THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC POLICY ON THE MOTIVATION AND ANXIETY SENSITIVITY OF STUDYING ABROAD: A REVIEW OF THE PROCESS OF CHINA'S CHOICE OF STUDENTS TO STUDY IN THE SOVIET UNION IN THE 1950S
Authors: Zhang YuJiao , Cao Yifan , Xia Mengzhen , Deng Zewei , Liu Min , Qi Yankun , Ouyang Mingrui , Sheng Chuangxin , Tong Feng 
Published: July 2022

Background

In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, China's higher education was very backward and could not meet the needs of the society. At that time, higher education in the Soviet Union was relatively developed and China Soviet relations were friendly, but China's relations with most western countries were not good. Therefore, the Chinese government chose and sent students to the Soviet Union for higher education. With the change of policy, the willingness of young people to study abroad has also changed. This political environment also has an impact on the anxiety sensitivity of groups studying abroad.

Subjects and Methods

In order to accurately grasp the motivation of Chinese students to study abroad and return home, this paper selects credible historical archives and data as the basis of the research. This paper reviews the process of selecting foreign students in the Soviet Union in the 1950s, analyzes the impact of public policy on the willingness to study abroad, and draws lessons from it. SPSS 22.0 software was used for data statistical analysis. The measurement data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation (x ± s). The statistical method was as follows: descriptive statistics was used for general demographic characteristics, t-test was used for the comparison of the mean of two independent samples, nonparametric Kruskal Wallis test was used for ordered classification data, and regression analysis was used to verify the mediating effect of RS between as and anxiety level according to the mediating effect test model. P &lt; 0.05 was statistically significant.

Results

Our review of the selection process shows that the willingness to study in the Soviet Union is relatively weak, mainly for two reasons: (1) the deterioration of Sino Soviet relations in 1955; (2) Due to the uneven level of education in China, universal education is more in line with China's reality than elite education, but the selection strictly follows the standards of elite education. For China's future development, we propose to implement a comprehensive and flexible study abroad policy. The study also found that there was a negative correlation between study abroad anxiety and education level. Similarly, there is a significant negative correlation between study abroad anxiety and self-efficacy. There is a very significant positive correlation among state anxiety, trait anxiety and study abroad anxiety. The “anxiety” component of learners' personality characteristics plays a great role in the anxiety of studying abroad. The correlation coefficient between LCAS and trait anxiety was 0.408, while the correlation coefficient between LCAS and state anxiety was 0.395. Both reached a significant level (P &lt; 0.01). There is a positive correlation between self-efficacy and willingness to study abroad. Research shows that anxiety, gender and self-efficacy can be used as comprehensive variables to measure willingness to study abroad.

Conclusion

In the 1950s, because most Chinese people did not have enough willingness, knowledge and funds to study abroad, it was necessary and reasonable for the Chinese government to provide financial support and students to study abroad. Although young people's willingness to study in the Soviet Union was relatively weak, and the results of the Soviet policy did not fully meet expectations, the policy at that time was probably the best. Since China implemented the market reform in the 1980s, the old education policy has become obsolete. Therefore, the role of the government in education has changed from a strict social planner to a leader in time. Although some people have the ability to study abroad, the government must provide financial support for people in certain fields according to the needs of the country. From this review, we can see that the Chinese government has timely adjusted its education strategy to stimulate the motivation to study abroad. In the 1950s, China's universal education was ahead of elite education. To sum up, through the comparative study on the impact of foreign students' ideas of studying abroad, this study found that the policy has a good role in promoting foreign students' ideas of studying abroad, which can not only effectively improve China's education level, but also enable them to face difficulties and setbacks rationally and better adapt to the society.

Acknowledgements

Supported by projects grant from The 2021 Guangdong Provincial College Ideological and Political Education Project “Comparative Research on National History Education after the Return of Hong Kong and Macao from the Perspective of the United Front” (Project No.: 2021GXSZ012) ,the 2020 key project of the Chinese National Cohesion Research Institute of Jinan University “Comparative Study on the Implementation of National History Education after the Return of Hong Kong” (Grant No.20ZHMZNJLZD05); the 2020 project of the Institute of Party Regulations of Jinan University “Guangdong from the Perspective of National Governance” Research on the Coupling Mechanism of Inner Party Laws, Regulations and Talents in the Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area” (Grant No.JNUD2020004); Guangdong Philosophy and Social Sciences “13th Five-Year Plan” Special Commissioned Project “Research on the History of Cantonese Chinese in South Pacific Island Countries” (Grant No.GD18TW18-08)