ESTONIAN ACADEMY
PUBLISHERS
eesti teaduste
akadeemia kirjastus
PUBLISHED
SINCE 1997
 
TRAMES cover
TRAMES. A Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences
ISSN 1736-7514 (Electronic)
ISSN 1406-0922 (Print)
Impact Factor (2022): 0.2
AFRICAN STUDENTS’ MOBILITY TO CHINA AN ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMATIC PERSPECTIVE; pp. 185–206
PDF | 10.3176/tr.2022.2.05

Authors
Bouchaib Chkaif, Marwan H. Sallam, Minghua Xu, Hanane Thamik
Abstract

The exponential growth of African students’ mobility to China has become a cause célèbre in China-Africa relations. As of 2018, the African students occupied 16.57% of the international students in China. Against this backdrop, it is imperative to understand the drivers and motivations behind their continuous influx to Chinese higher education institutions. This paper goes beyond the commonly used ‘pull-push’ model and approaches this trend from a holistic perspective provided by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory. Through a mixed approach, we explored the impact of the students’ multi-dimensional environment on their decision-making of mobility to China. Data from a survey of 375 participants and 15 interviews showed that the macrosystem had the utmost influence on choosing China as their study destination. It also shows that the economic factors and the pursuit of better education amalgamate the ‘why’ and ‘how’ in the students’ decision-making process. Although they opt for quality education, African students tend to carefully weigh the yearnings and earnings of mobility to China through self-bargaining and self-negotiations. The implications on international students’ mobility are discussed in this article.

References

Altbach, P. G. (2004) “Globalisation and the university”. Tertiary Education and Management 10, 1, 3–25.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2004.9967114

Altbach, P. G., L. Reisberg, and L. E. Rumbley (2019) Trends in global higher education: tracking an academi crevolution. Paris: Brill.

Ahmad, A. B. and M. Shah (2018) “International students’ choice to study in China: an exploratory study”. Tertiary Education and Management 24, 4, 325–337.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2018.1458247

Beech, S. E. (2015) “International student mobility: the role of social networks”. Social and Cultural Geography 16, 3, 332–350.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14649365.2014.983961

Bhandari, R. and P. Blumenthal (2011) “Global student mobility and the twenty-first century silk road: national trends and new directions”. In R. Bhandari, ed. International students and global mobility in higher education, 1–23. NewYork: Palgrave Macmillan.
https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230117143_1

Bodomo, A. (2012) Africans in China: a sociocultural study and its implications on Africa-China relations. NewYork: Cambria Press.

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977) “Toward an experimental ecology of human development”. American Psychologist 32, 7, 513–531.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.32.7.513

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979) The ecology of human development: experiments by nature and design. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Brown, R. (2012) “African students see China as a path to a prosperous future”. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Available online at 
https://www.chronicle.com/article/african-students-see-china-as-a-path-to-a-properous-future
Accessed on 22 March 2021.

Cebolla-Boado, H., Y. Hu, and Y. N. Soysal (2018) “Why study abroad? Sorting of Chinese students across British universities”. British Journal of Sociology of Education 39, 3, 365–380.
https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2017.1349649

The State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China (2021) “China and Africa in the New Era: a partnership of equals”. Xinhua. Available online at 
http://www.news.cn/english/2021- 11/26/c_1310333813.htm
Accessed on 30 November 2021.

Creswell, J. W. (2009) Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. 3rd ed. California: SAGE Publishing.

Cronbach, L. J. (1951) “Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests”. Psychometrika 16, 3, 297–334.
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02310555

Diana, W. and O .P. Wen (2013) “The globalization of tertiary education and intra-Asian student mobility: Mainland Chinese student mobility to Malaysia”. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal 22, 1, 55–76.
https://doi.org/10.1177/011719681302200104

Ding, X. (2016) “Exploring the experiences of international students in China”. Journal of Studies in International Education 20, 4, 319–338.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315316647164

Gbollie, C. S. and Gong (2020) “Emerging destination mobility”. International Journal of Educational Management 34, 1, 18–34.
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-02-2019-0041

Gibson, C. B. (2017) “Elaboration, generalization, triangulation, and interpretation”. Organizational Research Methods 20, 2, 193–223.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428116639133

Gillespie, S. (2014) South-South transfer: a study of Sino-African exchanges. England: Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315790930

Haugen, H. Ø. (2013) “China’s recruitment of African university students: policy efficacy and unintended outcomes”. Globalisation, Societies and Education 11, 3, 315–334.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2012.750492

Hevi, E. (1963) An African student in China. London: Pall Mall Press.

Hodzi, O. (2020) “Bridging the asymmetries? African students’ mobility to China”. Asian Ethnicity 21, 4, 566–584.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14631369.2020.1776097

ICEF (2012) “Author forecasts a tripling of international students worldwide by 2025”. ICEF. Available online at 
https://monitor.icef.com/2012/02/author-forecasts-a-tripling-of-international-students—worldwide-by-2025
Accessed on 16 March2021.

