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An investigation into the academic acculturation experiences of Mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong

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Abstract

Over the past few decades, Mainland China has witnessed a massive outflow of students to higher education institutions in Hong Kong. In the context of an up-surge in Mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong, this research aims to explore (1) why Mainland Chinese students choose to study in Hong Kong over other higher education systems, (2) perceptions about the advantages and disadvantages of studying in Hong Kong, and (3) challenges in the process of acculturation from their homeland to Hong Kong. Five key themes are identified: education, finance, learning culture, language, and discrimination/labelling. While Mainland Chinese students often struggle to blend into the new environment, most gradually become accustomed to the local way of life. What remains a challenge is (perceived) discrimination following political tensions over the “one China, two systems” framework. This paper identifies the expectations and dissatisfactions of the participants with regard to studying in Hong Kong, ultimately offering higher-education administrators an insight into how to better cater for the expanding share of Mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong’s universities. This research is significant because it extends the literature by examining acculturation and cultural adaptation issues in an increasingly globalized context.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Asian and Policy Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, Hong Kong

    Lina Vyas

  2. Department of English Language Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, Hong Kong

    Baohua Yu

Authors
  1. Lina Vyas
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  2. Baohua Yu
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Correspondence to Lina Vyas.

Appendices

Appendix 1—Questionnaire

  1. 1.

    Where do you come from?

  2. 2.

    Why did you choose to study in Hong Kong instead of your home country or some other country?

  3. 3.

    What were your thoughts about studying in Hong Kong when you were still living in your homeland? What were your expectations?

  4. 4.

    What were your thoughts when you first arrived in Hong Kong?

  5. 5.

    Are your thoughts about studying in Hong Kong different now? If so, in what way is it different?

  6. 6.

    Do you find any cultural differences between mainland China and Hong Kong?

  7. 7.

    How is studying in Hong Kong different from/similar to studying in mainland China?

  8. 8.

    Were there any challenges? How did you overcome them?

  9. 9.

    How is living in Hong Kong different from/similar to living in mainland China?

  10. 10.

    Do you socialize with local students or only with other students/people from mainland China? Did the orientation program help at all?

  11. 11.

    How did you adjust to studying and living in Hong Kong? How long was the adjustment period?

  12. 12.

    What is the best thing about living and studying in Hong Kong?

  13. 13.

    What is the worst thing about living and studying in Hong Kong?

  14. 14.

    Have you suffered from discrimination in Hong Kong? If so, in what way and what are your thoughts about it?

  15. 15.

    Was it difficult to integrate with local students? How would you describe their attitude toward you?

  16. 16.

    Would you like to add anything else? Do you have any other comments to make?

Appendix 2—Semi-Structured Interview Questions

  1. 1.

    How do you describe your experience of leaving your homeland and studying in Hong Kong?

  2. 2.

    What challenges and hardships did you experience when transitioning to the Hong Kong environment?

  3. 3.

    What contributed more to these challenges and hardships, for example, language barriers, accommodation difficulties, cultural differences, and discrimination? Could you describe more precisely, what those experiences were?

  4. 4.

    Did anything help you to deal with these challenges and hardships, such as social networking, family support, university support or community support?

  5. 5.

    Would you like to add anything else? Do you have any other comments to make?

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Vyas, L., Yu, B. An investigation into the academic acculturation experiences of Mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong. High Educ 76, 883–901 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-018-0248-z

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