Posted below is the original English version of an article published by Financial Times Chinese 金融时报中文版 on Friday 5th April. Thanks to the FT Chinese team for the translation.
-------
Pursuing a
University Education Overseas: Advice for Chinese Students
Published in Financial Times Chinese 金融时报中文版:
http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001082190?full=y (Chinese 中文)
Friday
5th April 2019
Over the last decade, the number of
Chinese citizens pursuing a university education overseas has exploded. According to figures from the
Ministry of Education for 2017, 608,400 international students from China were
enrolled on university degree programmes around the world, with the largest
numbers in the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
As
many FT Chinese readers may be aware, articles on Chinese international
students have appeared frequently in the media coverage of the higher education
sector over the last decade, including concerns over their
impact on the campus environment, the rapid
growth of recruitment from China, and issues of academic
integrity and plagiarism. More recently, the role of the Chinese Student
and Scholar Associations (CSSA), which affiliated to the PRC Embassy’s
Education Section, has come under scrutiny, with accusation they are represent
a threat to the value of academic freedom.
More
recently, incidents at Duke University and the University of Maryland in the
US, and the University
of Liverpool in the UK, have raised concerns over different forms prejudiced
against international students from China.
At Maryland, a Professor recently resigned
his tenured position following allegations he accused students of cheating
on the basis of their nationality. At Duke, faculty raised a complaint with
senior management that students were speaking in Chinese on campus, with the
Director of Graduate Studies then sending
an email requesting student to speak in English only on campus. The Director issued an apology before
stepping down from the Director of Studies position, while Duke President
Vincent Price and the entire senior management team at Duke issued
a statement clarifying the institution’s commitment to the values of
equality and diversity.
All
the issues raised in media coverage on Chinese international students are
prominent in the minds of educators at universities and their potential impact
both inside the classroom and across the broader campus environment. While some
incidents demand a stricter line, any formal action taken is not due to the
nationality of the student, but only where student conduct, regardless of
nationality, does not uphold the values which students commit to when they
accept an offer to study at university.
In addition, universities have been consistently clear that Chinese
international students are a valued and welcome part of the university
community.
There
are, however, challenges which are arguably more difficult for our Chinese
international students to overcome.
While universities are actively exploring and adapting to help our
students adjust and integrate to university life in a foreign country, the students
themselves, and the way they perceive the university, their professors and
themselves, is the single most important factor. Many of the views expressed
here are communicated to all my students, regardless of nationality, but
discussed here to help any prospective or current students from China consider
understand how they can empower themselves and gain the maximum benefit from
their study overseas.
The
decision to attend a university overseas is a major commitment made by both the
student and their family back in China. While parents face pressures to finance
their children’s studies and living expenses, the pressures on students are
also pronounced, with students very aware of the sacrifices their parents and
family make to provide this opportunity for them. Yet, while these pressures can motivate
students to focus on their studies, a number of other factors combine to
present young students from China with a range of obstacles to achieving their
potential. These include the prospect of leaving China and venturing to another
country; undertaking a university education in a second language; integrating
into the broader cultural environment of their host country, and adapting to a
very different educational system.
This
last aspect, of adjusting to the university educational philosophy, is perhaps
the most challenging to overcome and, it is very important to note, represents
an adjustment that all students need to make when moving from high school to
university. In high schools around the
world the focus is usually always on passing an exam. Grades mean everything.
Teachers and schools are focused on getting students through the exams. Nowhere
on Earth is this more true than in China’s high school system with the ruthless
Gaokao exam. Yet, if students bring this exam focus with them to university, it
not only limits their academic development, but also denies them a true
university education.
To address this
issue, we must ask ourselves a fundamental question: what is a university
education aimed at accomplishing? One
standard answer is that a university education allows students to obtain a
degree. In such a university, success is measured by grades and performance.
Classes aim to fill a student’s mind with knowledge. Professors educate their
students. The problem with this view is that it reduces a university to a
process of credentialing; defines knowledge as fixed, and reifies education as
something which is done to students. If this is all that a university education
provides, then why not save money and ask students to read books or take an
online degree? Or is there another way we can think of a university education?
Can we change the way our students view the university and the way they view
themselves?
To
answer this, we really need to confront the question of what families are
paying for when they pay university tuition fees. Students are not buying a degree. If this were, true, the degree itself would
become worthless, something available to anyone with sufficient funds. So, what are tuition fees buying?
