The New York Times article,"China's ambitious goal for boom in college graduates ," includes the quote:
The question is whether Chinese graduates who graduate from Chinese universities, Western-style universities popping up throughout China, or who studied in America (the largest number of international students studying in the U.S.A. are Chinese students weighing in at 194,000 in 2012) will have the insights, knowledge, and will have acquired the life skills that the best of higher education can offer. The answer to this question is at least partially up to student affairs educators. If U.S.A. universities take student affairs principles and practices seriously, finding ways to better respond to the needs of Chinese students, and if the export of Western educational practices to China includes serious attention to what student affairs has to offer, then Chinese students will be well served.
The NYT article goes on to describe the challenges of building the Chinese higher education system, including the difficulty of securing mature and productive scholars to teach the expanding number of students. Only a tip is made to the importance of outside of class learning when an example is recounted of a young female student who does her studies quickly to get to what she really values - conversational English practice she learns from a student club. Although question is raised about the relevance of student clubs, there is already a pattern among Chinese students of learning outside of class, albeit on their own and without much of a student affairs support system.
China is on track to match within seven years the United States’ current high school graduation rate for 18-year-olds of 75 percent — although a higher proportion of Americans than Chinese later go back and finish high school.Those students completing high school are going on to university in dramatically increasing numbers and higher education is expanding to accommodate them. The impact of China's investment is not only resulting in a more educated and work-prepared citizenry in China, it is attracting the attention of recruiters from other countries who are increasingly hiring Chinese graduates who can then become the bridge between Western businesses and the world's 2nd most populace country and one of the fastest growing economies.
The question is whether Chinese graduates who graduate from Chinese universities, Western-style universities popping up throughout China, or who studied in America (the largest number of international students studying in the U.S.A. are Chinese students weighing in at 194,000 in 2012) will have the insights, knowledge, and will have acquired the life skills that the best of higher education can offer. The answer to this question is at least partially up to student affairs educators. If U.S.A. universities take student affairs principles and practices seriously, finding ways to better respond to the needs of Chinese students, and if the export of Western educational practices to China includes serious attention to what student affairs has to offer, then Chinese students will be well served.
The NYT article goes on to describe the challenges of building the Chinese higher education system, including the difficulty of securing mature and productive scholars to teach the expanding number of students. Only a tip is made to the importance of outside of class learning when an example is recounted of a young female student who does her studies quickly to get to what she really values - conversational English practice she learns from a student club. Although question is raised about the relevance of student clubs, there is already a pattern among Chinese students of learning outside of class, albeit on their own and without much of a student affairs support system.
Great piece Denny. I agree Student Affairs educators can play a significant role in supporting both international populations as well as contributing to domestic students (wherever they are) understanding of other cultures.
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