Expectation and Reality: International Students' Motivations and Motivational Adjustments to Sustain Academic Journey in Chinese Universities

Abstract

Considering the increasing influx of international students to Chinese universities in recent decades, it is surprising to find that few empirical research, especially longitudinal ones, have been conducted in exploring the motivation of international students in China. To fill up the existing gap, this study explored and tracked international students' motivations dynamically. Mixed research design, such as surveys, reflective journals, and interviews, was employed in this study. Data were collected from 671 international students and three teachers in three Chinese universities in Zhejiang province, mainland China on a longitudinal basis. The present study found that international students' motivation could be discussed with considerations to the following two different phases: preliminary phase before they come to China and follow-up phase when they are in China. This study found that the integrative understanding of the external pulling force and the self-motivated pushing force plays a vital role in answering international students' motivations to China. International students were driven more by the self-motivated pushing force than the external pulling force in selecting China as their study destinations. Moreover, international students experienced motivational changes when their expectations conflict with reality and their positive motivational adjustments and social interaction were important to the sustainability of their academic journey. Moreover, this study provides implications for the government, universities and international students in the aspects of policymaking, education and application.

Acculturation and Academic Adjustment of Student Sojourners in the Chinese Higher Education Context

“…During this process, the changes and differences experienced by students were emphasized, which could be denoted by expressions such as “used to”, “gradually”, and “now”. Consequently, the way of coding enabled researchers to compare and identify participants’ adjustment processes and relevant influential factors (Mao et al, 2022).…”

“…They may be faced with various problems and difficulties at different stages of their academic journey. These difficulties, if not dealt with properly, could affect their academic journey (Mao et al, 2022). Given that problems and difficulties never remain the same, students are supposed to take different strategies dynamically.…”

“…China, though a developing country, is becoming more culturally diverse with the increasing influx of student sojourners (SSs) to Chinese higher education institutions (HEIs). Since the initiation of the “Study in China Plan” in 2010 by the Ministry of Education, China now has become the largest receiver in Asia and the third largest one in the world (Mao et al, 2022). Despite the important position of China as the largest study destination country in Asia, only few studies have been carried out to examine SSs’ acculturation and academic adjustment experience in the Chinese higher education (HE) context.…”

Awareness and implementation confidence of free higher education program under UNIFAST among HEIs in Sulu, Philippines

“…Campbell and Neff [12] analyzed 105 research articles on foreign college scholarships indicated that these scholarships had six ( 6) key outcomes-creating human capital, generating social change, encouraging sustainable growth, internationalizing institutes, boosting bilateral relations, and increasing access to education. Furthermore, various research presented empirical evidence of the relationship between scholarships and students' academic progress, motivation, retention, satisfaction, and engagement [13][14][15][16][17][18] .…”

Interpersonal Mindfulness, Intergroup Anxiety, and Intercultural Communication Effectiveness Among International Students Studying in Russia

“…intercultural adjustment and communication (Chebotareva, 2011;Novikova and Novikov, 2015;Bierwiaczonek and Waldzus, 2016;Khukhlaev et al, 2020;Aresi et al, 2021;Bui et al, 2021;Pekerti et al, 2021;Mao et al, 2022). Therefore, an important task of psychological science is the search for basic psychological mechanisms of the effectiveness of intercultural communication and using them to support international students.…”