An Exploratory Study of Chinese Undergraduate Student Engagement

Abstract This research which was designed as a case study focused on Chinese undergraduate student engagement. A Chinese-New Zealand English course in School of Education at a University of Finance and Economics was chosen as the case. By analyzing data collected through questionnaire, interview and focus group methods, it investigated in depth students‟ and staff‟s conceptualizations of student engagement, their perceptions of factors that influence student engagement and their understanding of how these factors interact. The case study students were found to have good campus support and rich educational experience but relatively poor interaction with staff members. Student engagement was conceptualized by most participants as involvement in learning activities and various other activities that can promote students‟ personal development. The Chinese translation „can yu du‟ was found a closer equivalence to the original „student engagement‟ than the other translation „xue xi xing tou ru‟. Factors that may influence students‟ engagement were categorized into external factors and internal factors, among which friends/classmates, family, course tutors, campus/social environment, interest and personality were frequently mentioned by the interview and focus group participants. External factors were found to impact upon internal ones which directly affected students‟ engagement. Three issues (i.e. lack of student-faculty interaction, „shock students‟ and adaptation) emerged from the data and were discussed from a socio-cultural perspective. Recommendations were then raised accordingly.