In today’s talking points: Study finds that expensive foreign degrees lose edge in Chinese job market; Course dropping concerns raised by AAERI; PISA Test Scores Highlight the Inequality in China’s Education System; Australian Universities Lacking Resources to Help Chinese Students Adapt to Cultural Differences.
Study finds that expensive foreign degrees lose edge in Chinese job market
According to the survey by the center for China & Globalisation, an independent think tank, more than two-thirds of students who had studied abroad said that they were not satisfied with their job opportunities in Chinese job market because it did not guarantee better pay than peers who studied at home. Only a third of those who found jobs that met their expectation of 70,000yuan per year. Their dissatisfaction was composed of high living cost in first-tier cities – Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. In addition, 16.5% of overseas returnees felt their jobs didn’t match their expertise.
Read more at Caixin.
Course dropping concerns raised by AAERI
The formal public consultation on revised Australian National Code for international educators is expected to start early next year. In response to a petition filed by the Association of Australian Education Representatives in India (AAERI), the restriction for onshore representation fee to agents is considered in order to safeguard the Australian Education Industry. It will also take into account course hopping of international students in Australia so that onshore students may not wait for six months of the principal program before transferring to other degrees. Course hopping not only has a negative impact on financial returns of education providers, but also loses their reputations because of the non-controllable student genuineness.
Read more at The Pie News.
PISA Test Scores Highlight the Inequality in China’s Education System
Results from the global PISA exams have highlighted the inequality in China’s education system. In 2012 Shanghai students were ranked the best in the world in math, literacy and science. This month the 2015 results were released and China was ranked 6th in math, 10th in science and 26th in literacy. In 2015 China included a wider range of students from Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Guangdong in the PISA exams. The declining results raise an important issue, that is the inequality in China’s education system. While there are a few very elite students in Shanghai there are millions of families forced out into the countryside to find employment and thanks to strict residency permits, their children are not allowed to study at public schools. A recent survey found only 59 percent of rural students aspire to college. If China does not address the issue of rural education soon it will develop yet another generation of unskilled rural workers.
Read more at Japan Times.
Australian Universities Lacking Resources to Help Chinese Students Adapt to Cultural Differences
According to Kylie Redfern, a professor at the University of Technology Sydney, “cultural norms, along with the one-child policy, place enormous pressure on the Chinese student.” These pressures sometimes result in students travelling abroad to complete their higher education. Studying abroad gives Chinese students a sense of adventure, whilst also helping with their employment prospects. A recent survey conducted by Dr Redfern found that international Chinese students had “significantly higher levels of stress and anxiety than local students.” It was found that Australian students were mainly concerned about their workload, while Chinese students were concerned about the different expectations of their new educational system. Dr Redfern commented, “Chinese students will not front up at the counsellor’s office to talk about their anxiety with a complete stranger in a foreign language.” Australian universities need to be aware of the cultural differences international students face and help solve their problems in a “culturally specific” way.
Read more at Times Higher Education.