Ji Zhou: Study of Chinese Doctoral Students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
Stephanie Hamilton
PYS/101
10/5/2015
Mr. Lungsford
Ji Zhou: Study of Chinese Doctoral Students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
Ji Zhou is a student at the University of Southern California who wanted to explore and give voice to Chinese international students who study in STEM programs in the United States. His main objective is to find their motivation and persistence despite barriers. Chinese encounter such as racial discrimination, language in speaking, and academic writing, these difficulties pose serious challenges to persistence.
Since 2011 students from Mainland China have comprised the largest international groups in the U.S. doctoral education, mainly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. A 2011 survey showed 29 % of US doctoral degrees were awarded to international students, of which 28 were awarded to Mainland China. 92% of these students studied in STEM. This the first empirical study that will focus solely on the educational experiences of chines international doctoral students in STEM.
The two important research questions are (a) what motivates Chinese students to persist if the encounter these challenges? (b) What cultural factors contribute to this persistence in motivation? The motivation theory will be used in this study and this theory is rarely applied to understand doctoral student experiences. This motivation theory intersects between socialization and motivation in relation to persistence. Ji Zhhou, integrates the Confucian cultural beliefs to examin motivation, spreading light on the growing importance of cultural sensitivity in international studies of motivation. He also focuses on the meaning of students attached to their motivation, rather than overt behavior of persistence. The method used is the narrative inquiry approach. It preserves the complexity of human motivation, chances happening, changing interpersonal and environmental. (Polkinghorne, 1995). The narrative inquiry is an attempt to understand this meaningful structure that individuals give to their actions. It is suitable for this study because it aims to study and understand the meaning that participants attach to their persistence, decision and behavior overtime.
Ji Zhou viewed that Chinese doctoral students sociocultural and subjectively construct their persistent realities. His intention was to understand through the eyes of the participants, what their persistence aspirations meant to them and their ongoing actions. Participant include forty one doctoral students at American Northeastern University. During data collection ANU enrolled about 11000 fulltime undergraduate students and about 3000 full time graduate students. About one-third were international with Chinese students representing the largest group.
There were three stages out of the larger project. First, explore international doctoral students experience from a socialization perspective students unsatisfying socialization pertaining to motivation, unattached attention. Second, involved shift of focus from socialization to motivation, revised interview protocol to include questions on motivation. The revised protocol for remaining participants. There was a follow up interview about motivation of forty one students, nineteen perceived socialization is “unsupportive” or unproductive. Six of the nineteen came from Mainland China enrolled in STEM trials. Last, phase focused on six Chinese students through a cultural lens. Six students came form computer science, electrical engineering, chemistry, material engineering, and mathematics. There were four males and two females, ages twenty-seven through thirty four years of age and none were in a committed relationship, married, or children.
The results as a narrative inquiry that emphasized the storied narrative of nature human life, the findings were presented in form of a study that begins with motivation to come to the US, continuing reasons for dissatisfaction, then focusing on motivation to persistence. The meanings that participants attached to their motivation unfolded.
