemming from their ability to work or find employment, and from currency fluctuations; and with integration into a new university and an unfamiliar society. Administrators described limits to the assistance they could provide. Both groups suggested changes to address international students’ housing and financial issues. This study is part of a larger research project exploring housing and related issues among post-secondary students in a western Canadian city.

Download Full-text

Thinking Outside the Box: The National Context for Educational Preparation and Adaptation among Chinese and Korean International Students

Research in Comparative and International Education ◽

10.1177/1745499918791364 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 418-438

Author(s):

Angie Y. Chung ◽

Kenneth Chen ◽

Gowoon Jung ◽

Muyang Li

Keyword(s):

International Students ◽

International Education ◽

Social Adjustment ◽

Free Market ◽

Family Relations ◽

The United States ◽

Chinese International Students ◽

Mainland Chinese ◽

Time Space ◽

National Differences

Despite growing scholarly interest in international education, few studies have examined how the broader historic, structural, and cultural contexts of sending nations inform the global perspectives and pedagogical strategies of international students before and after migration. Based on surveys and focus groups with Korean and Chinese international students at one public university, the study provides an in-depth look at national differences in learning contexts as they may affect the educational and social adjustment of international students through the lens of gender, family, and nation. We argue that international students view and experience their overseas education through different historical and national understandings of family, economy, and culture within mainland China and South Korea—the former emphasizing geopolitical concepts of family and nation centered on China’s position within the global hierarchy and the latter invoking “compressed” neoliberal frameworks representing a time-space compression of traditional hierarchies and neoliberal free-market ideals in Korea. The study reconciles and synthesizes micro- and macro-levels of analyses by comparing the ways Korean and mainland Chinese international students navigate their educational experiences in the United States based on their respective nationalistic frameworks and shifting gender/family relations in the homeland.

Download Full-text

Qualitative Study on Chinese Students’ Perception of U.S. University Life

Journal of International Students ◽

10.32674/jis.v8i1.158 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Xiaokang Tang ◽

Daniel Collier ◽

Allison Witt

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Qualitative Research ◽

International Students ◽

Chinese Students ◽

Parental Expectations ◽

The United States ◽

Chinese International Students ◽

Domestic Students ◽

American Universities ◽

University Life

This qualitative research was conducted on Chinese international students preparing to study in the United States about their expectation and perception of American universities. It explored motivation for pursuing degrees in the United States, expectations of life in the United States, and plans post-graduation. Findings suggest that these students foresee U.S. classes to be rigorous due to two notable barriers: English proficiency issue and difference in learning environment. Furthermore, the students promoted desires to build relationships with domestic students but already internalized beliefs that this action was unlikely. They presumed that most networking would occur with co-nationals due to comfort and ease. Finally, parental expectations emerged as a significant factor that influence Chinese international students’ desire to study in the United States and post-graduation plans.

Download Full-text

Understanding and Supporting the Confucian Heritage Culture International Students in Victorian Independent Schools: A Perspective of School Leaders

Social Sciences ◽

10.3390/socsci10100377 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 377

Author(s):

Hongzhi Zhang ◽

Philip Wing Keung Chan

Keyword(s):

International Students ◽

International Education ◽

International Student ◽

School Leaders ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Post Secondary ◽

Heritage Culture ◽

Confucian Heritage Culture ◽

Educational Environments

Greater demand for quality post-secondary education has been seen in Asia, particularly in China. Many Western countries have seen a rise in international education. Increasingly, schools in Australia are embracing internationalisation policies, leading to an increase in international student enrolment before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. International students in school education are something of a little-understood issue for educational scholars, policy makers and the general public. Leadership is seen as pivotal in the success of schools’ internationalisation program. By applying a mixed-method approach to collect data from an online Qualtrics survey and semi-structured interviews with independent school leaders in Australia, this paper reports how school leaders understand Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC) international students’ linguistic, cultural and educational contributions to schools, and their experience in supporting the international students to adapt into the new educational environments through various programs and strategies. This article also advocates that it is vital to respect the international students’ educational subjectivities generated in their “home” countries when providing support programs to help them engage with new educational contexts in “host” nations.

Download Full-text

I came, but I’m lost: Learning stories of three Chinese international students in Canada

Comparative and International Education ◽

10.5206/cie-eci.v43i2.9252 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 43 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Zhihua (Olivia) Zhang ◽

Kumari Beck

Keyword(s):

International Students ◽

Language Learning ◽

International Education ◽

English Language ◽

English For Academic Purposes ◽

Chinese International Students ◽

Narrative Study ◽

Learning Stories ◽

Before And After ◽

Identity Investment

Abstract The number of international students arriving in Canada is increasing annually, with students from China accounting for the highest number. Grounded in sociocultural theories of second language learning, identity, investment and Community of Practice (CoP), this paper presents selected findings from a narrative study investigating the experiences of Chinese international students preparing for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) tests in Canada. Based on their own accounts of English learning before and after coming to Vancouver, this paper finds that the participants recognized the capital and power of English and foreign qualifications, and regarded international education as a sanctuary from examinations in China. By comparing their current learning in different settings, they expressed confusion about engaging/disengaging in different communities, and about their past expectations, current experiences as well as future possibilities. This paper hopes to draw the attention of stakeholders (institutions and test issuing organizations) to the more nuanced challenges that international students encounter so that better support can be provided to international students learning English for academic purposes.

Download Full-text