Bridging the Gap between Western and Chinese Evidence in the International Education Market

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12093
• Date: 01 November 2014
• Published date: 01 November 2014
• Author: Wen Wen,Yan Luo,Die Hu

87

China & World Economy / 87–102, Vol. 22, No. 6, 2014

©2014 Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Bridging the Gap between Western and Chinese

Evidence in the International Education Market

Wen Wen, Yan Luo, Die Hu*

Abstract

Using a sample of 1674 international students in China, the present study explores

sociocultural adaptation and its determinants. The results indicate that sociocultural

adaptation among international students in China is largely shaped by the nature of the

interaction with host nationals. In particular, among international students, those who

experienced higher levels of social interaction with host nationals and received more social

support were better poised for sociocultural adaptation. Rather contrary to similar research

in the Western context, the study finds that international students from East Asia actually

experienced more sociocultural difficulties in China than their counterparts from Western

countries. These findings suggest the possibility of China and other oriental countries with

sound higher education systems playing more active roles in the global higher education

market.

Key words: China, International education market, sociocultural adaptation

JEL codes: F22, I29

I. Introduction

Cross-border education trade is an industry that has seen rapid growth since the 1970s.

Although many aspects have contributed to the development of the “academic trade,”

such as the import and export of textbooks and international examinations, international

*Wen Wen, Assistant Professor, Institute of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. Email:

wenwen00@gmail.com; Yan Luo, Associate Professor, Institute of Education, Tsinghua University,

Beijing, China. Email: luoy11@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn; Die Hu, postgraduate student, Department of

Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. Email: hudie19900311@gmail.com. This study is

partly supported by two research grants from the Beijing Youth Fund for the Philosophy and Social

Sciences Research (Project No. 11JYC017) and the Beijing Higher Education Young Elite Scholar Project

(Project No. YETP0164).

88 Wen Wen et al. / 87–102, Vol. 22, No. 6, 2014

©2014 Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

branch campus and offshore programs, it is the cross-border migration of international

students that remains the most visible aspect of this trade (Bourke, 2000).

With the number of international students all over the world rising dramatically, from

0.8 million in 1975 to 4.3 million in 2011 (OECD, 2012), the international scene has been

largely characterized by a growing interest in the promotion of and participation in foreign

study (Altbach, 1991; Cammelli, 1991). The past 30 years have witnessed the change of

patterns and motivations of international students: a countercyclical creation of

opportunities for international students has come about. Many “traditional suppliers” of

international students, from regions like Singapore, Malaysia, mainland China and Hong

Kong, which in the past sent substantial numbers of students abroad to study, have begun

to actively compete for overseas students with their Western counterparts (Sidhu, 2005;

World Bank, 2007; Chan and Ng, 2008; Evans, 2009; Ruby, 2009; Ng, 2011; Wen, 2012,

2013).

In the past two decades, the influx of international students to China has increased

significantly, rising from 1236 in 1978 to 328 330 from 189 countries in 2012. 1 Table 1 shows

the number and percentage of international students in China by continent and country.

Among those countries that send students to China, Korea and Japan account for the

largest numbers, and sum of Korean and Japanese students together exceeds one-quarter

of all the international students. It is clear that the Chinese international higher education

market is dominated by Asian countries, particularly by Korea.

The resulting outcome of this rapid increase in international students has led to

significant economic benefits to China: according to research conducted by the China

Association for International Education, the direct economic effect of international students

1This is according to the Chinese Education Statistics (2013), with short-cycle visiting students and non-

degree language learners included.

Table 1. Number and Percentage of International Students in China (2012)

(by Country and Region)

Source: Compiled by Wen Wen based on data from the official website of the Chinese Ministry of

Education: http://www.moe.gov.cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/moe/s5987/201303/148379.html .

World region Number Percentage Country Number Percentage

Asia 207 570 63.22 Korea 63 488 19.33

Europe 55 324 16.85 USA 24 583 7.49

America 34 869 10.62 Japan 21 126 6.43

Africa 27 054 8.24 Thailand 16 675 5.08

Oceania 4400 1.34 Russia 14 971 4.56

Indonesia 13 144 4

Vietnam 13 038 3.97

India 10 237 3.1

Region