International Students' Communities in Shanghai

Abstract

With China?s entry into WTO, China?s higher education has become a newly emerging market which attracts increasing numbers of international students to pursue their study in China. My research seeks to track international students? daily life in China and their daily experience in three types of communities (Housing, Online and Ethnic communities). Two rounds of fieldwork in Fudan University, Shanghai, China were conducted lasting a total of nearly 3 months. The mixed methods deployed include a survey, in-depth interviews, and participant observation in order to obtain a more comprehensive point of view. The study found that the size of a student ethnic community affects their adjustment process. Hence, because of the size of the Korean student community, Korean students find their needs met within their own community making it more difficult for them to adjust to the local environment. Moreover, the study also found that language students adjust better than other students because these students are more interested in learning about Chinese culture. Finally, suggestions for social mixing and adjustment are provided in order to facilitate the interactions between local students and international students.