Likened to “A Boiled Egg”: Understanding Chinese Postgraduate Taught Students’ Transitional Experience in the UK

Abstract

International students make significant contributions to UK higher education and studying in the UK brings various potential benefits to international students. An in-depth exploration of the academic journey of Chinese international master’s students, the largest body of overseas students in the UK, is needed to provide better insight into how to best support this cohort. In this longitudinal study, interviews with 34 participants were conducted using a photo-elicitation technique and diagrams. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was employed for data analysis. Nine superordinate themes emerged which comprise academic, social, linguistic, and psychological aspects of students’ experience. These themes were brought together in a model, adapted from Malow’s Hierarchy of Needs, to provide a longitudinal representation of the student experience transitioning in, through, and out of their journey abroad. This study illustrates the various needs of this cohort by sequence and importance, and highlights English proficiency and social connections as two influential factors.