Chinese students in transnational education institutions face complex value negotiations when making career decisions, balancing socialist core values with Western career discourses. This tension becomes particularly acute during the transition from university to employment, yet little is known about how students navigate these competing value systems. A longitudinal qualitative case study followed 15 purposively selected final-year Chinese students at a UK-China joint institute over 18 months (12 months pre-graduation, 6 months post-employment). Data collection included life-history interviews, Q-sort methodology with 40 value cards, monthly audio diaries, workplace shadowing, and career counseling session recordings. Analysis employed within-case narrative mapping and cross-case comparative analysis guided by Dialogical Self Theory and Cultural Hybridity frameworks. Three distinct value negotiation typologies emerged: Integrators (n=6) who synthesized competing values into coherent career narratives, Compartmentalizers (n=5) who maintained separate value systems for different contexts, and Resisters (n=4) who rejected Western career discourses in favor of traditional Chinese values. Successful negotiation involved four key meaning-making processes: temporal bridging, contextual switching, value hierarchizing, and narrative coherence construction. Students who developed hybrid value frameworks showed greater career satisfaction and reduced psychological distress. Value negotiation in transnational education contexts is a dynamic, ongoing process rather than a one-time resolution. The findings challenge binary conceptualizations of East-West value conflicts and reveal sophisticated strategies for managing cultural hybridity in career development. Implications include the need for culturally responsive career counseling approaches that acknowledge and support value negotiation processes.

Xueyi Xiao. Values Negotiation in Early Career Decision-Making: A Longitudinal Case Study of Chinese Students in a UK-China Joint Institute. International Journal of New Developments in Education (2025), Vol. 7, Issue 11: 19-26. https://doi.org/10.25236/IJNDE.2025.071104.

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