Chinese college students' noncognitive skills development at Sino Joint Venture universities: a case study of Duke Kunshan University

Abstract

In the context of rapidly advancing technologies, the significance of noncognitive skills is increasingly recognized by academia and industry as essential qualities in the era of knowledge economy. However, the study of Chinese students' noncognitive skills development during their college period in China was scarce. This research adopts a case study approach to explore Chinese students' noncognitive skills development at Sino Joint Venture Universities, with Duke Kunshan University (DKU) as the research site. Situated learning theory addressing learning that occurs through social interaction and engagements is employed as the theoretical framework. Five senior students were interviewed and thematic analyses were conducted. This research revealed that these participants generally exhibited strong communication, collaboration, leadership, problem-solving, and creativity competencies. However, rooted globalism and purposeful life were not prominently observed in this research. This study identified three themes related to how DKU fosters Chinese students' noncognitive skills development: educational engagements at DKU, responsive teacher-student relationships, and DKU's authentic and international contexts. While contributing to academia and practice in studying the mechanism of nurturing noncognitive skills during college, this research also offers valuable insights into international education cooperation, administration, and policy development.