The Education of Lee Teng Hwee: Building a University and Making a Christian Home, 1887–1907

The Chinese Central Government has focused significant attention on the social work profession as a pivotal solution to address social issues and tensions resulting from rapid social and economic development. In 2006, the Chinese Government announced an ambitious target of educating a workforce of three million social workers by 2020. Even when, subsequently, this number was halved, it continues to remain an ambitious goal. To achieve the new target of 1.5 million social workers, graduates from associated disciplines are allowed to become social workers by taking the Professional Level Examination. Despite these measures, and although social work in China is advancing rapidly, the social work profession remains relatively underdeveloped. China faces many challenges in developing both social work education and the profession itself. This thesis argues that to meet these challenges, Chinese social work needs to experience an indigenisation and a professionalisation process to adapt Western values, theories, and knowledge into the Chinese cultural, social, and political contexts. Three main issues relate to this process of indigenisation and professionalization: social work’s low status, a lack of knowledge about the profession, and its blurred professional roles in China. These factors have led to reluctance by many Chinese students to study and practise social work. Little is known about the experiences of Chinese social work students who have straddled both Western and Chinese education boundaries, with their different learning styles and practices. This study investigated Chinese undergraduate students’ experiences of learning social work in both a China-based program and in a joint China-Australia program, by asking two research questions. Why and how do Chinese students learn social work in China and in Australia? What is Chinese students’ understanding of the social work profession both in China and in a cross-cultural context? This research draws on participants within a joint social work program between GU and CCNU, the first collaborative initiative at the undergraduate level (CCNU, 2019) and established in 2011 with a collaborative Bachelor of Social Work program to deliver a 2 plus 2.5-year joint degree program between China and Australia. This study recruited participants from two cohorts of Chinese students. One cohort studied exclusively in China, while the other studied first in China and then in Australia. From 2014 to 2015, a qualitative study with an insider approach was adopted. Data were collected from several stages of semi-structured interviews with two cohorts of participants over 1.5 years of learning in China and in Australia. Data were first transcribed in Chinese, then translated into English, and converted into NVivo for analysis. Six steps of thematic analysis were applied, from familiarisation with the data, coding, searching for themes, reviewing (including translating)) and refining. The study concludes that participants reported five different reasons for studying social work, with only one student who studied social work because of an interest in the profession. In regard to how they learned social work, five components emerged that were used to compare and contrast between Chinese and Australian universities, namely classroom learning experiences, experiences of undertaking assessment, teacher and student relationships, support systems, and challenges in learning. In terms of how participants learned social work in practice, the application of learning emerged with two themes including the ability to use theory in practice and learning influenced values. In relation to the second research question regarding students’ understanding of the profession, the study found three perspectives and the results on professional identity. The first perspective reported participants’ perceptions of social work with two themes. The second perspective was the influence of the government on the role of social work, and two themes were reported. The third perspective related to incongruities in values and ethics, and two themes emerged. The study has concluded that the weak professional identity that both cohorts developed led to their reluctance to choose social work as a future career. Although a relatively small study in terms of number of participants, this research has some implications for social work education in both China and Australia. It concludes that Chinese universities would benefit from improved promotion of social work to assist Chinese students to understand the profession and that Chinese social work education could adopt five possible changes to provide students with practiceoriented learning in the Chinese context. It also concludes that Australian universities could provide more specific and tailored assistance to Chinese students to enable them to participate fully in their education.

