Chinese Graduate Students at a Canadian University

Abstract

With the growing trend of globalization and internationalization of education, an increasing number of Chinese students choose to pursue higher education in Canada. In order to explore Chinese international students' academic challenges and coping strategies in Canadian universities, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 students studying graduate programs in one Canadian university. The findings reveal that Chinese graduate students encounter a number of academic challenges due to their limited English language proficiency, and the different educational norms and practices between China and Canada. By employing the theory of student agency as the theoretical framework, the study finds that Chinese graduate students possess the agency to cope with their academic challenges. The coping strategies can be grouped into two categories: the first category is to rely on students' personal improvement and the second category is to resort to external resources. The chapter concludes with implications for future research.