Abstract
Although higher education transnational programs are becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide, little is known about student’s conceptions of learning, which could help to improve the education quality of such programs. This study investigated Chinese undergraduates’ conceptions of learning in programs cooperatively run by Chinese and non-Chinese universities. The research methodology adopted is phenomenography. Data are collected through semi-structured interviews with 30 undergraduates and analyzed following the phenomenographic principles to identify the referential and structural aspects of each conception. Ultimately six main conceptions of learning and four sub-conceptions are identified, namely, learning as increase of new knowledge, memorization with/without understanding, application with/without understanding, making sense of the knowledge acquired, gaining a new perspective to view reality and personal change and growth based on an extensive understanding of learning. Generally speaking, the relationship found between conceptions is hierarchical, yet the sub-conceptions or branches are also notable. The findings not only demonstrate the complexity of Chinese students’ conceptions of university learning under a cross-culture learning and teaching context, but they also point to the possibility of there being something new to discover, even for some familiar and well-established conceptions. The implications and recommendations for future studies are provided in the end.
Highlights
Internationalization in higher education (HE) is an ongoing and continuous process in which cross-cultural and global dimensions have been integrated into the aims and functions of universities (Knight, 2003)
In the Chinese HE sector, transnational higher education (TNHE) is commonly known as Chinese-Foreign Cooperation in Running Schools (Hou et al, 2014) or CFCRS, which is composed of joint institutions and joint programs (Yang, 2014) and is a crucial means to internationalize Chinese universities (Huang, 2007)
The aim of this study is to provide an in-depth analysis of the conceptions of learning held by undergraduates, which can help to better understand students’ ways of understanding learning in a cross-cultural environment and improve the quality of teaching and learning in transnational programs
Summary
Internationalization in higher education (HE) is an ongoing and continuous process in which cross-cultural and global dimensions have been integrated into the aims and functions of universities (Knight, 2003). In the Chinese HE sector, TNHE is commonly known as Chinese-Foreign Cooperation in Running Schools (Hou et al, 2014) or CFCRS, which is composed of joint institutions and joint programs (Yang, 2014) and is a crucial means to internationalize Chinese universities (Huang, 2007). The teaching staff is composed of both foreign lecturers from partner universities and Chinese lecturers. The programs include both language learning and specialized knowledge teaching in a foreign language. The educational resources such as teaching plan, instruction outline, teaching technologies, textbooks, and curriculum system are introduced from the partner foreign universities.
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