Exploring the international postgraduates’ perspective of academic problems in Chinese universities located in Wuhan, China

Abstract Every year millions of students travel to other countries to pursue their dreams of becoming skilled and knowledgeable professionals with expertise. However, they have to face some challenges and difficulties during studying abroad. The current study aimed to examine and identify the academic problems faced by foreign postgraduates while studying at Chinese universities in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Further, this study also aimed to identify various levels of academic problems and put forward possible recommendations and solutions that help international postgraduates cope with difficulties in their studies. Data was collected through a questionnaire survey from the 493 international postgraduates studying in six public sector universities located in different parts of Wuhan. Using the SPSS 24 version and Principle Component Factor Analysis method, the study found that foreign postgraduates encounter academic problems and difficulties, 30.25%, 12.04%, 8.21%, perceived scientific research writing, teaching & learning, and perceived student-supervisor interaction. Also, 5.07% and 4.47% of the perceived major courses and academic activities. The study finds that foreign postgraduates studying in Wuhan, China expressing their significant concerns, are scientific research writing issues, the teaching system, lack of student-supervisor interaction, language barrier, and fewer course selection options. Based on the result, the study suggested that focusing on scientific writing skills, increasing interaction with supervisors, offering more English programs, increasing English teaching faculty, and arranging academic seminars and workshops can effectively reduce students’ academic problems in Chinese universities. Possible solutions, limitations and future research directions have been discussed.

Wazir Arif Hussain is a PhD student at the School of Management and Economics, University of Electronic Sciences and Technology of China (UESTC). He has awarded the highest distinction award (Gold Medal) in his Bachelor's Degree for excellent academic performance. His research focuses on Public Policy, Management, and Educational Leadership. Yunfei Shao, the corresponding author is a professor at the School of Management and Economics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC). She used to responsible for the management of international students in the School and also taught the course of Innovation Management for international postgraduates. She has published more than 200 papers in academic journals such as "Journal of Business Venturing", "International Journal of Information Management", "Journal of Management Science. She has also won more than 10 provincial and ministerial awards, including the Ministry of Education Humanities and Social Sciences Outstanding Achievement Award, the Sichuan Province Science and Technology Progress Outstanding Achievement Award-the first prize, the Sichuan Provincial Social Science Outstanding Achievement Awardthe first prize/second prize, etc. and has won more than 30 outstanding achievement awards in academic societies and academic conferences as well.

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT
The influx of international students in Chinese universities increasing rapidly from around the world. However, they have to face challenges and difficulties during studying in China. This study explored the international postgraduates' perspective regarding the academic problems in Chinese universities located in Wuhan, China using Principle Component Factor Analysis method. Data has been collected through Questionnaire survey from the 493 international postgraduates studying in six key universities located in various parts of Wuhan. Moreover, the study found that international postgraduates studying in Chinese universities expressing their significant concerns are: research publications issues, lack of student-supervisor interaction, language barrier, and fewer course selection options. This study offers a possible solutions and recommendations .The study will be fruitful for Policy-makers, University management team, researchers and foreign students.

