Introduction 

Author and title

The article entitled “Exploring the complex and non-linear evolution of Chinese international students’ experiences in US colleges” has been composed by Tang T. Heng. The author of the article is a member of the faculty at the Nanyang Technological University, National Institute of Education in Singapore. The article in discussion was received on 23^rd of May, 2017, accepted on the 12^th of May 2018 and was made available to the future researchers on the 18^th of May 2018 after the processes of revision and peer-reviews.

Main point and key findings

The study in discussion attempts an argument on the matters that pertain to the passive nature of the international students of China. The author further claims that the narrative presents problems in the matters that pertain to the revelation of the complexity and the fluidity of the innumerable experiences of the several international students of China. The article also aims to deal with the various troubles that are encountered in the implementation of the stage theory that is used to develop a better understanding of the adjustment of the international students.

Background

The several researches on the adjustment of the international students reveal the huge increase in the number of the undergraduate students of the Chinese origin in the multitude of the educational institutions that have been located in the UK, USA and Canada. Quan, He and Sloan (2016) argue that there has been a difference in the experiences of the post-graduate students and the undergraduate students. These differences stem from the fact that the post-graduate students are observed to be more matured, focussed more on the academics and are observed to be in the country for a shorter duration of time. Crawford and Wang (2015) state that the Chinese internationals often complain on the lack of the awareness in the matters pertaining to the academic conventions as well as the struggle with the participation in the classrooms, the critical thinking and the learning that are self-directed. Ellis-Bosold and Thornton-Orr (2013) as well as Chen and Bennett (2012) state that the concerned students of the Chinese origin are known to have been exhibiting huge issues in the matters that pertain to the mental health issues like the depression and the anxiety within the students.

Summary

The article in discussion attempts a discussion on the matters that pertain to the passive nature of the international students of China. The article in discussion claims that the narrative presents problems in the matters that pertain to the revelation of the complexity and the fluidity of the innumerable experiences of the several international students of China as well as the various troubles that are encountered in the implementation of the stage theory within the researches.

Evaluation

Strengths

The article in discussion aims to address the gaps that exist in the previous literature in the matters. The article in discussion attempts an examination on the matters that pertain to the experiences of the Chinese international students who have been studying at the multitude of the universities that have been existent in the UK, USA and Canada as discussed by Quan, He and Sloan (2016). The article also claims to attempt a discussion on the matters pertaining to dynamic developments on the matters that are related to the perceptions of the concerned Chinese international students as put forth by Heng (2018). The author of the article has aimed to deal with the respondents in a personal manner. The responses that were provided by the concerned participants were collected through three different interviews that were followed by a demographic questionnaire that had to be filled up. The participants were interviewed in their own preferred language. The study had also considered the responses that were provided by the participant in the matters pertaining to the experiences by the student in the colleges as well as the strategies that they have been using for coping up with the scenarios at the multitude of the educational institutions wherein they have enrolled themselves.

Weaknesses

The article took into consideration the responses of a very small number of respondents. The sample size for the study amounted to eighteen individuals. Thus, the findings of the article might not be applicable to the generalized cases. The author of the article had considered the responses over a very short duration of time. The article would have been enriched in its content had the study been conducted over a larger time period. This might have helped in the better understanding of the patterns of the revelation of the complexity and the fluidity of the innumerable experiences of the several international students of China. The study that was conducted needed to involve the participation of the Chinese students who had been following the private and the public educational institutions. However, the study took into consideration majorly the students who have been studying at the private colleges.

Response

Heng (2018) attempted a study on the passive nature of the problems in the matters that pertain to the revelation of the complexity and the fluidity of the innumerable experiences of the several international students of China. The attempt a discussion on the matters pertaining to dynamic developments on the matters that are related to the perceptions of the concerned Chinese international students. The views that were put forth by the various participants during the interviews might have helped the concerned author to develop better insights on the research topic. The author has also been observed to take note of the responses that were provided by the participant of the experiences faced by the student in the colleges as well as the strategies that they have been using for coping up with the scenarios at the multitude of the educational institutions wherein they have enrolled themselves. The article could have been more beneficial to the future researchers if it had incorporated a larger number of respondents and had been conducted over a larger period of time.

Conclusion

Thus, from the above discussion, it might be pointed out that the study had shed light on one of the major issues that have been troubling the various universities and other educational institution existent in the UK, USA and Canada.

References

Chen, R. T.-H., & Bennett, S. (2012). When Chinese learners meet constructivist pedagogy online. Higher Education, 64(5), 677–691.

Crawford, I., & Wang, Z. (2015). The impact of individual factors on the academic attainment of Chinese and UK students in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 40(5), 902–920.

Ellis-Bosold, C., & Thornton-Orr, D. (2013). A needs assessment: A study of perceived need for student health services by Chinese international students. College Student Journal, 47(1), 155–168.

Heng, T. T. (2018). Different is not deficient: Contradicting stereotypes around Chinese international students in U.S. higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 43, 22–36.

Heng, T. T. (2018). Exploring the complex and non-linear evolution of Chinese international students’ experiences in US colleges. Higher Education Research & Development, 1-15.

Quan, R., He, X., & Sloan, D. (2016). Examining Chinese postgraduate students’ academic adjustment in the UK higher education sector: A process-based stage model. Teaching in Higher Education, 21(3), 326–343.