Education Abroad in China: Literature Review of Study Abroad Program Types, Outcomes and Benefits

Abstract

While there has been an increase in education abroad in China due to China’s rise as an economic, political, military and cultural power, there haven’t been a tremendous number of peer-reviewed articles published in scholarly journals on education abroad programs in China. This paper presents a review of information from peer-reviewed scholarly journals on the types of education abroad programs students, professors and administrators go on in China, organized in a taxonomy, and the outcomes and benefits of these programs that are stated in these sources. The benefits and outcomes of education abroad in China culled from this literature review are matched to the list of ten main outcomes of study abroad programs presented by Parsons (2010). In addition, a list of other outcomes not listed by Parsons (2010) that were identified and categorized through this literature review is presented.

Canada Learning Initiative in China (CLIC): A Consortium Approach to Increasing Students’ Participation in Education Abroad to China

“…Also discussed is the advantage of a consortium in bridging the gap between two governance systems and in leveraging resources from both governments. Students' learning outcomes reported in this study are broad, including increased self-confidence and cultural awareness, increased motivation to learn and to travel, increased knowledge of differences in governance, advancement of professional training and career prospects, and even influencing change in the host country, reinforcing findings in previous studies in the Chinese context, such as Dixon's (2013). But the most important outcome, also the focus of the discussion in this paper, is how students' education abroad experiences served the goal of knowledge diplomacy between the two countries.…”

Developing Intercultural Competency in Public Health Study Abroad Program

“…Most studies focused on the positive outcomes of study abroad programs. Almost all studies reviewed for this paper mentioned cultural competence as a primary outcome of these experiences (Dixon, 2013;Koskinen & Tossavainen, 2003;McComb et al, 2019;Rew et al, 2003;Sandin et al, 2004). Cultural Competence is used both as a framework and as an outcome in many studies (Carpenter & Garcia, 2012;Gilboy & Bill, 2011;Kako et al, 2019;Ruddock & Turner, 2007).…”