Learning Effectiveness of Semester and Year-Long Study Abroad Programmes: Perspectives of International Students in a UK and China Context

Research on international students’ learning experiences pays much less attention to those studying semester and/or year-long programmes in a country that differs significantly from their home country with respect to culture and the education system. Adopting transformative learning theory as the theoretical framework, this paper explores the learning effectiveness of students on such programme in a Chinese and in a UK university. It analyses the narratives of 27 students in relation to their cognitive and behavioural activities and also their self-reflective and collaborative reflective activities. The findings indicate that these students only partially achieved transformative learning. The main reasons are: (1) the duration of this type of programme was not long enough to achieve a full transformation and (2) both host universities did not include reflection in the learning process properly. This paper makes a contribution to cross-border learning literature in the Chinese and the UK contexts.