ABSTRACT
Changes in higher education funding in recent years have encouraged British universities and colleges to look increasingly to overseas students, both as a method of revenue earning, and as a way of increasing the diversity of the university community. This chapter compares and contrasts the Chinese and British education systems in the light of possible issues that might confront participants in the reciprocal teaching and learning environment at university level. It compares viewpoints expressed in the literature about the ways in which Chinese students are perceived in their orientation to study with information reported by study participants. There is no doubt that an increase in the number of full-fee paying Chinese students in UK Higher education is potentially good for the bottom line of each institution. Chinese students may well engage with the educational experience in a more formal way than their UK counterparts and confer a greater authoritative legitimacy on their lecturers.
