China College Student Survey (ccss): Breaking Open the Black Box of the Process of Learning

Abstract

The paper uses macro-causal analysis combined with empirical data analysis to illustrate how Chinese scholars in higher education (he) have adapted the concept of “student engagement” and indigenize the instrument of the National Survey of Student Engagement (nsse), with the aim of revealing college teaching/learning activities and understanding the learning processes of Chinese students in he. The paper explains why and how the China College Student Survey (ccss) was developed by the research team in the Institute of Education (ioe), Tsinghua University, using the nsse as a basis, with the help of both domestic and foreign scholars. The paper analyzes data collected nationwide in 2012, under the framework of four trends influencing he in China. Cases are also studied in the paper illustrating the learning behaviors of college students, as well as the macro-level driving forces in a more general context.