The very simple answer is that we are buying three things for our
children when we pay for their university education: freedom, opportunity and
time. Freedom from the need for our sons and daughters to earn money to
survive. Opportunities for new
experiences within the university’s vibrant scholarly and extracurricular environment.
Time to both identify and transform
themselves into the person they wish to be. We are not buying a university degree.
We are investing in an education which will allow our children to become who
they want to be, find the path they wish to take, and decide how they will
contribute to society. If this argument
is persuasive, the next question we must ask ourselves is “how can students get
the most out of this investment”? Students
who view their university education as a system of credentialing, of simply
obtaining a qualification, will not only struggle to perform at university,
they will very likely not enjoy the experience. This attitude effectively means
the student is not “at university” but is simply taking courses towards a
certificate. Changing the way our students
view themselves, their professors and the university itself, is absolutely
essential in getting the greatest benefit of a university education.
There are generally
two ways to view the university. The
first is probably the most common: as a form of production line. Students go through each semester taking
classes and taking assessments, with grades measuring the improvements
made. This view implies that education
is a something which is done to a student, and that all students entering
university are as well prepared as each other.
Yet, universities are not factories.
A far more suitable and appropriate analogy involves considering online
games like League of Legends, World of Warcraft, or Fortnite. The university provides a rich world where
students exist for the duration of their studies. Students aim to accumulate various weapons,
skills, tools and knowledge – with every student creating and building a very
different and unique profile as they explore this world. This cannot be achieved solely through attending
classes and sitting exams, but through active engagement in extracurricular
activities, sports, societies, internships, community engagement and other
activities which allow students to build a variety of skills.
Outside China, this
expanded understanding of a university education is also vital for enhancing
engagement in the classroom. As Fei
Xiaotong, the renowned sociologist, argued, western societies function
differently from Chinese society 团体格局,
emphasizing individual identity over social conventions. Fei argues that, in western society, identity
is indicated to others by your membership of groups. Which extracurricular groups
you join indicate your individual identity to other people, while friendships
and networks centre around the identity you create for yourself and the groups
you join. This applies to membership of sports clubs, political parties,
pressure groups and student societies. Contrast this with Fei’s model of
Chinese society 差序格局 where your identity and, crucially, appropriate conduct is
determined by the person you’re interacting with and the social role you are
performing: you are a father, a son, a wife, a sister, a student, an employee,
an manager or a friend – and behave accordingly in those settings. Yet, in a
western university classroom - be it in the UK, US, Australia, Canada or
elsewhere - students are expected to bring their identity to class, to show
their classmates and professors who they really are and where their interests
lie. This is vital aspect of classroom dynamics which helps professors build
rapport with students and enriches the educational experience for all
concerned. If we know who you are, we can make the class more meaningful and
important for you.
In this regard, extracurricular
activities are arenas for independent learning and socializing, allowing
students to develop language, cross-cultural and social skills, along with
developing their time management, organizational and team-working
abilities. Whether students participate
in sports clubs, academic societies, business forums, or pursue hobbies related
to the arts, music and culture, participation allows them to both build
networks with others and transform themselves.
This is where students put theory into practice, acquiring not only
knowledge but a range of skills and experiences, similar to the way characters
in online games acquire new weapons, tools, attributes and friends who allow
them to not only survive but thrive. There is, however, a vital and crucial
difference between online games and university : online games are virtual, but all
students, regardless of the success they achieve in transforming themselves
through their university education, must enter real world upon graduation. And
who they are at the point they graduate is shaped by their engagement inside
and outside the classroom.
Within the
classroom, Professors are often viewed as fountains of knowledge. Yet in
contemporary universities, our role is not simply to transfer content from
ourselves to our students. The best professors show a range of characteristics
that include passion for their own subject; genuine care for the students they
teach, and the ability to build rapport with their students. Our goal as
university lecturers is not to ensure our students all acquire the same
knowledge, but to help our students discover their own interests and bring
their own perspectives. Our primary function is to ensure students do not get
lost exploring the university world, acting as guides to keep them on track,
with the hope our classes will provide a spark which lights the fires in our
students’ minds. The best students are always those who have an intrinsic
interest in the subject they study, coupled with extrinsic motivations to build
a career around the subjects which fascinate them personally. Furthermore, in a
straight competition on the job market after graduation, the student who has
identified their true passion and is genuinely enthusiastic about their chosen
path will undoubtedly, over time, outperform other students whose motivations
come from solely external rewards. If you don’t love something and compete
against someone who does, you will ultimately fail. Similarly, the best
students understand that knowledge is neither fixed nor perfect, and that
critical thinking is not so much a skill as a disposition or way of viewing the
world aimed at refining one’s own understanding of it. Those students explore
their subject with the aim of understanding, rather than just absorbing and
memorizing information. Academically, they focus on forming strong arguments which they can support
with evidence and rational discussion and are concerned less with producing
work which is right or wrong.