Introduction
Every year millions of students travel to other countries to pursue their dreams of becoming skilled and knowledgeable professionals with expertise. The inflow of international students to study Higher Education from several countries is significantly increasing in China. According to (Project Atlas infographics, 2019), China holds the 3 rd position globally, hosting 492,185 international students (Atlas, 2020). According to the statistics published by the (2019), 492,185 international students were enrolled in Chinese Higher Institutions from 196 countries pursuing their higher studies. There are 1,004 higher institutions from 31 provinces, including autonomous regions, that offer education for international students. The figure of international students in Chinese higher education has increased from 110,844 in 2004 to 492,185 in 2019 across over 196 countries ( Figure 1). The most prominent international students in Chinese universities are Asian students (Shan et al., 2020). The majority of students come from South Korea, Thailand, Pakistan, India, the United States, Russia, Indonesia, Laos, and Japan. (Figure 2). Chinese universities have a more diverse and complex students population. Foreign postgraduates at Chinese universities come from different countries with different educational cultures. These graduates make a complex and diverse culture by bringing different cultural values, psychological perspectives and social values. According to (2020), international students study in various provinces and cities of China; among them, Hubei province is a top-eight province with 21,371 international graduate students details ( Figure 3). Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, is also the city with the most significant number of colleges and universities in China except for Beijing, including 69 regular universities and more than 1 million college students (W. A. Hussain et al., 2022). To carry out this quantitative study, choose Wuhan, the central city of China, where the research team is located. The greater the number of international students, the more challenges and problems will be encountered by local universities. When students come abroad, they also face challenges in adjusting to the new educational system of the host country (Kaur, 2019).
Although previous studies addressed these challenges, in-depth analysis is still lacking, especially in a particular context. Academic problems bring various challenges, and students have to bear these problems without family and friends, and they suffer from psychological problems, health issues, and tension (Liu, 2009). Foreign postgraduates have different education systems, teaching methods, languages, and cultures (Kuo, 2011).  In a nutshell, the main objective of this research is to find the answers to the following questions: • What is the international postgraduates' perception about the academic problems in Chinese universities?
• What are the most unrelenting problems that international postgraduates face in Chinese universities?
• What are the factors causing academic challenges?
• How does it overcome the international postgraduates' academic problems in Chinese universities?
To answer these questions, this paper adopted a questionnaire survey method. The current research identifies the academic problems faced by international postgraduates and recommends that policymakers and university management teams implement the findings to improve educational quality. This study also measures the extent of perceived academic challenges. The current study also discussed the possible solutions and determined findings in terms of reality. Furthermore, A combination of descriptive and Principle Component Factor Analysis was applied to ensure accurate results.
The study finds that foreign postgraduates studying in Wuhan, China expressing their significant concerns are (1) scientific research writing issues, (2) the teaching system, (3) lack of studentsupervisor interaction, (4) language barriers, (5) and fewer course selection options. Based on the results, the study suggested that focusing on scientific writing skills, increasing students'  interaction with supervisors, offering more English programs and increasing English teaching faculty, and arranging academic seminars and workshops can effectively reduce students' academic problems in Chinese universities.
Thus, this article contributes to the current literature on academic challenges and difficulties related to the Chinese context in the Higher Education Sectors. Furthermore, this study would help identify the factors contributing to academic difficulties in Chinese universities. It also assists policymakers, university management teams, and professors make decisions that benefit higher education and students.
This article was structured as follows: Section 2 shows the Methods and Materials. Results were presented in section 3. Section 4 has a Discussion. Possible Solutions were discussed in section 5. Section 6 has a Conclusion, and Section 7 has Limitations and Future Research Directions.

Ethical consideration
We have followed ethical standards for data collection. Before data collection, all the respondents were informed about the research aims and objectives.
Respondents were also informed about the consent form, the right to withdraw at any stage without any explanation, and the confidentiality of the information to be collected. They were convinced that the questionnaire would be used strictly for academic purposes. A cover letter was attached to the questionnaire to explain the research nature and objectives-a small gift was distributed among participants to motivate them to fill out the questionnaire correctly.

Data collection and procedure
There are several methods for collecting data in quantitative research, such as telephonic, mailing, and internet methods (Sapri, Kaka, & Finch, 2009). In this study, a survey questionnaire was adopted. We used 26 items from (Bedewy & Gabriel, 2015;Ghasemy et al., 2021;Ho, 1998;Qwai, Richardson, & Hayes) and modified them according to the requirement to examine foreign postgraduates' academic problems at Chinese universities in Wuhan, China. The data was collected in three months, from September 2021 to November 2021. The questionnaires were distributed among 550 foreign postgraduates in six public sector universities, including Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Central China Normal University University, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan University, and Huazhong Agricultural University. Four hundred ninety-three (493) questionnaires were returned, resulting in a response rate of 89.63%. To reduce the respondents' favouritism, we collected students from different countries like Pakistan, South Korea, Vietnam, Russia, Mongolia, Africa, Uzbekistan, India, etc. The Likert scale ranges from 1-5 in all questions except demographic ones. The scale is strongly agree = 5; agree = 4; Neutral = 3; disagree = 2; strongly disagree = 1.

Data analysis
For data analysis, this study used the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 24, and OriginPro 8.5 was used to draw the graphs. The reliability of questionnaires was checked through Cronbach's Alphas. The study found Cronbach's alphas score of α = 0.89. It shows that the data is highly reliable. See, Table 1. The data from the questionnaire survey was generally analyzed into two main statistical components shown (in Figure 4). To begin, descriptive statistics were used to offer a data summary in terms of frequency analysis, Mean, standard deviation, and Variance.
Second, the Principle Component Factor Analysis. (PCA), the method was employed. The construct validity of the survey can be confirmed using Principle Component Factor Analysis. The sample size must be sufficient (MacCallum, Widaman, Zhang, & Hong, 1999. A researcher should generally have at least 10-15 respondents for each item. A sufficient sample size is usually 200-300 (Blair, Conrad, Ackermann, & Claxton, 2006, May;Shan et al., 2020). This study is much more suitable for factor analysis because it has 493 respondents. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy (KM O) can accurately determine whether the sample size is large enough to extract factors accurately. The KMO values between 0.70 to 0.80 are good (Hussain & Shen, 2019). For this study, the KMO values of the sample size are excellent at 0.90. See, (Table 2).

