29.11.07
They come imagining Jane Austen and afternoon tea, but what do they think of us after a dose of real life in a British university?
A study by the Glasgow University Media Group paints a compelling before-and-after picture of a generation of Chinese students who have been profoundly changed by their experience.
First the bad news
It is not hard to understand that in many cases the cosy in-bound images of gentile British life have been shattered, and the report claims that the students have been left shocked by the reality they find in big British cities, particularly when they were filled with young people on a Saturday night.
Educationally, many were also disappointed by the size of the fees they were being asked to pay and by finding themselves in classes that were filled with their compatriots.
One student even went so far as to point out that there were so many Chinese students on her course that, without the daily English lessons she was used to receiving at home, her English was actually getting worse while she was in the UK.
The good news
In cultural terms many students found that they will take home some new challenging ideas about how cultures and societies can operate.
They were particularly stimulated by what they discovered in terms of gender equality, creativity, multiculturalism, the acceptance of homosexuality, attitudes to public life and the rule of law, and the culture of manners and care for others (despite their shock at the drunken antics of British youth).
Educationally it was the smaller departments where they got the most individual attention which were most praised.
However, generally, despite a great deal of concern about price, seventy percent of students thought that a UK education was good value for money. The objection to the cost however is perhaps more about good faith than it is good value. They thought they were being used.
A national asset
The report concludes: “There is more at stake here than simply whether universities will meet their funding targets and have a sufficient ‘through-put’ of foreign post-graduates. The good reputation of British higher education (and indeed of Britain as a country of gentle people) took literally hundreds of years to establish. It is a major reason why students are attracted to the country in the first place. Such faith in our society and its institutions is a precious national asset.’
Further information
Read the full report.