Understanding The Learning Outcomes Of International Students In China

In recent years,China's international education has developed rapidly with the quality of it attracting increasing attention.As learning outcome has become the focus of quality assessment of higher education,studying the learning outcomes of international students might provide an important basis and reference for improving the quality of international education in China.Given the above situation,it is necessary to enhance the currently scanty research on the learning outcomes of international students in China.Zhejiang University is a "Double First-Class" university with a large number of international students and a high level of educational internationalization.This study conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with 10 international students from different majors and different countries in Zhejiang University,trying to figure out what learning outcomes have been obtained by international students,and what factors have affected their learning outcomes.By combing relevant literature,analyzing the college impact models,and combining the research needs of this study,an analyzing framework has been brought up,which implies the learning outcomes of international students might be influenced by personal factors,environmental factors and interactive factors.The findings show that the learning outcomes of international students in China contains those of knowledge,those of skills,and those of emotions,attitudes and values.The learning outcomes of international students are individually distinct in quantity,degree,and quality.Therefore,learning outcome should not be regarded as a one-way positive concept,but a neutral,sophisticated complex.Each of the three levels of influencing factors,that is,personal,environmental and interactive,contains various elements.This thesis looks into the generating process of the learning outcomes of international students in China.The learning outcomes are believed to be the result out of the combination of personal,environmental and interactive factors.Among them,personal and environmental factors have both direct impact and indirect impact through interactive factors on learning outcomes.Both individual factors and environmental factors influence international students' interaction with the outside world.Learning outcomes do not stand as static products,but dynamic and continuous processes of development.The learning outcomes during a certain period of time would affect international students' interaction with the outside world in the long-term development,which would once again affect the further learning outcomes.Based on the findings of this research,this thesis puts forward corresponding suggestions for international students and the international education management in the closing part.Hopefully it helps to promote the quality of international education and the intensive development of the internationalization of Chinese higher education.