| This mixed-methods study explored Chinese graduate students' conceptions of learning, and the correspondence between conceptions of learning, and their learning experiences in universities in the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada. In particular, this study shows how the conceptions of learning developed in a Chinese educational context correspond to the challenges of their graduate study in western universities inside and outside the classroom, and to the strategies they used to deal with those challenges.;A survey of conceptions of learning was administered to 107 mainland Chinese students who had completed their undergraduate studies in mainland China by using the revised Conceptions of Learning Inventory (COLI) (Purdie & Hattie, 2002). Among them, 44 had only studied in universities in China and 63 were either currently studying or had recently concluded their graduate studies in the UK or Canada. A purposeful sample of 20 graduate students, ten from the UK and ten from Canada, was obtained from the previously sampled pool of 63 people who were studying or had completed graduate studies in western settings for an in-depth interview. A MANOVA was performed to test the differences in conceptions of learning between those who did and those who did not study at a western university, based on the subscales of the COLI. No significant differences were detected between the two groups on any of the subscales except learning as the development of the social competency subscale. The interview results identified ten categories of conceptions of learning, and all participants held multiple conceptions of learning rather than just a single conception. The challenges and adjustment strategies that Chinese students have while studying at a western university are associated with how they view learning. The variations in the challenges that Chinese students encounter during their study in western universities are associated with the differences between high- and low-context cultures in China and the West. The different combinations of strategies used to deal with challenges in academic, personal, and social areas distinguish different approaches to learning. |
