TY - JOUR
T1 - Chinese international students in the United States
T2 - Demographic trends, motivations, acculturation features and adjustment challenges
AU - Yan, Kun
AU - Berliner, David
N1 - Funding Information:
In terms of the goals and outcomes of the foreign study movement, history seems to be repeating itself. Similar to the foreign study movement prior to 1949, students’ personal economic and academic motivations gradually overshadow the government’s unrealistic ideals. The Chinese government’s lofty ideals face a gloomy reality. Just as Wang (1992) argued, ‘‘after a brief initial period of enthusiasm, coordination between the government and the students has disappeared and the government has lost control over a movement initially designed to foster economic growth and national restoration’’ (p. 90). Government-supported visiting scholars have been gradually substituted by self-supported students. The turning point occurred at the end of 1984, when the State Council of China stipulated that anyone who had been admitted by a foreign institution and had received foreign financial support or any other kind of assistantship was eligible for applying to go abroad self-funded (Lin 1998). Since then, the number of non-government sponsored Chinese students has rapidly increased and now represents a large majority of the Chinese students on American campuses (Huang 1997). Financially, they seek financial aid in the US instead of relying on the Chinese Government. As revealed by Orleans (1988), in 1979, the Chinese government provided 54% of the funding while in 1985 only 17% came from the Chinese government. The share of funding by American universities increased from 18 to 57% over this time period. Academically, there is an ever increasing number of Chinese students are in degree-seeking programs as opposed to the number of visiting scholars. The percentage of visiting scholars to the US dropped dramatically, from 47% in 1979 to 31% in 1985 (Orleans 1988). With students’ increasing disenchantment with government policies, the original goal of sending students abroad to bring back valuable Western technology to help modernize China has diminished.
PY - 2011/5
Y1 - 2011/5
N2 - To date, few studies have focused solely upon understanding the unique characteristics of Chinese international students in the United States. This inquiry examines what Chinese international students' demographic trends are over decades, what their motivations are for studying in the United States, what the unique features of their group acculturation process are, and what special challenges they face in U. S. universities that are different from what they might face in Chinese universities? This study reveals that the life of Chinese students in the United States is not easy and they have to endure multifaceted life-stresses. These results can be used to help Chinese international students adapt to the American educational environment and improve the services and programs American universities deliver to their foreign students.
AB - To date, few studies have focused solely upon understanding the unique characteristics of Chinese international students in the United States. This inquiry examines what Chinese international students' demographic trends are over decades, what their motivations are for studying in the United States, what the unique features of their group acculturation process are, and what special challenges they face in U. S. universities that are different from what they might face in Chinese universities? This study reveals that the life of Chinese students in the United States is not easy and they have to endure multifaceted life-stresses. These results can be used to help Chinese international students adapt to the American educational environment and improve the services and programs American universities deliver to their foreign students.
KW - Chinese international students
KW - Unique characteristics
KW - United States
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79955808183&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=79955808183&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s12564-010-9117-x
DO - 10.1007/s12564-010-9117-x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79955808183
VL - 12
SP - 173
EP - 184
JO - Asia Pacific Education Review
JF - Asia Pacific Education Review
SN - 1598-1037
IS - 2
ER -