Beyond the brochure: rethinking learning, agency and AI in China’s transnational education

About the Project

Applications are invited for a self-funded, 3 year full-time or 6 year part-time PhD project.

The PhD will be based in the School of Education, English Language and Linguistics, and will be supervised by Dr Lin Zheng, Dr Mario Saraceni and Dr Richard Poole.

The work on this project will:

• Explore the tensions shaping China’s transnational higher education, including language politics, institutional identity, and global aspirations
• Investigate how students and educators negotiate agency across linguistic, cultural, and pedagogical boundaries within internationalised programmes
• Analyse the rising of Chinese as a rising lingua franca and its impact on educational legitimacy, voice and authority
• Interprete how global education is being redefined at the intersection of intercultural communication, AI technologies, and shifting power structures
• Contribute to critical debates on knowledge, identity and leadership in international higher education contexts.

This PhD project explores the emerging tensions within China’s transnational higher education landscape, where global ambition, national identity, and educational transformation intersect in increasingly complex ways. As China deepens its engagement with global education through joint degree programmes, offshore partnerships, and international mobility: the meaning of ‘international’ learning is itself being redefined.

At the heart of these changes lies a convergence of forces: China’s expanding international influence, its pursuit of educational leadership, the rising symbolic and communicative power of Chinese as a potential global lingua franca, and the disruptive presence of generative AI in academic environments. These dynamics do not simply add complexity; they create active points of friction where pedagogical values, language practices, and academic legitimacy are being reshaped, reinterpreted, and sometimes resisted.

This project focuses on how students and educators experience and navigate these tensions. It centers their agency as they engage with competing expectations around what international education should deliver: intercultural awareness? global capital? linguistic performance? authentic learning? Their responses often reflect the deep structural contradictions that underpin transnational education: between local identities and global standards, between surface-level internationalisation and deeper cultural negotiation.

The project will investigate questions such as: How do participants position themselves linguistically and culturally in global-facing Chinese programmes? What roles do English and Chinese play in shaping access to knowledge and institutional authority? How do educators and learners make sense of AI’s impact on writing, assessment, and the value of academic work?

Theoretically, the project will draw from intercultural communication studies, critical education research, and language and identity scholarship, with particular interest in how power, voice, and legitimacy operate across transnational spaces. Methodologically, it will take a qualitative, interpretive approach using interviews, discourse analysis, and narrative inquiry to explore lived experience and shifting meanings on the ground.

This study offers a timely and critical contribution to the future of international education in China, especially as the country moves from the periphery of global academia toward a more assertive and contested centre. It invites applicants interested in educational change, language politics, and the evolving dynamics of cross-border learning.

General Admissions

You'll need a good first degree from an internationally recognised university (first or upper second class or equivalent, depending on your chosen course) or a Master’s degree in a humanities related area. In exceptional cases, we may consider equivalent professional experience and/or qualifications. English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 with no component score below 6.0.

Specific candidate requirements

• Currently engaged in or have prior experience with transnational education (TNE) initiatives, either through teaching, academic programme coordination, international student recruitment, or administrative support.
• Demonstrated understanding of international partnerships in higher education, particularly in relation to cross-border academic collaborations, joint programmes, or institutional agreements.
• Experience with or sensitivity to the classroom dynamics of transnational higher education, including challenges related to cultural diversity, student expectations, curriculum adaptation, and pedagogical alignment across contexts.
• Familiarity with global higher education trends, including international student mobility, intercultural engagement, and the strategic development of TNE programmes.

How to apply

We’d encourage you to contact Dr Lin Zheng (lin.zheng@port.ac.uk) to discuss your interest before you apply, quoting the project code.

When you are ready to apply, please follow the 'Apply now' link on the Education PhD subject area page and select the link for the relevant intake. Make sure you submit a personal statement, proof of your degrees and grades, details of two referees, proof of your English language proficiency and an up-to-date CV. Our ‘How to Apply’ page offers further guidance on the PhD application process.

When applying please quote project code: ELL100001026

Funding Notes

Visit the research subject area page for fees and funding information for this project.

Funding availability: Self-funded PhD students only or funding from the Chinese government/university.

PhD full-time and part-time courses are eligible for the UK Government Doctoral Loan (UK and EU students only – eligibility criteria apply).