ICEF (2021) “China emerging as a major destination for African students”. ICEF. Available online at 
https://monitor.icef.com/2021/04/china-emerging-as-a-major-destination-for-african-students/
Accessed on 12 May 2021.

Jon, J.‑E., J. J. Lee, and K. Byun (2014) “The emergence of a regional hub: comparing international student choices and experiences in South Korea”. Higher Education 67, 5, 691–710.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-013-9674-0

Kaiser, H. F. and J. Rice (1974) “Little Jiffy, Mark Iv”. Educational and Psychological Measurement 34, 1, 111–117.
https://doi.org/10.1177/001316447403400115

King, K. (2014) “China’s higher education engagement with Africa: a different partnership and cooperation model”. International Development Policy 5, 1, 151–173.
https://doi.org/10.4000/poldev.1788

Kudo, K., S. Volet, and C. Whitsed (2017) “Intercultural relationship development at university: a systematic literature review from an ecological and person-in-context perspective”. Educational Research Review 20, 99–116.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2017.01.001

Lan, S. (2016) “The shifting meanings of race in China: a case study of the African diaspora communities in Guangzhou”. City and Society 28, 3, 298–318.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ciso.12094

Lefifi, T. and C. Kiala (2021) “Untapping FOCAC higher education scholarships for Africa’s human capital development: lessons from haigui”. China International Strategy Review 3, 1, 177–198.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s42533-021-00074-y

Lei, J., L. Xiao, and B. Li (2021) “African students’ motivations for studying in China’s higher education”. Asia Pacific Education Review 22, 2, 319–332.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-021-09680-2

Lewin, K. (2013) Principles of topological psychology. Redditch: Read Books Ltd.

Li, C., W. Li, and W. Ren (2021) “Tracking the trajectories of international students’ pragmatic choices in studying abroad in China: a social network perspective”. Language, Culture and Curriculum 34, 4, 398–416.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318.2020.1857393

Li, Anshan (2018) “African students in China: research, reality, and reflection”. African Studies Quarterly 17, 4, 4–44.

Lu, Z., W. Li, M. Li, and Y. Chen (2019) “Destination China: International students in Chengdu”. International Migration 57, 3, 354–372.
https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12464

Ma, J. (2017) “Why and how international students choose Mainland China as a higher education study abroad destination”. Higher Education 74, 4, 563–579.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-016-0066-0

Madianou, M. and D. Miller (2013) “Polymedia: towards a new theory of digital media ininterpersonal communication”. International Journal of Cultural Studies 16, 2, 169–187.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877912452486

MOE (2018) Statistical report on international students in China for 2018. Available online at 
http://en.moe.gov.cn/documents/reports/201904/t20190418_378692.html
Accessed on 21 March 2021.

MOE (2020) Statistics on Chinese learner sstudying overseas in 2019. MOE. Available online at 
http://en.moe.gov.cn/news/press_releases/202012/t20201224_507474.html
Accessed on 22 March 2021.

Mulvey, B. (2020) “International higher education and public diplomacy: a case study of Ugandan graduates from Chinese universities”. Higher Education Policy 33, 3, 459–477.
https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-019-00174-w

Mulvey, B. (2021) “‘Decentering’ international student mobility: the case of African student migrants in China”. Population, Space and Place 27, 3, 1–11.
https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.2393

Pan, S.‑Y. (2013) “China’s approach to the international market for higher education students: strategies and implications”. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management 35, 3, 249–263.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2013.786860

Sautman, B. and Y. Hairong (2009) “African Perspectives on China-Africa Links”. The China Quarterly 199, 728–759.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S030574100999018X

Snow, P. (1988) The star raft: China’s encounter with AfricaCornell paperbacks. NewYork: Cornell University Press.

Sullivan, M. J. (1994) “The 1988–89 Nanjing Anti-African protests: racial nationalism or national racism?” The China Quarterly 138, 438–457.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741000035839

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978) Mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Wang, L. (2014) “Internationalization with Chinese characteristics”. Chinese Education and Society 47, 1, 7–26.
https://doi.org/10.2753/CED1061-1932470101

Wen, W., D. Hu, and J. Hao (2018) “International students’ experiences in China: does the planned reverse mobility work?” International Journal of Educational Development 61, 204–212.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2017.03.004

Westerman, D., P. R. Spence, and B. van der Heide (2014) “Social media as information source: recency of updates and credibility of information”. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 19, 2, 171–183.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jcc4.12041

Yang, P. (2020) “China in the global field of international student mobility: ananalysis of economic, human and symbolic capitals”. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education 52, 2, 308–326.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2020.1764334

Yu, Y., M. Cheng, and Y. Xu (2021) “Understanding international postgraduate students’ educational mobility to China: an ecological systematic perspective”. Higher Education Research and Development, 1–17.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2021.1973383

Zha, Q., H. Wu, and R. Hayhoe (2019) “Why Chinese universities embrace internationalization: an exploration with two case studies”. Higher Education 78, 4, 669–686.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00364-w

Back to Issue