This
all leads to the question of what students from China can do themselves to
ensure they succeed in their studies and reap the greatest rewards from this
investment. There are certain habits which all the most successful students
have: attending all classes, organizing time and having a clear schedule for
exam revision and coursework deadlines. Yet for students from China in
particular, there are other important considerations. Firstly, recognize that a university
education is not a theoretical exercise. If you were to explain an online game
like League of Legends to someone, it would be much less effective than helping
them play the game – and that is why attendance is so important. Secondly, students
are absolutely the most important factor in any classroom – so make sure you bring
your personality, interests and unique identity to the classroom and show your
classmates and professors who you are. This is the single greatest contribution
you can make to your own education. Beyond these two essential factors, a major
obstacle faced by students from China is the very different context encountered
overseas. In China, the social, cultural and digital landscape is profoundly
different. Professors may use examples
in class to explain concepts. For example, on a business studies or computer
science degree, we may discuss Amazon, Facebook, Twitter – not JD.com, Taobao,
WeChat or Weibo. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Youtube, Spotify, Google and Apple
Music are the digital spaces we spend our downtime, and staying with the
Chinese bubble of iQiyi, Xiami, QQ音乐,
Youku, Bilibili and Baidu will limit your exposure to the trends, fashions and issues
that help form both understanding of your adopted country and friendships with
people from outside China. In this regard, any and all activities you engage in
which help you become a fluent communicator in and across different cultures
can be viewed as part of your university education, whether that’s researching
for an essay, participating in a student society, or attending concerts or
sports events. Travelling to new places,
socializing, attending guest lectures - even watching a documentary or film on
Netflix late at night can be a form of learning without studying. As long as
you are aware of the value of such activities, nothing you do is a waste of
time. The trick, as with so many aspects of modern life, is to balance your
academic commitments with any other activities – and make sure you bring those
other experiences into the classroom wherever possible.
Over
the years, I’ve discussed with colleagues about the most significant challenges
they faced when travelling overseas for study. One recurring aspect mentioned
in conversation with friends from China, many who have studied overseas at
undergraduate, Masters and/or PhD level, is that other countries can feel very
cold and unwelcoming on arrival. No one will likely meet you at the airport, there
will be few activities organized in your first few days. This can appear unfriendly, but is
attributable to a greater value of private space. This is also another reason that
extracurricular activities are so important – if you are happy to stay in your
dorm 24/7, then this is exactly what will happen. The same colleagues and
friends from China, many who have lived and worked overseas for a long time,
also discuss the other side of the coin: that the friendships formed can be
lifelong and real and the freedom from obligations allows for much more control
over leisure time and work-life balance.
A
final piece of advice relates to my own experiences teaching students from
China in the UK and US education systems over the last decade, including at NYU
Shanghai and Xi’an jiaotong Liverpool University, St Andrews University and now
at Coventry University. This includes
students who performed very well in high school, and those who did not – from
Gaokao Tier 1 to Tier 4 students. It is
vital that students recognize that past performance is no reliable indicator of
future success and that, once admitted to university, that academic record
makes little difference. Some of the best students I have taught arrived in my
classroom after a difficult experience in high school. Many, regardless of
academic record, are affected by self-doubt and low confidence. Yet many of
these same students have excelled, largely down to their own initiative and
recognition of the true meaning of a university education: as a voyage of
self-discovery where your true goal is to find good answers to the several deeper
questions. Who am I? What contribution do I want to make? What path do I wish
to take in life? Trying to answer these questions is the true purpose of a
university education, and by simply putting these at the heart of the academic
journey, students can not only open the doors to new experiences at university,
but shape their personal and professional lives well beyond graduation.
Mike Gow is a
Lecturer in International Business at Coventry University’s School of Strategy
and Leadership. He previously held posts
at NYU Shanghai and Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University after completing his
doctorate at the University of Bristol.