nnnnn Research into foreign and second language (L2) learning during the last few decades has generally shifted from pedagogy and learning processes to the perspective of the learner. This thesis represents an initial effort to investigate the general framework of L2 learning by exploring social and cultural influences on students' learning behaviours in Australian and Chinese university students. The major goal of this thesis is to investigate why and how students from different social contexts learn an L2 by comparing the similarities and differences in their language learning strategy use, learning motivation, and teaching method preference. nnnnn The argument in this study is that the differences between the Australian and Chinese university students in their L2 learning show that the learning environment in different social contexts is the key variable affecting the students' learning in general, language policy and curriculum affect students' learning strategy use, learning motivation, and teaching method preference in particular. In addition, learners' proficiency levels in the target language are also affected by these sociocultural variables, which in turn influence greatly their learning behaviours, especially their learning strategy choices, and teaching method preferences. nnnnn Therefore, in this research the relationship between L2 achievement and prior learning experiences, learning strategies, learning motivation, and teaching method preference is explored. The results indicate that language learning strategies and prior learning experience in the target language are related to L2 achievement in both Australian and Chinese university students. Furthermore, the Australian and Chinese university students were studied at different stages of their L2 learning, with Chinese students having had more exposure to the target language than their Australian counterparts, and with the differences in language policy, curriculum design and classroom teaching, there appeared differences between Australian and Chinese university students in terms of learning strategy use, learning motivation, and teaching method preference. nnnnn Compared with Chinese university students, Australian students use more social-oral strategies; they are more integratively motivated, and prefer both traditional and communicative teaching methods. In contrast, Chinese students use more compensation strategies; and they are more instrumentally motivated than the Australian students. Further analysis within each social group show that among Australian students, more proficient learners were distinguished from less proficient learners in terms of compensation strategies and integrative motivation. Less proficient learners use more translation strategies, prefer the traditional teaching method, and they are more instrumentally motivated.nnnnn Similarly, within the Chinese group, less proficient learners use more translation strategies and prefer the traditional teaching method, whereas more proficient learners use more social-functional strategies and they are more instrumentally motivated. The general comparison between Australian and Chinese groups, as well as within each group, demonstrates consistency by employing multiple research methods. The findings from this study provide strong empirical grounds for the theoretical and pedagogical implications for future research. While the context of the research presented in this thesis may be specific to the particular learning situations under the different educational systems, the insights gained thereby are relevant to all language practitioners and researchers who seek to explore influences upon L2 learners of different contexts in terms of their learning strategy choice, learning motivation, and teaching method preference.

The article is devoted to determining the level of psychological well-being of Chinese and Russian students in a cross-cultural context. The article presents the concept of psychological well-being, its structure and factors are revealed, empirical referents of the studied phenomenon are determined. The study sample consisted of Chinese (n = 63) and Russian (n = 63) students, as representatives of different cultures. The main criterion for selecting the sample was the ontogenetic stage of personality development - early adulthood, as well as the education of respondents in provincial universities (Russian students studied at Kostroma State University, Chinese students - at Guangxi University). The methodological complex included the “Scale of psychological well-beingˮ by K. Riff in the adaptation of N.N. Lepeshinsky; “Scale of Happinessˮ Lyubomirsky, Lepper adapted by D.A. Leontiev; “Life Satisfaction Scaleˮ Diener, Emmons, Larsen, Griffin adapted by D.A. Leontieva, E.N. Aspen. Significant differences in the psychological well-being of Russian and Chinese students are shown. The author of the article concludes that the indicator of psychological well-being among Chinese and Russian students correlates with the cultural and social contexts of their lives.

Purpose– This exploratory research project investigated how mainland Chinese business students studying overseas conceptualize and describe the learning effectiveness of ten different instructional techniques commonly encountered in their business courses. A large numbers of mainland Chinese students enroll in business courses in private international institutions in Singapore – dislocated from their home cultures – but needing to adapt to Western learning curricula and ultimately to acquire proficiency in Western business practices. Certain instructional techniques are likely to bridge the cultural gap better than others. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach– Twenty consenting students selected from 400+ geographically diverse Chinese students participating in a larger study provided face-to-face interview information on how different instructional techniques stimulated different aspects of content acquisition, learner group dynamics, decision-making, learning efficiency, comfort, flexibility, familiarity, and applicability.Findings– Interviewees' free-form descriptions of “learning effectiveness” included phrases such as “quality of learning”, “control over my learning”, “scope of knowledge”, “efficiency of learning”, “gaining/acquiring knowledge”, “understanding theories”, “flexibility in time and place”, “applicability of new information”, “attractive learning environment”, “[absence of] ambiguity and uncertainty”, “security and ease of mind”, etc. Their 340 descriptors were classified into 30 qualitative indicator categories, four of them common to many instructional techniques and ten more specific to individual techniques.Originality/value– Although Chinese mainland students generally prefer rote-learning styles of instructional techniques due to their prolonged exposure to it, rote-style techniques may not always be the preferred choices for learning effectiveness and adaptation to new culture norms and practices. This paper reports qualitative “consultations” with learners in new cultures and argues for holistic and engaged approaches to learning effectiveness for students dislocated from their home cultures while providing a starting-point for further research in mainland Chinese students' Western-based business education in Singapore and elsewhere.

