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Qualitatively Different Ways of Experiencing Learning: A Qualitatively Different Ways of Experiencing Learning: A Phenomenographic Investigation of International Economics and Trade Undergraduates’ Conceptions of Learning in a Chinese- Australian Cooperative Programme Xiantong Zhao UCL Institute of Education A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2016 I, [Xiantong Zhao] confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Word count: 79, 268 (exclusive of appendixes, list of references) 1 Abstract This study investigates International Economics and Trade (IET) undergraduates’ conceptions of learning in a programme cooperatively run by a Chinese and an Australian university. Programmes jointly run by Chinese and foreign universities are increasingly common, as a means to attain greater internationalisation of higher education in mainland China. While higher education internationalisation research in China has been dominated by a focus on policy making, strategic planning and institutional management, the student’s learning experience remains relatively unexplored. The way in which a learner experiences or understands learning may significantly influence their way of engaging with learning in universities (Marton & Booth, 1997) and the subsequent quality of learning outcomes (Biggs & Tang, 2007). Therefore, the study aims to reveal the undergraduates’ qualitatively different ways of learning or conceptions of learning (Marton & Booth, 1997), in a Chinese-Australian cooperative programme. The research methodology adopted is phenomenography, a qualitative approach which has been often used to elicit and describe the limited number of qualitatively different ways people experience or understand some phenomena or aspects of a phenomenon around them. Data is collected through semi-structured interviews with a group of undergraduates and analysed following the phenomenographic principles to identify the referential and structural aspects of each conception. Ultimately seven main conceptions of learning and four sub-conceptions are identified. Generally speaking, the relationship between conceptions found is hierarchical, but the sub-conceptions or branches are also notable. The study not only expands the research context of phenomenography, but also contributes to the understanding of Chinese undergraduates’ conceptions of learning in a cross-cultural teaching and learning context. Given the close relationship between ways of experiencing or understanding learning and learning approaches, and consequently the quality of learning, the implications of the outcomes of this research for the improvement of learning and teaching in such programmes are explored. 2 Acknowledgement I am indebted to the following people for their crucial contribution to this study: My supervisor Prof. Andrew Brown, who has guided me throughout the whole journey and former supervisor Dr Paul Temple, who introduced me to the research world; Dr Vincent Carpentier and William Locke, who offered constructive critical examination and insightful advice on the research design; The internal reader Dr Bryan Cunningham, who read the whole thesis and provided valuable comments; The founder of phenomenography Prof. Ference Marton, who generously provided helpful comments on some of my research findings; My good friends, who successfully helped me to get access to the participants in the university investigated. All the participants, who accepted my interview positively and talked about their learning experience. My parents, who have supported me financially and spiritually. Finally I intend to express my sincere apology and heart-felt gratitude to my wife and my children. Spending many years doing research in the UK has greatly reduced the opportunities to fulfil my responsibilities as a husband and father to my family. The thesis is dedicated to them. 3 Contents List of figures ..................................................................................................................................... 7 List of tables ...................................................................................................................................... 8 List of abbreviations .......................................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 10 1.1 An introduction to the study .............................................................................................. 10 1.2 Research context ............................................................................................................... 10 1.3 Research questions ............................................................................................................ 14 1.4 Research approach ............................................................................................................ 16 1.5 Significance of the study .................................................................................................... 17 1.6 Outline of the study ........................................................................................................... 22 Chapter 2: Internationalisation of higher education in China .......................................................... 24 2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 24 2.2 Defining internationalisation in the context of HE ............................................................. 25 2.3 Rationales for internationalisation ..................................................................................... 28 2.4 Implementing internationalisation in the context of Chinese HE – CFCRS ..................... 31 2.4.1 Motivations of CFCRS .............................................................................................. 32 2.4.2 Forms of CFCRS in HE .............................................................................................. 36 2.4.3 National policy development .................................................................................. 38 2.4.4 Contributions and challenges of CFCRS .................................................................. 41 2.5 Overview of the investigated International Economics and Trade programme ................. 44 2.5.1 Reasons for choosing the programme .................................................................... 44 2.5.2 The discipline of International Economics and Trade .............................................. 46 2.5.3 Educational objectives ............................................................................................ 49 2.5.4 Characteristics of students ..................................................................................... 50 2.5.5 Curriculum, pedagogy and assessment methods ................................................... 51 2.6 Chapter summary .............................................................................................................. 55 Chapter 3. Review of the literature on conceptions of learning ...................................................... 57 3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 57 3.2 Conceptions of learning ..................................................................................................... 58 3.2.1 Defining conceptions of learning ............................................................................ 58 3.2.2 Quantitative and qualitative conceptions of learning ............................................. 59 3.2.3 The hierarchical relationship between conceptions ............................................... 65 3.3 Significance of conceptions of learning ............................................................................. 68 3.4 Conceptions of learning in different contexts .................................................................... 72 3.4.1 Different educational contexts ................................................................................ 74 3.4.2 Non-western perspectives ...................................................................................... 76 3.4.3 The Chinese context ............................................................................................... 77 3.5 Alternative approaches to conceptions of learning ........................................................... 84 3.6 Chapter summary .............................................................................................................. 91 Chapter 4. Research methodology .................................................................................................. 92 4.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 92 4.2 A qualitative inquiry ........................................................................................................... 92 4 4.3 Reasons for employing phenomenography ....................................................................... 93 4.4 Phenomenography ............................................................................................................ 96 4.4.1 Definition ...............................................................................................................
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