Abstract
While previous research has explored the social and academic experiences of international students when studying abroad, limited attention has been paid to local students and their adaptation to the internationalization of higher education. To fill this gap, the present study, adopting identity as an analytic lens, examined a group of Chinese university students’ perceptions and experiences in an internationalized curriculum in China. The findings show that the participants tried to interpret, construct, and refine their individual, academic, and cultural identities on a daily basis. In particular, they encountered and negotiated with three identity paradoxes, i.e., between “dedicated learners” and “disoriented bees”, between “global citizens” and “proud Chinese”, and between “team players” and “independent fighters”. The study provides useful implications for university management, teachers, and students in response to the ongoing trend of internationalization of higher education.
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Notes
TEM8 is a criterion-referenced English language test to measure the overall English proficiency of senior undergraduates majoring in English Language and Literature in China.
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Yuan, R., Li, S. & Yu, B. Neither “local” nor “global”: Chinese university students’ identity paradoxes in the internationalization of higher education. High Educ 77, 963–978 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-018-0313-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-018-0313-7