Chinese international students’ wellbeing: Experiences of assessment in higher education

Abstract

While there is growing research identifying the academic and nonacademic challenges to the wellbeing of Chinese international students, there is little discussion about the differences in and challenges of the assessment they experience. This gap appears to come from a tacit assumption that assessment is universal worldwide, or that students will automatically learn strategies to deal with all the contrasts in assessment themselves. Based on personal experience, literature review and the interview responses of a group of Chinese international students’ in the UK answers are sought to three research questions regarding their experiences. Academic hospitality is the theoretical underpinning of the research as this emphasises the bilateral collaboration between international students and higher education providers to support students’ successful transition. The findings show that most participants were surprised and confused about the variety of assessment formats, the expected answers for assessment, and the autonomous learning they experienced in the UK, which were diverse from previous experience in China. While most Chinese students used similar strategies when they first encountered assessment in British universities, they developed new strategies when they realised the diverse expectations. These Chinese internationals needed ongoing support for assessment from the whole university.