This study explored Chinese students' concept of mental health through a questionnaire completed by 999 students from six primary schools, six high schools, and three universities in Shanghai. The results confirmed the expectation that Chinese students' mental health concept would be multifaceted and would reflect psychological, physical, and sociocultural factors. An exploratory factor analysis on 12 mental health items with a subsample extracted a three-factor model, which was cross-validated by confirmatory factor analysis with a different subsample. These three factors were labeled as Affective Strength, Adaptive Strength, and Personal Strength. No gender differences were found. The grade differences supported the notion that Chinese students' concept of mental health seems to be more consistent with the developmental paradigm of health. The senior years in primary school could be the turning point at which children start to conceptualize health as a holistic experience by recognizing the importance of mental health.

Intercultural communication between Chinese college students and foreign teachers through the English corner at an elite language university in Shanghai

British higher education institutions attract a large number of international students, especially Chinese students, to pursue degrees in the UK every year. This longitudinal mixed-methods study tracked the informal language contact and social networks of Chinese foundation program students in the UK for two terms. A Language Contact Questionnaire and a Study Abroad Social Network Survey were administered to 84 students and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 participants in the first term and the second term of study. Data revealed that the participants generally had a high percentage of L1 use, high academic L2 contact, and mainly L1 social networks during studying abroad, with little variation over the two terms. Their relationships with international friends were superficial and a vibrant international student community was not found. L2 topic multiplexity and online L2 contact frequency weakly predicted the total informal L2 contact at Term 1 and Term 2. This study underscores that degree-oriented SA participants may have different prioritization and leisure time routines compared with summer school participants or exchange students abroad. Thus, with an extra foundation year in the host country, the current sample seemed to prioritize academic preparation, rather than social integration.

This paper reports a survey study of how Chinese students use strategies when learning second language vocabulary. The focus of the study is on the effect of learning environments (EFL vs. ESL) on the use of vocabulary learning strategies. The subjects are Chinese secondary school students learning English in China (EFL context) and in Singapore (ESL context).The questionnaire used in the survey was a modified version of Gu and Johnson (1996). 450 secondary school students, aged from 16 to 19, from two secondary schools in Harbin, China, and one boarding school in Singapore participated in the survey. The profile of the students’ learning beliefs, sources and strategies was examined in relation to their learning environments. The t-test results showed that learning environment was significant factors in affecting vocabulary learning beliefs, sources and strategy use. The findings suggest that language environments can influence individuals’ vocabulary learning profile. Thus, the combined effects of the teaching emphasis and the amount of exposure to the target language in and out of the classroom should be considered closely in order to understand the strategy choice of Chinese EFL and ESL learners. Key words: Vocabulary learning strategies; Context, environment; EFL; ESL

In recent years, the number of Chinese students studying abroad continues to grow, with their destination countries becoming diverse. The outbreak of COVID 19 pandemic in 2020 has exerted profound impacts on their decisions of overseas study. Taking a double first-class university in Shanghai as an example, this study explored the decision-making of Chinese undergraduate students who intend to study abroad and the contributing factors that affect their decision-making from the perspective of the push-pull theory. Recommendations were provided for their future choices on overseas study.

Broadly understood as repeated, intentional, and aggressive behaviors facilitated by digital technologies, cyberbullying has been identified as a significant public health concern in Australia. However, there have been critical debates about the theoretical and methodological assumptions of cyberbullying research. On the whole, this research has demonstrated an aversion to accounting for context, difference, and complexity. This insensitivity to difference is evident in the absence of nuanced accounts of Indigenous people's experiences of cyberbullying. In this chapter, we extend recent critiques of dominant approaches to cyberbullying research and argue for novel theoretical and methodological engagements with Indigenous people's experiences of cyberbullying. We review a range of literature that unpacks the many ways that social, cultural, and political life is different for Indigenous peoples. More specifically, we demonstrate there are good reasons to assume that online conflict is different for Indigenous peoples, due to diverse cultural practices and the broader political context of settler-colonialism. We argue that the standardization of scholarly approaches to cyberbullying is delimiting its ability to attend to social difference in online conflict, and we join calls for more theoretically rigorous, targeted, difference-sensitive studies into bullying.

