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Title:
International Students at Chinese Universities: Challenges, Policies and Praxis Responses at Age of Uncertainty
Abstract:
At the age of internationalization, mobility of students becomes a worldwide phenomenon of higher education. In order to implement the National Medium and Long Term Education Reform and Development Plan (2010-2020) and promote the sustainable and healthy development of studying in China, the Chinese Ministry of Education issued the “Study in China Plan” in September 2010, which clearly stated the development goal to build China into a major destination for studying abroad. In 2019, there were over 490,000 international students studying in China, making it the third largest study abroad destination in the world after the United States and the United Kingdom. In 2023, China proposed to build itself into one of the most important world education centers with strong global influence, and to become a major destination for studying abroad in the world. However, in recent years, China’s international student education is facing great challenges. In the era of uncertainty, what are the main tensions between China’s international student education strategy and the external environment? What are the challenges facing international student education in China? What policies has the Chinese government already adopted and what policies will it adopt soon? What are the attitudes and response measures of Chinese higher education institutions?
This research aims to analyze the challenges, policies and praxis responses of Chinese government and Universities when they want to become a major destination for studying abroad in the world. In this study, comprehensive methods, including policy content analysis, systematic literature review, as well as interviews, were used. Data was collected mainly based on the existing policy documents, research reports and literature on international students at Chinese universities and interviews with experts, government officials, university teachers and students. Center-Periphery Theory and Push and Pull Theory were used to analyze the findings.
The findings reveal that China’s international student education faces many challenges, such as COVID-19 epidemic, geopolitical conflicts, economic downturn, reputation of higher education, multicultural environment, etc. The most important factors are public attitude, geopolitical conflicts and economic downturn in the short term, and the reputation of higher education and multicultural environment in the long term. These challenges are also the tensions between China’s international student education strategy and its external environment. In this context, China has begun to break through the element-based openness of education and advocate for institutional openness in education. Some policies have been introduced, and more new policies will be introduced at the National Education Conference in September 2024 to promote the development of studying in China. Under the influence of factors such as disciplinary evaluation, economic benefits, and university reputation, Chinese higher education institutions will further promote the development of studying in China. However, how to improve students’ study experience and enhance quality still remains a challenge.
In the era of globalization, mobility of students is now a global issue. The current study is expected to add value for research and practice of mobility of students in China and beyond, especially for the global south countries.
