Deep or surface learning? Perceptions of Chinese international and local students in Australian universities

Boli Li
Federation University Australia, Australia and Chongqing Technology and Business University, China
Jenene Burke and Margaret Plunkett
Federation University Australia, Australia

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese international students (CIS) still constitute the largest international population in Australian higher education. Yet limited research has examined the lived learning experience of CIS and local students in Australian universities. Underpinned by Biggs, Kember and Leung's (2001) 3P model of learning, this article explores the perceptions of CIS regarding their approaches to learning in Australian universities, as compared with Australian domestic students (ADS). Surveys incorporating the Revised Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) were conducted with 156 CIS and 212 ADS from two Australian universities. The findings demonstrated that perceived disparities existed between the two cohorts in terms of their approaches to learning. These disparities, however, did not support the well-documented view of CIS as mainly surface oriented learners but rather as more rounded learners than ADS in their learning approaches. This study gave voice to CIS to reflect on their learning in Australian universities, in conjunction with and supplemented by insights provided by their Australian student counterparts. It also enabled a greater understanding of CIS learning in Western universities, particularly in Australian universities.
[ PDF full text for this article ]

Authors: Dr Boli Li (corresponding author) is an Associate Professor at Federation University Australia and Chongqing Technology and Business University, China. As a productive scholar, Boli has published around 30 academic papers, and chaired and participated in more than 10 research projects in the field of education. Her current main research interests are student learning approaches, curriculum design and teacher development. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6599-6959 Email: berlinlee998@ctbu.edu.cn Dr Jenene Burke is Associate Professor, Federation University Australia. As a teacher educator and researcher, Jenene's research mainly centres on educational responses to student diversity with respect to inclusive education and disability studies in education. She is particularly known for her world-class research into play spaces as inclusive environments for children and their families. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6624-0360 Email: js. burke@federation.edu.au Dr Margaret Plunkett is Associate Professor, Federation University Australia and Monash University, Australia. Margaret's main area of interest is the field of gifted education with a particular focus on provisioning for highly able rural students. Her other research interests include teacher education, particularly relating to mentoring partnerships in professional placements, and also alternative educational settings such as the School for Student Leadership. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3952-6221 Email: margaret.plunkett@federation.edu.au Please cite as: Li, B., Burke, J. & Plunkett, M. (2022). Deep or surface learning? Perceptions of Chinese international and local students in Australian universities. Issues in Educational Research, 32(1), 149-181. http://www.iier.org.au/iier32/li.pdf