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ERIC Number: EJ1464579
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0218-8791
EISSN: EISSN-1742-6855
Available Date: 0000-00-00
We Are Stuck in the Middle: Intercultural Adjustments and Adaptations of Western-Educated Mainland PhD Students at One Hong Kong University
Asia Pacific Journal of Education, v45 n2 p434-448 2025
This paper examines the academic and sociocultural adjustment processes, challenges, and coping strategies of Chinese students who studied at top Western universities prior to relocating to Hong Kong for PhD study. Through purposeful sampling, 30 individuals from one elite university in Hong Kong, the majority of whom won prestigious scholarships, were invited to semi-structured interviews. Our findings suggest that Hong Kong's geopolitical proximity to mainland China and generous scholarship packages, in addition to compatibility with supervisors and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the West, were major factors that motivated students to select Hong Kong. Academic challenges participants reportedly encounter include interpersonal hierarchies, output-oriented academic culture, and unsatisfactory teaching. The sociocultural challenges are predominantly the difficulty of learning and speaking Cantonese, Mandarin discrimination, and a divided campus. Three forms of response were identified: expectation management, need-based adjustments, and struggle and resistance. This study reveals that students set their Western experience as a benchmark against which they judge their education in Hong Kong. We confirm the role of supervisors as the gatekeepers of students' intercultural adaptations and highlight the importance of an inclusive campus environment, which is focused on academic excellence alongside student wellbeing rather than prioritizing publications.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Hong Kong
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; 2Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK