In Pursuit of International Higher Education: Sociocultural and Communication Challenges Faced by Chinese International Students

Journal: Journal of Higher Education Research DOI: 10.32629/jher.v3i3.831

Yipei Lu

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, U.S.

Abstract

The development of the global education mission has been strengthened by the widening perspective of transnationalism for higher education. The mobility of international higher education (IHR) has become a global hot trend especially over the past few decades. China continues to be the single largest and fastest-growing nation in terms of sending student bodies for overseas tertiary education today. With the booming of international higher education (IHE) seeking, Chinese international students (CIS) are however troubled by a series of sociocultural and communication challenges, damaging their education outcomes, aspirations, labor market preparations, as well as global education efficiency. This paper explores the major reasons that intrigue CIS to seek IHE, common obstacles they encounter during their foreign education journey, and existent coping strategies. The paper ends with an outlook into a new strategy which requires more researching and data gathering; it serves as a preliminary step to a future proposal of a multidimensional model.

Keywords

Chinese international student (CIS), international higher education (IHE), higher education challenges, coping strategies, Berry’s framework

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