Consuming education: a longitudinal exploration of the Western market’s role in Chinese development

Due to differences in educational styles between the cultures of host (CoH) and the culture of origin (CoO), the study explores the extent of these differences when consuming higher education. It will focus on the experiences of acculturating migrants and the extent of adjustment and culture swapping needed for a successful acculturation process. Through the use of 42 longitudinal in-depth phenomenological interviews, acculturation theory within the consumption of higher education will be studied in the context of Chinese students migrating over to the UK for further studies. The major findings were that their perception and experience of the differences affected the need to culture swap and adopt techniques previously alien to them. Their experience of consuming a western education had influence on their process of general social acculturation. Another finding was the complexity in the notion of Chinese collectivism in education and the politics surrounding that. Thus, what is needed is a more elaborated understanding of the acculturation situation when assessing the learning and pedagogy needed for acculturating students. By filling this gap, as well as practically developing an understanding in acculturating international student learning, it aims to theoretically contribute simultaneously to the acculturation and higher education literature