A New Wave—Teenage Chinese Studying in the U.S in the 2010S ______
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A NEW WAVE—TEENAGE CHINESE STUDYING IN THE U.S IN THE 2010S ____________________________________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, Fullerton ____________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in History ____________________________________ By Angela Sugiyama Thesis Committee Approval: Laichen Sun, Department of History, Chair Kristine Dennehy, Department of History Lisa Tran, Department of History Fall, 2016 ABSTRACT Research of Chinese students in the United States has focused on the adult students who studied in American colleges and universities. Little is known about the younger ones, who are between 13 and 17 and whose stories are equally, if not more, important historically. My research aims to investigate the motivations, the goals, and the life experiences of Chinese teenagers who dare to cross the biggest ocean on Earth—the Pacific. Their physical presence since the 2010s apparently becomes a new wave from the East to the West. Through analysis of students’ surveys that were conducted both in China and in the United States in 2013 and 2014, of interviews with school directors, parents and minors, I seek to understand the push-and-pull factors behind this new wave, the motivations for these teens’ willingly and non-willingly Western cultivation, and their life experiences embedded in the transcontinental sojourn. I also aim to examine the impacts they make in American society, and the effects of the boundary crossing on the host nation. Through my examination of the teenagers’ motivations and the economic and political factors that make them move, I argue that Chinese teens’ sea-crossing voyage continues the one century and a half Chinese western-learning legacy since the late 19th century, and yet, their motivations and goals in the transformation are for self-gain, not for China. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... ii LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................. viii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1 The Five Stages ..................................................................................................... 3 The Teenage World Travelers .............................................................................. 5 The Chinese Students in Historical Literature and Highlights ............................. 8 Two “Push” Factors: Political and Economic ................................................ 8 Three Issues ................................................................................................... 12 2. CHINESE ACTIONS ........................................................................................... 18 Parents as the Most Important Agencies: The Push ............................................. 19 International Schools as Agencies: The Market ................................................... 25 A Survey in China................................................................................................. 29 The Process of Data Collection ..................................................................... 30 The Survey Results from the Teenagers in China ......................................... 31 Summation of the Survey .............................................................................. 53 The Teenage Chinese Arrived in the United States .............................................. 55 3. AMERICA’S RESPONSES ................................................................................. 56 School Ethnicities ................................................................................................. 58 The School’s Instructional Programs .................................................................... 60 International Curriculum: A Separate-and-Combine Approach ........................... 61 Educational Technique: How the Newly Arrived Chinese Teens Learned .......... 62 Individualized Teaching Approach: How Their Language Program Functioned. 64 How the School’s Other International Programs Work ........................................ 65 The Joint Diploma Program (JDP) ................................................................ 65 The Immersion Program ................................................................................ 66 The Interviews ...................................................................................................... 69 iii 4. THE SURVEY IN THE U.S................................................................................. 75 The Survey Results from the Teenagers in the U.S. ............................................. 76 New Findings from the Survey in the U.S. ........................................................... 116 5. TEENAGE CHINESE EXPERIENCES IN THE U.S.: CASE STUDIES........... 118 One Family: A Mother and a Son ......................................................................... 120 Two Girls: The Degraded vs. the Decent ............................................................. 122 Three Stories: The Good, the Bad, and the Hobbledehoyish ................................ 124 The Story of John ........................................................................................... 124 The Story of Yo Yo ....................................................................................... 127 The Story of Chaw ......................................................................................... 131 6. CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................... 134 Three New Aspects Stand Out from the Surveys ................................................. 135 Parents, Schools, and Teens Work Together ........................................................ 137 The Teenage Actors and Agents ........................................................................... 139 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 140 A. THE USE OF HUMAN SUBJECTS APPROVED BY CSUF IRB ............. 140 B. THE SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES ........................................................... 145 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................... 152 iv LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1-1 In 2015, Approximately 45% of the Chinese Studying Abroad Were High School Students .................................................................................................. 7 2-1 Family Background ............................................................................................ 32 2-2 Family Annual Income ...................................................................................... 33 2-3 Whether or Not Return to China ........................................................................ 34 2-4-1 Family Support................................................................................................... 35 2-4-2 Family Support in Relation to Annual Family Income ...................................... 36 2-5 Family Support for Permanent Stay ................................................................... 37 2-6 Business with China ........................................................................................... 38 2-7 Three Positive Factors about the U.S. ................................................................ 40 2-8A Three Negative Factors about the U.S. (Male) .................................................. 43 2-8B Three Negative Factors about the U.S. (Female) ............................................... 44 2-9A The Reasons for Returning to China (Male) ...................................................... 46 2-9B The Reasons for Returning to China (Female) .................................................. 47 2-10A The Reasons for Not Returning to China (Male)............................................... 49 2-10B The Reasons for Not Returning to China (Female) ........................................... 50 2-11A The Main Reasons for Returning or Not Returning (Male) .............................. 52 2-11B The Main Reasons for Returning or Not Returning (Female) ........................... 53 3-1 International Schools and Students Visited Fairmont Schools 2013-2014 ........ 67 v 4-1 Decisions Made Prior to Leaving China for the U.S. ........................................ 77 4-2 Motivations to Study in the U.S. ........................................................................ 78 4-3 The Purposes in the U.S. .................................................................................... 81 4-4 Visas the Chinese Teens Hold ........................................................................... 83 4-5 Financial Support ............................................................................................... 85 4-6 Family Desire for Staying in the U.S. ................................................................ 87 4-7 Family Support for Studies in the U.S. .............................................................. 88 4-8 Parental