The paper reports on an empirical study of Chinese international students’ experiences of personal safety and security at universities in a UK city. After locating these concerns in relation to current political, social and epidemiological contexts, it reviews the developments that have taken place in our understanding and theorisation of ‘safety’ and, in particular, ‘security’ of international students, noting the powerful implications of Marginson’s most recent conceptualisation of the issues. The paper proposes the addition of Giddens’s notion of ontological security to this developed conceptual framework. Findings from the empirical study make it clear that many students in the study remain concerned over their safety and security, and feel that their concerns are not fully appreciated by the ‘authorities’ to whom they might be expected to turn for support. For information and support on matters of personal safety, therefore, these Chinese students’ first recourse is to compatriot fellow students, reinforcing a sense of inter-dependence based on shared subjective identities. Rather than treating this ‘in-community’ solidarity as potentially undermining wider cross-cultural contact and communication, this paper proposes that a strengthened sense of ‘ontological security’ provides a foundation for cross-cultural functioning that does not entail cultural assimilation and a ‘subaltern’ status.

Research on how Chinese students perceive their social presence, especially in the UK's higher education and online environment, has received less attention. This qualitative study will fill the research gap by providing data to understand Chinese students' attitudes towards Zoom-based student-led online learning projects, aiming to explore how Chinese students perceive social presence and what factors influence their social presence. We collected data by conducting semi-structured interviews with seven postgraduate students who attended an online Zoom-based student-led project, "Holistic Academic and Research Reflective Practice". It is found that students' perceived social presence can be grouped into three themes: conceptualization of social presence; the level of perceived social presence in the online environments; and the perceived importance of social presence. The factors that affect the social presence of Chinese students can be put into three categories: social context, online communication, and interactivity. We suggest that students should always be aware of the impact of emotional values and human interaction in online learning environments in order to have a positive learning experience. Chinese students who want to take part in more interactive online learning environments should think about how to build a healthy sense of social presence.

Gender and cultural differences in Internet use: A study of China and the UK

Recently, the globalized economy and the rapid growth of developing countries have driven a large number of students to study abroad in different developed countries. To compare the factors affecting their choices, this qualitative study collected data from a series of in-depth one-on-one interviews with twelve Mainland Chinese students who were undertaking a Master’s in Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree program at two different universities (namely, Shanghai University and the University of Tsukuba). In addition to ascertaining the perceptions, perspectives, and experiences of these student participants, we used the “pull” factor framework of Everett Lee to analyze how these graduate students from Mainland China were attracted to an MLIS education in Japan and in Shanghai. Our findings indicated that university reputation was a key academic factor, while many students from diversified undergraduate disciplines were attracted to an MLIS education from a wide range of information-related industries, regardless of the destination of their education. Meanwhile, for students who were considering a destination for their overseas education, they considered the costs of living, tuition fee, geographic proximity to home country, and affinity with the Japanese culture to be factors that are important to their decision making. Our findings may provide valuable insights for LIS educators to improve curriculum designs and practitioners to plan their human resource development, as well as ensuring future MLIS graduates’ employability in the highly global competitive knowledge-driven economy.

International student mobility (ISM) flows have historically involved students moving from developing regions to developed countries. However, recently, there has been a shift, with more Chinese students pursuing doctoral studies in several Southeast Asian developing countries, including Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. Their decision‐making processes remain under‐researched. This study addresses this gap by contextualising the decision‐making processes of Chinese students choosing to pursue doctoral degrees in these countries. Informed by Bourdieu's thinking tools of field, capital and habitus, this exploratory qualitative study draws upon semi‐structured interviews with 33 Chinese doctoral students. The findings revealed how the broader conditions in which students worked and studied influenced students' decision‐making processes. These conditions related to: the importance of gaining a PhD as a form of cultural capital in the Chinese higher education sub‐field; students' lack of cultural capital in the Chinese higher education sub‐field; the way in which these Southeast Asian countries were construed as homologous destinations within the Chinese social, cultural and academic context, and; increased affinity between Southeast Asian institutions and individual habitus. This research contributes new insights into international student mobility within developing countries.