Comparing citizenship education in Chinese and British higher education from Chinese students' perspective

Thesis

In the recent decade, few studies explored students' perceptions of the comprehensive implementation of citizenship education in the literature. Besides, concerning the high level of internationalisation of higher education, international students who have studied in different national contexts can offer comparative opinions on distinctive citizenship education systems. Therefore, this dissertation project aimed to investigate how Chinese students compare citizenship education in Chinese and British universities. This qualitative study involved conducting semi-structured interviews with fourteen Chinese students who have studied in both Chinese and British higher education and drawing activities. The textual and graphical data were interpreted using thematic and content analysis. The findings revealed students' perceptions of the formal and informal learning contexts, pedagogies and assessment, and aims and compositions of citizenship education in Chinese and British universities. Unexpectedly, students also pointed out cultural-specific hidden curriculum in both contexts. Discussion section identified the filters that students unconsciously used to make these comparisons and illustrated them with the complicated social, political, cultural, and civic environments in China and the UK.

Authors: Chen, S

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-7rq64roeg
• Type of award: MSc taught course
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: RDM2024; Chinese citizenship education; higher education; citizenship education; semi-structured interview; RDM; citizenship education in university; students' perspectives of citizenship education; British citizenship education
• Subjects: Citizenship; Education; Higher education and state; Interviews; Students