A STUDY INTO THE DESIGN OF A PRELABORATORY SOFTWARE RESOURCE INEFFECTIVELY ASSISTING IN THE CHEMISTRY PROFICIENCY OF STUDENTS OF CHINESE ORIGIN UNDERTAKING POST 16 CHEMISTRY IN THE UK

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rizky

Qualitative research examines challenges faced by Chinese-origin students completing preuniversity education in UK schools while undertaking post-16 “A” Level chemistry. Difficulties are linked to sociocultural change, pedagogical differences, affective factors, cognitive demands, and language learning. The study discusses how a pre-laboratory software resource—a dynamic laboratory manual named “A Level Chemistry Labskills”—can mitigate barriers by enabling confidence building and cognition through videos of techniques, simulations, and supporting glossaries.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

1. Introduction

2. The growth in number of school students of Chinese origin in UK schools

3. Transitional shock

4. Sociocultural considerations

A STUDY INTO THE DESIGN OF A PRELABORATORY SOFTWARE RESOURCE INEFFECTIVELY ASSISTING IN THE CHEMISTRY PROFICIENCY OF STUDENTS OF CHINESE ORIGIN UNDERTAKING POST 16 CHEMISTRY IN THE UK Saskia Katarina Emily O’Sullivan, Timothy Guy Harrison Abstract: This qualitative study indicates that Chinese origin students completing their preuniversity education in a British school have particular difficulties related to sociocultural change, pedagogical differences, affective aspects, cognitive demand and language learning. These are discussed. The use of a pre-laboratory software resource to support pre-university practical work in chemistry offers considerable benefits a number of the challenges faced by these students in studying in an English setting, most notably in building confidence and cognition through the use of videos of techniques, simulations and glossaries. Key words: EAL, Chinese learners, pre-lab software, VLE, language learning, 1. Introduction The research considered the key issues that young students of Chinese face when moving to the UK to undertake their pre-university (Post 16) ‘A’ Level chemistry examinations and how access to software designed to support practical skills as a pre-laboratory resource might be supportive. The software chosen to consider is a dynamic laboratory manual (DLM), devised by Bristol ChemLabS, called ‘A Level Chemistry Labskills’ (Harrison et al., 2009) might assist in overcoming these and to identify the supportive elements built into the software design and those elements overlooked for this target group. 2. The growth in number of school students of Chinese origin in UK schools The UK has seen a rapid rise in the numbers of Chinese origin students attending UK independent (private) schools. This is an average of 8.8% rise since 2007 (BIS, 2013), which represents the fastest rate of growth amongst all non-British students. The total number of Chinese students, from both Hong-Kong and mainland China, attending independent schools within the Independent Schools Council, a body representing 1,267 of the schools in the UK, stood at 10,468 (ISC, 2015) in 2015. Chinese students represent 38.5% of the total number of overseas students, and the number of students from mainland China is also increasing year on year (ibid), and this trend is expected to continue (ICEF Monitor, 2014) . Given the perception amongst parents and Chinese society that a Chinese graduate holding a foreign degree will have better skills and employability prospects (Davey, 2005), it is perhaps unsurprising that many students go on to apply to UK based higher education institutions, which are seen as providing a higher quality education than that on offer in mainland China (Bodycott, 2009) . 3. Transitional shock Transplanting young people into different cultures at both secondary and tertiary levels of education will result in a number of ‘shocks’. Adler (1975) describes this transitional experience within a culture-shock paradigm, whilst others detail specific challenges such as changing learning styles (Yamazaki, 2005; Gu and Maley, 2008); the difficulties of engaging in conversational language that is specific to the culture (Agar, 1996); and the sense of ambiguity about one’s identity (Hakak, 2014) . A relevant study into the particular problems encountered by Chinese students in a UK independent boarding school (Berry and Williams, 2004) highlights the anxiety generated by immersion in a second language, whilst individuals are trying to acquire competence in that language, and the followon effect of this anxiety on learning, supporting findings by Cummins (1996) . Liu, 2002, attributed the silence exhibited by Chinese learners in an American classroom to the multiple interactions of: - sociocultural factors (e.g. face, showing respect for others by keeping silent, or the norm of being a good listener as a good student), - pedagogical factors (e.g. teaching styles, participation as a course r

FAQs

What main challenges do Chinese-origin students face when studying UK post-16 chemistry?

The study identifies difficulties in sociocultural change, pedagogical differences, affective factors, cognitive demand, and language learning.

How does the pre-laboratory software resource support students’ chemistry learning?

The dynamic laboratory manual (DLM) provides videos of techniques, simulations, and glossaries to build confidence and support cognition during practical work.

Why does the document emphasize transitional shock for these students?

Moving into different educational and cultural contexts can create culture-shock effects, including anxiety from immersion in a second language and impacts on learning.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rizky