Internationalisation of Higher Education of China and its Tendency Towards Westernisation

Abstract

The education system is considered to be vital to the growth of a country. The education system of China has a significant advantage over that of other countries. After the economic reform, the country opened its doors to internationalisation. Thus, it prioritised policy strategically for the higher education of the Chinese people. However, a review article on the higher education international collaboration of China conducted a critical evaluation of the internationalisation of the education system. The article was written by Guo et al. (2021), who emphasised the experience of students in internationalisation at home. In addition, the article explored how undergraduate Chinese students interpret and experience internationalisation in a world-class university in China. The data were gathered from the China North University by considering policy documents, conducting semistructured interviews and visiting the site. A sample of 11 students was considered to evaluate the perceived internationalisation and Western culture in the curriculum. However, findings revealed that based on the perceptions of the students, internationalisation was equal to Westernisation. The students also perceived the significant dominance of English as a medium of instruction and faced challenges owing to the language barrier. The students were unable to understand and learn English, as most of them were Chinese. The study also showed that universities do not give students equal opportunities to study abroad, and only students who belong to the elite class can internationalise themselves. The review article also investigated the unidirectional orientation of internationalisation between China and the Western world.

Keywords: China; higher education; internationalisation; internationalisation at home; westernisation