China’s Superstructure Today and How It Influences Chinese International Students’ Desires to Return Home Post Abroad

The pursuit of international higher education has been remarkably sought by Chinese International Students (CIS) over the past four decades. The 1978 reform not only provided opportunities for China to re-develop its long-stalled foreign relations and rebuild its damaged economic state but also re-opened doors for Chinese nationals to seek international higher education (IHE). The world watched China evolve from an economically and academically mediocre nation in the late 20th century into the second largest economic body and the leading academic research nation in the world over recent years. During the late 1900s when China remained poor in terms of technology advancements, CIS who pursued Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) degrees overseas played a crucial role in the effort of rebuilding China’s infrastructure. Over the past dozen years, the number of CIS has reached a record high, and while STEM education continued to be favored, other pursuits of studies such as business, liberal arts, and social sciences have increased as well. On top of exploring whether the aspirations for today’s CIS’ pursuit of IHE have shifted compared to preceding CIS post the 1978 reform, this paper specifically aims to find out whether CIS today hold different reasons for returning to its homeland China post abroad, compared to the preceding CIS. Based on in-depth interviews conducted with 31 CIS who are studying/have studied at 19 universities across the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Canada, and France, the results indicate that current CIS hold different academic aspirations for pursuing IHE and altered reasoning for returning to China post abroad, compared to the preceding CIS.