CEFContemporary Education Frontiers3029-18793029-1860WHIOCE PUBLISHING PTE. LTD.10.18063/CEF.v3i11.1694ArticleExam-Oriented Education and Mobility Aspirations of Chinese First-Year Undergraduates in the UKhttps://artdesignp.com/journal/CEF/3/11/10.18063/CEF.v3i11.1694LongNanxi20253112025-12-20This qualitative interpretivist study explores how China’s Gaokao-centred exam-oriented schooling shapes the academic experience, mobility choices and early adaptation of advantaged first-year Chinese undergraduates in the UK. Five students participated in Mandarin semi-structured interviews, with themes inductively derived from their narratives. Findings reveal early mismatches between exam-conditioned habits (cautious discussion, narrow reading, discomfort with open-ended tasks) and UK inquiry-led pedagogy, with language exacerbating (but not causing) these issues. Clear teaching expectations, structured group work, guided reading and formative feedback facilitated adaptation, leading to gains in confidence, self-directed inquiry and cross-cultural openness. Mobility decisions stemmed from lost academic agency in domestic schooling, enabled by family resources. Over the first year, student aims shifted from credential-focused to capability-focused (critical reasoning, collaboration, employability). The study identifies micro-level transition mechanisms, with future research needing longitudinal cohort follow-up and mixed methods.Exam-oriented education, Mobility aspiration, First-year undergraduates

[1] Braun V, Clarke V, 2006, Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2): 77–101. [2] Bauer-Wolf J, 2019, Survey: Employers Want ‘Soft Skills’ from Graduates. Inside Higher Ed. [3] Borsi M, Mendoza O, Comim F, 2022, Measuring the Provincial Supply of Higher Education Institutions in China. China Economic Review, 2022(71): 101724. [4] Branco D, Soares A, 2016, Studying Abroad: Developing a Model for the Decision Process of International Students. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 38(2): 126–139.