| Summary: | Many students in China seek post-secondary educational opportunities in the UK
because graduating from or even just attending a college or university there can facilitate
upward social mobility and employability in China once they have returned there to live.
However, these Chinese students face a number of challenges when they attend a university in
the UK, ranging from culture shock and social isolation to academic difficulties encountered
because of their problems with the English language. If not adequately addressed, these
challenges can lead to poor academic performance and ultimately dropout. Pathway programs,
bridging programs tailor-made for international students that aim to provide the students
with the adequate supports they need to help them cope with their initial transition period
and even through their integration into a university, began to be developed in the UK in the
early 1990s. Today, more and more universities in the UK-even the most prestigious
ones-offer pathway programs, and many are heavily dependent on pathway programs for their
international student recruitment. Chinese students account for almost 50% of the pathway
students in the UK, and the number promises to grow in the future. A better understanding of
why and how pathway programs can be most useful to Chinese students, and what supports are
most needed by the students who use them, can help more Chinese students succeed in the
future. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the key factors that are relevant
to the retention of Chinese students enrolled in pathway programs at a for-profit private
college in the UK. Using Tinto's theory of student retention, this Interpretive
Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) study seeks to answer the following research question: What
are the pathway program experiences of Chinese students studying in a for-profit private
college in the UK?--Author's abstract
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