Teaching international students from Confucian Heritage Culture countries: perspectives from three U.S. host campuses

Abstract

U.S. host campuses face instructional challenges from increasing numbers of international students from Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC) countries. Yet, the presence of CHC students offers learning opportunities for U.S. faculty in the context of internationalizing their higher education campuses. This study surveyed faculty at three U.S. host universities. It explored faculty understandings of Confucian culture, their perceptions of CHC countries’ international student learning, strategies used by faculty when teaching CHC students, and value faculty recognized when learning from CHC students. Results showed that a majority of faculty recognized the core values of Confucian culture. Yet, they were not fully aware of the cultural impact on CHC students’ learning, and the strategies they employed were mainly from the American perspectives. They did not integrate CHC students’ cultural heritages in their teaching practices and only partially accommodated CHC learners in teaching. This study calls for consciousness to transform faculty mindsets understanding the importance of students’ cultural differences in order to bring about a dramatic change in their teaching practices. Doing so may enhance the success of CHC students fomenting further internationalization at their host universities.