Introduction
Noticeable changes have been taking place in the realm of education recently. Due to the active enhancement of internationalization of the specified domain, educational institutions have gained the opportunity to share their experience in not only teaching and learning strategies but also administration. Creation and maintenance of residence halls for students have become an area for testing innovative approaches that can potentially make the process of learning more productive and motivate students to excel in academic performance.
Thus, comparing the environment of residence halls in the U.S. and China will help to discover important implications of certain room planning, spatial arrangement, and other characteristics on the academic achievements of learners and their overall success. Although there are significant cultural differences between the American and Chinese education, globalization has defined the presence of numerous similarities in residence halls in the specified states.
The internationalization of education can be seen as the key driver in the rise in similarities between Chinese and American residence halls. Yeravdekar and Tiwari define internationalizing education as the tendency to prepare students to learn and work in a diverse environment (43). Therefore, the current changes in the residence halls can be explained by the cultural exchange as well as global changes in economy, finances, and technology.
American Residence Halls: Overview
In an attempt to provide a general description of American residence halls in universities, one will inevitably succumb to the fallacy of making a general statement. Indeed, conditions in which American students live differ based on the area in which the specified academic establishment is located, the funds that are provided by the local board of education, and other nuances. However, on average, an American residence hall for students will include the items necessary for education, recreation, and proper quality of life, as the example of the New York University (NYU) shows.
According to the information offered by the NYU, students are provided with the following: “An extra long twin bed and mattress (39″x80″), a desk and chair, drawer space (either underbed or dresser), hanging space (either a closet or wardrobe cabinet)” (“Residence Halls” par. 3).
The specified list demonstrates that the NYU residence halls are equipped with the items that represent the bare minimum required for living, yet students are also expected to invest a substantial amount of money into their further life there. Recent trends in the cost structure of American residence halls such as the one of the University of Maryland show that students are expected to spend quite a lot on housing fees, the prices per single room reaching $9,000 (“Housing Fees” par. 5).
Chinese Residence Halls: General Characteristics
While there have been certain changes to the way in which dormitories and residence halls are built in China, the general trend remains consistent, with the focus on a large number of students and a certain scarcity of place. Although the real estate boom could be observed in China in the early and mid-2010s, opportunities for housing remain quite few and expensive, which implies that residence halls in the specified setting have to adjust to the described problem.
As Glaeser et al. explain, “In China, educational and medical resources are heavily concentrated in major cities, and the hukou system restricts access to many resources to local residents” (107). Thus, in most Chinese universities, residence halls typically include a very restricted number of rooms and a quite small area, as the example of the UIBE shows (“University Accommodation in China” par. 4). The observed situation is quite different from the U.S., where residence halls provided to students are much greater in size and the number of facilities.
Comparison: Key Similarities and Differences
Despite significant cultural differences between the U.S. and Chinese education systems, there are certain similarities in the way in which residence halls are designed, arranged, and supported in the specified states. High costs of living and scarcity of the interior can be deemed as the key points of contact between the American and Chinese halls of residents, as the overview of some of the best known universities in each state shows.
Moreover, the high cost of living is what makes the Chinese halls of residents for students quite close to those of American higher educational institutions (Tavernier and Willoughby 318). The issue of the lack of resources remains a problem in both the Chinese and American academic setting in regard to the management and maintenance of residence halls should also be mentioned as one of the common themes.
It could be argued that the differences described above are primarily defined by the cultural specifics of the Chinese and American environment, whereas the similarities are determined by the continuous globalization process. Indeed, due to the enhancement of globalization, which can be witnessed currently in all domains including economics, business, culture, and education, common trends occur in different cultural settings.
Unfortunately, due to the current economic and financial challenges, these trends include negative factors that restrict opportunities for students both in China and the U.S. to sustain the quality of their life at the required level in residence halls. Nonetheless, innovations and other opportunities that have emerged over the past few years make it easier for students in the U.S. and China to accommodate themselves in residence halls.
Conclusion
The current globalization trend makes Chinese and American residence halls share a number of similarities since both educational systems are exposed to a range of vastly similar economic, financial, and technological factors. However, cultural specifics of the specified states add uniqueness to the environment of residence halls in each state. As the example of several American and Chinese universities have shown, the high cost of living remains a problem, yet technological advances allow students to succeed in their learning.
Works Cited
Glaeser, Edward, et al. “A Real Estate Boom with Chinese Characteristics.” Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 31, no. 1, 2017, pp. 93-116.
“Housing Fees.” The University of Maryland, 2018. Web.
“Residence Halls.” New York University, n.d. Web.
Tavernier, Royette, and Teena Willoughby. “A Longitudinal Examination of the Bidirectional Association Between Sleep Problems and Social Ties at University: The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence, vol. 44, no. 2, 2015, pp. 317-330.
“University Accommodation in China.” China-Admissions.com, n.d. Web.
Yeravdekar, Vidya Rajiv, and Gauri Tiwari. Internationalization of Higher Education in India. SAGE Publications India, 2016.