While previous research has explored the academic adaptation or acculturation processes of Chinese students studying abroad, limited attention has been paid to students’ own perspectives and narrations of their experience. To contribute to a more nuanced understanding of this highly mobile group, this study takes a closer look at the students’ self-identity narratives. How do they make sense of their foreign adventure? How do they position themselves among their peers and their family members, as well as within the greater transnational context? Based on 29 in-depth, biographical interviews with Chinese students in the United States, the findings show the participants’ continuously interpreting and revising their individual, academic, and cultural identities. In the familial context, a recurring narrative of the high-potential only-child could be observed. Many students (and their family members) felt that their unique talents and personalities were not appreciated within the Chinese educational system and thus sought more holistic environments abroad.
Author(s): Sarah Y. Köksal
Publisher: Springer VS
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 238
City: Wiesbaden
Acknowledgements
Glossary of Chinese Words and Expressions
Contents
List of Figures
1 Introduction
1.1 Chinese Students and International Mobility Trends
1.2 Research Overview
1.3 Research Questions
2 Methods
2.1 Study Design
2.2 Selection and Recruitment
2.3 Description of the Interviews
2.4 Data Analysis
2.5 Characteristics of Sample
2.6 Reflection
3 Identity
3.1 The Development of the Modern Concept of Identity
3.2 Giddens’ Reflexive Project of the Self
3.3 Critical Voices on Giddens’ Theory of Self-Identity
3.4 Giddens’ Theories in the Chinese Context
4 Chinese Education and Study Abroad
4.1 Classical Education
4.2 Missionary Education in China
4.3 Chinese Study Abroad in the 19th Century
4.4 Education and Study Abroad in the Early 20th Century
4.5 Education and Study Abroad 1949–1978
4.6 Chinese Study Abroad After 1978
4.7 Chinese Student Mobility: Contributing Factors
4.8 Chinese Students and the U.S. Context
5 The Self and the Family
5.1 The Family in Modern China
5.1.1 One-Child Policy
5.1.2 Intergenerational Dynamics
5.1.3 Gender
5.2 Autonomy and Decision-making in the Family
5.2.1 “It was my Idea—then I Convinced my Parents.”
5.2.2 “What can my father do? He can only pay for me”
5.2.3 “I’m kind of Independent, maybe you can tell”
5.2.4 “I just want to stay in my Safety Zone”
5.2.5 Discussion
5.3 Education and the Family in China
5.3.1 Cultural Model of Education
5.3.2 Dissatisfaction with the national Educational System
5.3.3 Idealization of “Western” Education
5.4 Narratives of Exceptionalism
5.4.1 “I don’t fit into the Chinese System”
5.4.2 “American Universities really value my other type of Skills”
5.4.3 Discussion
6 The Self and the Peer Group
6.1 Developments of Individualization
6.1.1 Loneliness, Isolation, and Competition
6.1.2 Positioning within the Peer Group
6.2 Enthusiastic Learner
6.2.1 Definition and Discourse
6.2.2 “I’m Curious about the Truth”
6.2.3 “I’m Interested in all Subjects—I Want to Choose What I Learn”
6.2.4 “I'm More Dedicated and Hard-Working than Others”
6.2.5 “I want to get an M.A. or Ph.D.”
6.2.6 “Others are Better than me”
6.2.7 Discussion
6.3 People Person
6.3.1 Definition and Discourse
6.3.2 “I Love People—I am Outgoing”
6.3.3 “I want to Influence People”
6.3.4 “I am Shy”
6.3.5 Discussion
6.4 Global Citizen
6.4.1 Definition and Discourse
6.4.2 “Global Citizen” in the Chinese Context
6.4.3 “I Really Like Learning Languages”
6.4.4 “Just See Where the Opportunities Come from”
6.4.5 Discussion
7 The Self and the Country
7.1 Literature and Media Review
7.2 Position as a 3rd Country Researcher
7.3 China—National Identity
7.3.1 China as an Emotional Space
7.3.2 China as a Political System
7.4 USA—a new National Identity?
7.4.1 USA as a Land of Freedom and Human Rights
7.4.2 USA as a Land of Racism and Violence
7.5 Discussion
8 Conclusion
References
