Based on a phenomenological exploration of Chinese students at a UK university business school, this article supports a growing body of research questioning the assumptions underpinning the putative Socratic/Confucian dichotomy of academic cultures. Beginning with a review of research literature on the experiences of Chinese students on Active…

In an East Asian context heavily influenced by Confucian ideas on principles for living and behaving, "face" plays a significant role in Vietnamese people's thinking and behaviour. In the context of education, Vietnamese teachers' concerns of saving face in classrooms have been implicitly taken for granted but not yet seriously examined…

Students' beliefs, attitudes, experiences and responses towards assessment reflect the ecology of their specific context. The study examines Hong Kong tertiary students' conceptions of assessment using focus group interviews and the content analysis technique. Using six focus groups, 26 Hong Kong university students were interviewed. Hong Kong…

Heterosexism faced by sexual minority (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer/questioning [LGBQ]) students has been extensively studied internationally in the past 2 decades but has only recently received attention from Hong Kong Chinese society. Chinese LGBQ students are not guaranteed to be included in Hong Kong schools, where antidiscrimination…

Culturally different imaginations of student and teacher roles, incongruent perceptions of academic standards, and diverging conceptualizations of learning may cause "difficult times" for institutions and individual learners involved in international education. Universities practicing alternative approaches to teaching and learning, for…

This article is concerned with the learning style adopted by Asian students who come from a Confucian heritage culture (CHC) such countries as China, Vietnam, Singapore, Korea and Japan are considered countries with Confucian heritage culture (Phuong-Mai et al. 2005). These students are generally viewed as typically passive, unwilling to ask…

The purpose of this study was to explore issues of international education within a Confucian context. Fifteen international learners were purposively sampled from a Korean university; these participants were then given an extensive open-ended interview to elicit information about educational experiences. Data analysis revealed five main issues: a…

Elder respect in East Asia has a long history that could be derived from Confucian philosophy. However, with the rapid development of westernization, younger people have gradually depreciated the value of elder respect and seek a reciprocal relationship with the elderly. A literature search revealed that age stereotypes would be both negative and…

This short-term longitudinal study sought to identify the issues faced by a group of international Chinese students undertaking study in an Australian university. While the focus was on educational issues, socio-cultural and personal factors were also examined in an attempt to identify the sorts of strategies students used in settling into a new…

Although cultural stereotypes of Asian students as being prone to rote learning, passive and teacher-dependent have been under criticism, the issue of the extent to which Asian heritage culture impacts on Asian students' learning attitudes and behaviour warrants further investigation. This paper reports on an empirical study which compares…