DEGREES OF ASPIRATION: The Commodification of Nordic Education & Its Perceived Value from The Perspective of Chinese Students
(2025) SIMZ31 20251Graduate School
- Abstract
- Whereas Nordic education always has been freely accessible to its countries’ citizens, the commodification of education is no new phenomenon to the rest of the world. Nor is the idea of abroad studies, which Chinese students have pursued for decades. With Nordic educational offers available amongst many others within the global higher education market, it becomes of interest how this well-established customer group perceives its value. This is explored through a qualitative study of 15 interviews with Chinese students and recent alumni from Nordic master’s programmes, through the theoretical lenses of commodification, capital, interdependence, socialisation and intersectionality. This study found that the value of Nordic education is... (More)
- Whereas Nordic education always has been freely accessible to its countries’ citizens, the commodification of education is no new phenomenon to the rest of the world. Nor is the idea of abroad studies, which Chinese students have pursued for decades. With Nordic educational offers available amongst many others within the global higher education market, it becomes of interest how this well-established customer group perceives its value. This is explored through a qualitative study of 15 interviews with Chinese students and recent alumni from Nordic master’s programmes, through the theoretical lenses of commodification, capital, interdependence, socialisation and intersectionality. This study found that the value of Nordic education is constituted both by 1) an affordability dimension, 2) by offering a pause from the expectations and hypercompetitive Chinese environment, which this thesis conceptualise as the social clock, 3) by allowing for accumulating and converting different types of capital both during their studies and in the future, 4) by providing a stepping stone for future aspirations through the development of socially situated capacities and acquisition of world citizenship, and 5) by allowing the students to address discriminatory barriers and social division to form a new sense of self able to navigate both the social clock and other settings. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- Chinese students have a long and documented history of going abroad in search of something more than what is available in the Chinese education system. With global higher education available to students across the world, who have the means to pay its tuition, the Chinese students have a worldwide range of possibilities. The Nordic students, contrary to many others in the world, have access to free education, while Nordic educational offers also can be found within the global market. Thus, the question arises of how the Chinese students, who choose amongst all places to study
in the Nordic countries, perceive the value of their education. This thesis found that Nordic education offers time and a pause from the expectations that the... (More) - Chinese students have a long and documented history of going abroad in search of something more than what is available in the Chinese education system. With global higher education available to students across the world, who have the means to pay its tuition, the Chinese students have a worldwide range of possibilities. The Nordic students, contrary to many others in the world, have access to free education, while Nordic educational offers also can be found within the global market. Thus, the question arises of how the Chinese students, who choose amongst all places to study
in the Nordic countries, perceive the value of their education. This thesis found that Nordic education offers time and a pause from the expectations that the students experience both from the Chinese society and themselves. Furthermore, it found Nordic education to be simply affordable and accessible to this group of students for whom the tuition expense was a significant concern. Nordic education allows students to acquire academic qualifications, social networks, cultural knowledge, social recognition and skills, which can serve them in their future aspirations. Whether this is pursuing a PhD in Europe, staying in the Nordic countries, forming a more independent and true self or becoming better at navigating the world and their own life. This study may help contribute to an understanding of what the Nordic educational institutions offer international students. It further aids in identifying which parts of the Nordic education experience are perceived as valuable to Chinese students, and thus how Nordic education may be branded or further developed to accommodate this student group. Furthermore, this thesis offers an insight into Chinese society through the students’ eyes and highlights key differences between the Nordic countries and China, which can function as a consideration for educational and developmental policies and initiatives. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9193916
- author
- Lee, Karoline Sofie LU
- supervisor
-
- Uzma Kazi LU
- organization
- course
- SIMZ31 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Nordic education, commodification, social clock, study abroad, Chinese students, value
- language
- English
- id
- 9193916
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-25 14:18:02
- date last changed
- 2025-06-25 14:18:02
@misc{9193916,
abstract = {{Whereas Nordic education always has been freely accessible to its countries’ citizens, the commodification of education is no new phenomenon to the rest of the world. Nor is the idea of abroad studies, which Chinese students have pursued for decades. With Nordic educational offers available amongst many others within the global higher education market, it becomes of interest how this well-established customer group perceives its value. This is explored through a qualitative study of 15 interviews with Chinese students and recent alumni from Nordic master’s programmes, through the theoretical lenses of commodification, capital, interdependence, socialisation and intersectionality. This study found that the value of Nordic education is constituted both by 1) an affordability dimension, 2) by offering a pause from the expectations and hypercompetitive Chinese environment, which this thesis conceptualise as the social clock, 3) by allowing for accumulating and converting different types of capital both during their studies and in the future, 4) by providing a stepping stone for future aspirations through the development of socially situated capacities and acquisition of world citizenship, and 5) by allowing the students to address discriminatory barriers and social division to form a new sense of self able to navigate both the social clock and other settings.}},
author = {{Lee, Karoline Sofie}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{DEGREES OF ASPIRATION: The Commodification of Nordic Education & Its Perceived Value from The Perspective of Chinese Students}},
year = {{2025}},
}