For some returnees, their changes in values also changed their attitudes towards the students they taught. They treated students more equally, respectfully and democratically. R14 explained how his perceptions towards his students had changed:
I think teachers coming back from overseas have a different relationship with students compared to domestically trained teachers. [They have] two different ways.
Most returnees are respectful to others, to their students. When I go into my classroom, I respect every student in my class. Whereas for some domestically trained teachers, they think that undergraduate students are not qualified to speak to them. Only PhD students can come to their office to talk to them. They think they
are more superior to others. … Their attitudes towards students and towards other
people are quite different.
R14’s comments highlight a number of issues. Foreign-educated returnees and domestically trained teachers have different perceptions regarding equality. Exposure to
different cultures has shaped the returnees’ values regarding others and they are more
likely to have the values of equality. R14 believes that the value of equality is
demonstrated in returnees’ respect for others. His perception of the differences between
returnees and domestically trained colleagues in terms of their attitudes towards students is based on his observation and personal experience of behaviour, practices in the classroom and self-reflection. Thus, his values are different from those of his non- returnee colleagues because of his overseas education. R14 also observed differences in attitudes towards people. He believed that Western cultures were more likely than the Chinese to focus on the humanities, but as a returnee, he felt a responsibility to spread this idea to his students, as he felt that respect for others and equal treatment for students are contained in the ideas of the humanity. This perception of how to treat people not only shaped his classroom practice but also his views on how the university should be managed:
[In the] Humanity in Western cultures, this philosophy is [different from that in Chinese cultures). … If I were the head of the school, I would pay more attention to the issue of humanity to my staff and the students. For example, when I came back from the US, I have noticed that there are no lifts in our classroom building. No humanity consideration! How can disabled people go upstairs to study? How can
such important thing be neglected? … In terms of humanity and individual quality, in Western cultures, they focus on equality. Then in your teaching, you may influence your students. Your students will respect you. You are well educated. You are qualified. These may give the students important influences, or even further, influence their whole life.
overseas experiences had influenced her to have a more equal attitude towards her students, which she believed allowed her to put herself at the same level with the them:
Well, when I face the students, I am more likely to consider things that are beneficial
to them. Because I experienced a lot alone overseas, I … consider their feelings. The relationship with them is equal. I don’t think because I am the teacher, so I should be the way of a teacher. This is related with one’s experiences [overseas]. Furthermore, equality is advocated in foreign countries. I think it is the change of values. I look at everything from equal aspects to my students. We are like friends
but still with some boundaries. I mean I … consider their feelings, listen to their ideas and be more democratic.
R18’s interpretation of her attitudes towards students are based on ideas of equality, but
she also takes it a little further by considering students as friends, but with some boundaries. In her view, the teacher is not the absolute authority in classroom but is
equal with the students and therefore should consider the students’ feelings.
Other returnees reported different views of their changed attitudes towards students. R11 wanted to develop a cooperative relationship with the students she was supervising, as her own supervisor had done when she was studying her PhD overseas. R15 said that his overseas experiences had given him the “keys for teaching”, allowing him to look at students from a different viewpoint. Consistent with the interview data, the questionnaire data indicated that most returnees had developed different values regarding students and the way they should be taught at universities. Figure 5-15 shows the attitude of returnees on this issue.
Figure 5-15 Returnees’ views on the way students should be taught
This figure shows that 83% (N=20) of the interviewed returnees believed that their overseas experiences had changed their view on how students should be taught. They had developed different attitudes towards students and the way they should be treated. These changed teaching values reflected their changed attitudes. For some returnees, the relationship between teachers and students should not be hierarchical; rather, it should be more equal, as in Western countries. Thus, their experience of living within Western cultures had changed their personal values. When they returned to China, this experiences influenced the way they treated their students.