Internationalization of Chinese Higher Education: Is It Westernization?

Abstract

Internationalization has become a strategic policy priority for many Chinese higher education in the process of becoming world-class universities. However, there is little research focusing on students’ experiences of internationalization at home. This research investigates how Chinese undergraduates interpreted and experienced internationalization at a prestigious university in China. Data for the study were collected through policy document analysis, semi-structured interviews with students, and site visits. The results of the study reveal that students perceive internationalization as Westernization, question the prominence of English in the university’s internationalization in both formal and informal curricula, and raise concerns about unequal access to internationalization. The study interrogates the unidirectional orientation of internationalization between China and the developed Western world. It calls for an approach to the de-Westernization of internationalization, reclaiming indigenous Chinese epistemology, language, and culture. The findings have important implications for an alternative social imaginary of internationalization for researchers and policymakers.