Principle component analysis
Principle Component Analysis (PCA) on SPSS 24.00 version extracted five factors of academic problems and issues categories that account for 60.05% of the total explained Variance. The total Variance illustrates the variables: foreign postgraduate students addressed their problems in the survey questionnaires. The factors having higher eigenvalues show a factor with a higher level of intensity, among others. The more Variance a variable has, the more academic problems it causes. Table 4 shows the variables with their eigenvalues, percentage (%) of Variance, Cumulative percentages, and Extraction Sum of Squared Loadings.
Factor 1: Perceived Scientific Research Writing (30.25%), Factor 2: Teaching and Learning experiences (12.04%), factor 3: Student-supervisor interaction (8.21%), and factor 4: Major courses (5.07%), are highlighted in Table 4. It is clear that foreign graduates were concerned about the mentioned problems. Table 5 lists all of the academic problems' items along with their mean score, standard deviations, and Variance. In Table 5, the mean score indicates a critical issue of the foreign graduates on certain items. A high mean score indicates concern about the specific item area. For example, item 1: I am not motivated to publish a research paper representing scientific research writing, with a 4.36 mean score, indicates great concern among foreign graduates. Item 14: language and cultural barrier with a supervisor with a mean score of 3.88 represent student-supervisor interaction. As a result, we can conclude that the descriptive statistic of each item is in concordance with the PCA results. Table 6 represents the five subscales as follows:   Perceived scientific research publication items (No.1-7), Teaching and learning items (No.8-12), Student-supervisor interaction items (No.13-16), Major course items (No.17-21), and academic activities items . These items are essential because each of them separately focuses on the core concern of the respondents.

On scientific research writing
According to the findings, factor 1 perceived scientific research holds the highest variances, which is the primary concern of foreign graduates in Chinese universities. Students face various problems in writing scientific research articles because of the inability to explain research goals, insufficient financing, and an absence of adequate supervision (Phillips & Pugh, 2015). Master's students have more scientific research writing challenges than doctoral students. Most foreign graduates are not motivated to publish research articles and do not have sound research backgrounds. Students come from different educational backgrounds and rely entirely on teachers. The primary responsibility of the research advisor is to evaluate the research students' articles (Ranganathan & Albert, 2021). Foreign graduates encountered difficulties in scientific writing due to the absence of motivation in research and the lack of time allocated to students by advisors. (Morton & Storch, 2019). As (see , Table 4), item 5, (mean 4.16), "I feel it is difficult to write a scientific research paper." Item 1 (mean 4.36), I feel I am not motivated to publish a research paper". Item 4 (mean 4.17), research is challenging to me". Item 6 (mean 4.98)" my supervisor does not encourage me for research publication." more notably, foreign graduates encountered difficulties in scientific research writing due to a lack of understanding in identifying relevant literature reviews, lack of materials, and lack of consistent responses from researcher advisors (Ali & Zayid 2022). Some foreign graduates have internal challenges, such as motivation. In contrast, others may have external obstacles, such as comprehending research techniques, lack of topic-related materials, lack of sound knowledge in scientific research, and lack of supervisor-student interaction.

On perceived teaching and learning
The teaching and learning subscale holds the second-highest concerned factors among foreign graduates in Chinese universities. The teaching and learning subscale, with a (12.04%) percentage of total variances, indicated that most foreign postgraduates suffer from Chinese universities' teaching and learning system. As shown in Table 4, the statistics demonstrate that item 8(mean 2.62), Language barriers with teachers". Item 12 (mean 2.37), Lectures delivered in the Chinese language for international students," .item 9 (mean 2.57), Lack of discussion in class. These items show the most concern of foreign graduates. Many students do not earn their desired results due to difficulty understanding lectures. Foreign graduates faced problems understanding studies, as the classes were delivered in Chinese (Hussain & Shen, 2019  & Lei, 2014). The Chinese language is considered the most complex language to learn in the world (W. A. Hussain et al., 2022). The engineering discipline faces more problems because it is tough to understand scientific terminologies in Chinese. It is impossible to learn scientific languages in Chinese in a short period (Tahsildar, 2019). The results revealed that the foreign graduates felt that the most problems in teaching and learning in Chinese universities are language barriers and fewer faculty who teach in English

