An examination of the factors that affect attainment among postgraduate Chinese Product Design students studying at Coventry University

Abstract

The driver for this study was the recognition, on my arrival at Coventry University in 2011, that Chinese postgraduate students on the MSc Industrial Product Design Course were consistently under attaining in comparison to their other international, non-Chinese peers. Though seen as ‘problematic’, by course tutors, there seemed to be no clear pedagogic or institutional strategy in place to remedy the situation. I determined to identify the factors that might be militating against the Chinese learner progression. Informed by the research findings, I designed strategies, pedagogic interventions and curricular rewrites that would demonstrably close the attainment gap as evidenced by empirical, final degree award data. The qualitative methodology uses a phenomenological and ethnographical, mixed methods approach.

The primary research data comprises cross-sectional survey responses and semi-structured interviews with Chinese students of the course, conducted over five-years. Applied Thematic Analysis (ATA) was used to code the survey responses and interview transcripts. From a grounded theory analysis, overarching themes were identified that served as categorization headings under which child codes were collated. Threshold Concept Theory (TCT) was used to identify potential learning threshold concepts that might be trapping Chinese learners within a liminal space. The insights gained from the application of TCT fed directly into revisions of design pedagogical practice through designed interventions that would incentivize Chinese students to engage more fully.

Data relating to the first-time pass, final degree award grades was collated over a ten-year period (2011-2021). The results clearly demonstrate a closing of the attainment gap, to the point at which some Chinese students can also attain at the highest level (Distinction), and sometimes outperform, their non-Chinese peers.

The conclusions drawn from this study are that:
The research methods used to identify militating factors that had been harming Chinese learner performance have also been effective in the construction of remedial interventions. The gained insights have directly fed into an evolutionary development of an effective design pedagogy and in the design of a new Product Design Innovation Course that has trans-cultural and cross-disciplinary working at its core. This pedagogy has led to graduates of the course finding success in the world of design employment based on their acquired, inter-cultural competency. Beyond that, the Product Design Innovation Course template, with its focus on transcultural and cross-disciplinary collaboration, has now been adopted as the template for all postgraduate design courses at Coventry University.

Contributions to knowledge include the previously under-Recognised importance of the social engagement of Chinese students with domestic UK students and others. Those Chinese students that have taken efforts to culturally and social assimilate have benefitted in the form of improved performance and the cultivation of multicultural mindset. Of further significance is effect on Chinese student motivation when tutors demonstrate a pro-active stance in reaching out in early induction phases by using simple written Chinese phrases and by making efforts to address students by their Chinese names. This can have an extremely beneficial impact on the student-teacher relationship. A strong correlation has been identified between the configuration and dynamics of a learning space and its influence on participation and English language skills development. In terms of what defines a learning threshold concept, the significant difficulties that Chinese students experience in engaging with the specialist language and vocabulary of design discourse has been identified a threshold concept. The use of short-format project videos as an assessable replacement for written outcomes has proven to be particularly effective in allowing Chinese students to demonstrate their innate creative and problem solving design skills without the associated penalty that language deficit historically incurred. The thesis concludes with suggestions for future development of some of the pedagogic initiatives and interventions, especially in the context of adapting them for use in other disciplines.

Date of Award	17 May 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Coventry University
Supervisor	Andree Woodcock (Supervisor), Jane Osmond (Supervisor), Alun DeWinter (Supervisor), David Durling (Supervisor) & Jill Journeaux (Supervisor)