Towards Sino-Foreign Cooperative Education in China: A Systematic Review of the Chinese and English Literature

Sino-Foreign Cooperative Education (SFCE) is a distinctive form of international education with Chinese characteristics, representing both emerging trend and a significant component of the Chinese education system. In the post-pandemic era, an increasing number of Chinese universities are exploring the possibilities and potential of Sino-Foreign Cooperative Education. This research aims to investigate the development of research on SFCE from 2000 to 2023, and examines the academic discourse surrounding SFCE in higher education. Based on the Scopus, Web of Science and CNKI database, a systematic literature review was conducted on 459 journal articles published in both Chinese and English.

The systematic review primarily utilized thematic analysis. The research findings reveal the prevalence of studies from the perspective of Chinese scholars and attempt to uncover differences in research themes on SFCE between Chinese and English literature. This study will address three aspects: (1) performance analysis results of the articles published in three databases, (2) the thematic clusters and characteristics of articles published in both the Chinese and English databases, and (3) the differences and research trends reflected in Chinese and English literature. Additionally, this study also identifies the temporal, spatial, and contextual dimensions reflected in the research themes of the SFCE field.