Perceived student-supervisor interaction
Perceived student-supervisor interaction holds the third most concerning factor among foreign graduates in Chinese universities, with an (8.22%) percentage of total Variance. Most of the foreign graduates encounter challenges from interaction with supervisors. Student-supervisor interaction plays an important role in accomplishing academic success. A good supervisor is necessary to overwhelm research problems (Ismail & Abiddin, 2009). As (see, in Table 4), item 15 (mean 3.82), My supervisor does not provide data for research", item 13(mean 3.79) My supervisor is not supportive", item 14 (mean 3.88), Language and cultural barriers with supervisor". Students are faced with scientific writing due to being unable to explain research questions, poor planning, less funding, and lack of proper supervision Azila et al., 2015. Language of instruction, studentsupervisor academic interactions, and teaching style will influence international students' learning and developmentGood communication among students and teachers is vital for accomplishing academic success.

Perceived major courses
Perceived major courses hold (5.068%) of the total Variance. Major course problems are found among foreign graduates in Chinese Universities. Several studies found that international students have a difficult time studying abroad since they must deal with radically different education systems, such as the language of instructions, courses, test requirements, and a variety of other issues (Samuelowicz, 1987). Mostly, foreign graduate students have English taught as their educational background, and they want to choose an English taught the program at Chinese universities. See, in (Table 4), all four items show that foreign graduates are suffering from choosing the major courses. Item 18(mean 3.88), Mostly courses are in the Chinese language, and it is difficult to understand for international students", item 20 (mean 3.44), Unable to get the wanted course", item 19 (mean 3.64), International students' have limited courses option". The findings confirm that foreign graduates are most concerned and have severe major course selection issues.

Perceived academic activities
The factor of academic activities holds (4.47%) of the total Variance. Some major issues of foreign postgraduates in Chinese universities were highlighted by item 23," Universities do not arrange Seminars for international students on different topics" (mean 3.54), item 25," There is no career counselling for international students in Chinese universities" (mean 3.04), illustrates the issues of foreign postgraduates about academic activities. These highly loaded complaints show that a lack of academic activities impedes good academic achievement with a significant mean score. Academic Seminars and workshops are indispensable tools for developing professionalism (Dike & Umunnakwe, 2010). The primary purpose of seminars is to introduce students to innovative theoretical or practical topics in their subjects. The workshop progresses the students about the topics by providing them with fruitful knowledge and experience (Benaya, Herman, Shahak, & Zur, 2010, June) .similarly; Career counselling is a tool to support the students in developing their professional skills (Papakota, 2016). Seminars are essential for students' motivation; universities should be arranged seminars for international students on diverse topics to develop student's research and professional skills. The international college should offer various workshops to meet international students' needs, mainly academic writing and related research workshops .foreign graduates develop their research skills by attending the workshops (Nachatar Singh, 2018).

Possible solutions
International postgraduates encounter academic problems while studying in Chinese universities. This article points out the following possible solutions to overcome the academic challenges foreign postgraduates face while studying in Chinese universities. The recommendations and suggestions include: Focus on scientific writing skills, Increasing the teaching of English program and faculty, arranging academic seminars and workshops, and increasing student-supervisor interaction.

Focus on scientific writing skills
Scientific progress is dependent on the rigorous methods of scientific publication. Chinese universities need to focus on scientific research writing skills-most foreign graduates are concerned with scientific research writing problems. In order to overcome foreign graduates' academic problems, universities need to promote scientific writing skills, which would inspire students to pursue their dreams of publishing scientific papers. Among the main measures are: firstly, supervisors need to provide adequate direction to foreign postgraduates and assist them in choosing topics with good tools and facilities. Secondly, Chinese universities must provide research-based training to help students improve their scientific writing skills and prepare their conceptual skills and talents for research. Many foreign postgraduates are not motivated and feel research is challenging for them. Teachers should encourage and motivate the students to publish the paper. Motivation pushes students to achieve their goals (Chirkov, Vansteenkiste, Tao, & Lynch, 2007). It also accelerates effort. A student will go to any length to accomplish an objective (Rehman & Haider, 2013). There should be research-based training to help students improve their writing skills and prepare their conceptual talents for research

