Understanding Western Students: Motivations and Benefits for Studying in China

Abstract

In the recent years, there has been a rise in the number of Western students who are studying in China. Governments in China, and in other Western nations are expanding relations because China is currently developing world-class higher education institutions (Hennock, 2012). The present study explores motivations, deterrents and benefits of studying abroad in China. Questionaries’ were distributed to 285 overseas students and findings suggest that Western students rated their overall experiences favorably, while only the majority of participants rated their academic experience as above. Findings also reveal that other related academic factors such as the Chinese university administration support was somewhat below neutral. Finally, findings also suggest that a strong motivation to study in China is receiving a grant or scholarship, and students’ favorite aspects from the experience were the people, the food and the culture. Implications and further directions for the study will be discussed.