The Influence of Overseas Study Experience on Teachers’ Beliefs in Chinese Colleges and Universities

Abstract

This study uses a thematic analysis method to examine the influence of overseas study experience on the beliefs of college teachers. The following four themes were extracted from the analysis: Overseas study can positively influence individual views of teaching and learning, overseas study can promote the sustainable development of individual scientific research, overseas study has little effect on the interpersonal distance between teachers and students, and overseas study enables individuals to more comprehensively and objectively recognize similarities and differences in the study characteristics of Chinese and foreign college students. The impact of overseas study experience on individual views of teaching practices and scientific research involves a wider range of subfields. The results show that the experience of overseas study will have a certain short-term adverse impact on the scientific research of returning teachers. This finding was either not covered or ignored by previous related studies and deserves further research attention.