Increase the teaching of English program and faculty
International students face difficulty studying abroad, as they have to face completely different education systems like language, teaching methods, examination criteria, and many other concerns. Mostly, foreign graduate students have English taught as their educational background, and they want to choose an English taught program at a Chinese university. Foreign graduate students have language barriers with teachers in Chinese higher education. The Chinese language is considered the most challenging language to learn (W. A. Hussain et al., 2022). For international students, it is impossible to study professional courses in Chinese quickly. However, the universities can support the assessment of Chinese, especially in daily communication, to assist international students in communicating with teachers and Chinese students. Chinese higher education has made a policy to develop English programs and courses. Many Chinese faculties do not speak English. Effective communication between students and teachers is essential to achieving academic success. In Chinese universities, still, there are fewer faculties who teach in English. To resolve these problems, Chinese universities should offer English-taught programs, encourage bilingual teaching, increase teachers' English training opportunities, focus on oral English, and provide training to old faculty.

Focus on arrange seminars and workshops
Academic workshops and Seminars are crucial tools for professional development (Dike & Umunnakwe, 2010). Seminar plays a dynamic role in students' motivation. The key purpose of the seminar is to introduce students to advanced theoretical or practical topics in their subjects , and the workshop advances the students about the topics by providing them with ongoing knowledge and experience . University should be arranged workshops and seminars for international students on diverse topics to improve students' research and professional skills. International students develop their research skills by attending workshops (Nachatar Singh, 2018). Foreign postgraduate students must actively participate in workshops and seminars to achieve sound skills and research knowledge. The University management team should organize more seminars and workshops for international graduate students to overcome their problems in Chinese universities.

Increase student-supervisor interaction
Student-faculty interaction plays a dynamic role in accomplishing academic success. Effective supervisory is required to overwhelm research problems (Ismail & Abiddin, 2009). In the questionnaire, survey students complain that there is a lack of student-faculty interaction in Chinese Universities. There are two types of interaction with faculty, i.e., academic interaction and social interaction. Chinese universities need to expand academic and social interactions among students and faculty. Academic interaction includes communication related to the research topic, research method, reading materials, study area, etc., whereas social interaction indicates discussing career plans, social adjustment, campus activities, etc. A close student-faculty interaction develops students' research skills necessary to achieve academic achievement. Many foreign graduates do not have any previous research experiences; they felt they could not publish research papers because they did not have a sound research background. Several international graduates also complain about data collection issues. Students are faced with data collection due to being unable to explain research questions, poor planning, less funding, and lack of proper supervision (Phillips & Pugh, 2015). The academic-centred relationship and interaction with peers and professors overcome students' academic problems (data collection issues). Lack of student-faculty contact on campus is a big problem for international graduate students in Chinese universities. International students need supporters who help them improve their research skills, discuss course selection, and manage time. To eliminate these problems, universities should increase student-faculty interaction on campus.

Conclusion
There has been a significant growth of international postgraduates in Chinese universities, and increasing rapidly. However, they are facing some challenges and difficulties during studying in China. This article discusses China's most vital ongoing research topic, which aimed to investigate the foreign postgraduates' perspective about the academic problems in Chinese universities. Furthermore, this study also aimed to identify the various level of academic problems and offers recommendations and solutions by identifying and comprehending the academic problems foreign postgraduates face in Wuhan, China. The study found the academic problems and categories in five themes: scientific research writing, perceived teaching and learning, student supervisor's interaction, major course and academic activities. These are the primary academic problems foreign postgraduates face while studying in Chinese universities. The findings of each subscale of academic challenges and total Variance on various factors indicate that foreign graduates have severe academic problems.
This study's findings contribute to a huge of knowledge about the currently existing literature on academic problems and difficulties in the higher education sector related to the Chinese context. Furthermore, four practical solutions have been developed and suggested focused on the identified academic problems are: Focusing on scientific writing skills, increasing students' interaction with supervisors, offering more English programs, and arranging academic seminars and workshops that can effectively reduce academic problems. It also assists policymakers, university management teams, and professors in making effective decisions that benefit both universities and students to cope with difficulties.

Limitations and future directions
Like all studies, this paper has some limitations. This study is limited to only six universities in Wuhan, Hubei Province. It focused only on academic problems influencing international postgraduates. Thus, future research should expand the sample of higher-level case studies, such as regional, provincial, and national. Moreover, future research can also include social and cultural problems faced by international postgraduates.