Obstacles to Fostering Integration of Local and Non-Local Students in Hong Kong Universities amid Political Turmoil and the COVID-19 Pandemic
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32674/jcihe.v15i2.4495Keywords:
internationalization of higher education, intercultural engagement, COVID-19 pandemic, political turmoilAbstract
The internationalization of higher education has become a key policy within the global higher education sector. Yet a large body of literature suggests that simply having a diverse group of students does not guarantee meaningful intercultural engagement. This paper presents a qualitative study intended to gain a richer understanding of Hong Kong’s higher education environment. In-depth interview data were collected from students of different cultural backgrounds and from academic, non-academic, and managerial staff at three Hong Kong universities. The data collection period covered local political turmoil in Hong Kong as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicate that, due to language barriers and potentially opposing political ideologies, all students faced challenges engaging with others who were culturally different from themselves. These findings can facilitate the development of an adaptable cross-institutional framework for meaningful intercultural learning.
References
Association of Universities in the Netherlands. (2018, May 14). Internationalisation agenda for higher education. https://www.vsnu.nl/files/documents/Internationalisation%20Agenda%20for%20Higher%20Education.pdf
Bhoomiah, D. (2009). Hong Kong students’ approaches to learning: Cross-cultural comparisons. US-China Education Review, 6(12), 46–58.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
British Council. (2014). Integration of international students—A UK perspective. https://www.britishcouncil.org/education/ihe/knowledge-centre/student-mobility/report-integration-international-students
Brooks, R., & Waters, J. (2011). Student mobilities, migration and the internationalization of higher education. Palgrave Macmillan.
Cheng, K. (2016, March 20). Scholarism ‘suspends operations’ to form new student group and political party. Hong Kong Free Press. https://hongkongfp.com/2016/03/20/scholarism-suspends-operations-to-form-new-student-group-and-political-party/
Cheng, Y. C., Cheung, A. C. K., & Ng, S. W. (Eds.). (2016). Internationalization of higher education: The case of Hong Kong. Springer.
Clarke, V., & Braun, V. (2017). Thematic analysis. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 12(3), 297–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2016.1262613
De Wit, H. (2015, April). Quality assurance and internationalization: Trends, challenges, and opportunities. [Paper presentation]. The INQAAHE Conference, Chicago, IL.
Deardorff, D. K. (2006). Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(3), 241–266.
Ding, X. L. (1994). The decline of communism in China: Legitimacy crisis 1977–1989. Cambridge University Press.
Fong, B. C. H. (2017). One country, two nationalisms: Center-periphery relations between mainland China and Hong Kong, 1997–2016. Modern China, 43(5), 523–556. https://doi.org/10.1177/0097700417691470
Gareis, E. (2012). Intercultural friendships: Effects of home and host region. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 5(4), 309–328.
Goldstein, O., Natur, N., Trahar, S., & Yemini, M. (2019). Students shaping internationalization in a conflict-ridden society. Journal of Studies in International Education, 23(1), 66–83. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315318803711
Grayson, J. P. (2008). The experiences and outcomes of domestic and international students at four Canadian universities. Higher Education Research & Development, 27(3), 215–230.
Green, W., & Mertova, P. (2016). Transformalists and transactionists: Towards a more comprehensive understanding of academics’ engagement with “internationalisation of the curriculum.” Research in Comparative and International Education, 11(3), 229–246.
Hanassab, S. (2006). Diversity, international students, and perceived discrimination: Implications for educators and counsellors. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(2), 157–172. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315305283051
Harrison, N., & Peacock, N. (2010). Cultural distance, mindfulness and passive xenophobia: Using integrated threat theory to explore home higher education students’ perspectives on internationalisation at home. British Educational Research Journal, 36(6), 877–902. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920903191047
Hill, L., & Viragos, A. (2020). [Review of the book Internationalization and employability in higher education, edited by R. Coelen & C. Gribble]. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 19(4), 604–606. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2019.0395
Hu, S., & Kuh, G. D. (2003). Diversity experiences and college student learning and personal development. Journal of College Student Development, 44(3), 320–334. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2003.0026
Knight, J. (2004). Internationalization remodelled: Definition, approaches, and rationales. Journal of Studies in International Education, 8(1), 5–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315303260832
Kudo, K., Volet, S., & Whitsed, C. (2017). Intercultural relationship development at university: A systematic literature review from an ecological and person-in-context perspective. Educational Research Review, 20, 99–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2017.01.001
Leask, B. (2009). Using formal and informal curricula to improve interactions between home and international students. Journal of Studies in International Education, 13(2), 205–221. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315308329786
Leask, B., & Carroll, J. (2011). Moving beyond 'wishing and hoping': Internationalisation and student experiences of inclusion and engagement. Higher Education Research and Development, 30(5), 647–659. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2011.598454
Leppink, J. (2019). Statistical methods for experimental research in education and psychology. Springer.
Luo, J., & Jamieson-Drake, D. (2013). Examining the educational benefits of interacting with international students. Journal of International Students, 3(2), 85–101.
Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Min, Y., & Chau, A. (2012). Social engagement in a diversifying campus: A phenomenological exploration. Higher Education Research and Development, 31(2), 155–169. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2010.549462
Mok, K. H., Xiong, W., Ke, G., & Cheung, J. O. W. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on international higher education and student mobility: Student perspectives from mainland China and Hong Kong. International Journal of Educational Research, 105, 101718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101718
Moon, R. J. (2016). Internationalisation without cultural diversity? Higher education in Korea. Comparative Education, 52(1), 91–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2015.1125679
Nunamaker, J. F., Reinig, B. A., & Briggs, R. O. (2009). Principles for effective virtual teamwork. Communication of the ACM, 52(4), 113–117.
Rose-Redwood, C., & Rose-Redwood, R. (2018). Fostering successful integration and engagement between domestic and international students on college and university campuses. Journal of International Students, 8(3), 1267–1273. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v8i3.84
Spencer-Rodgers, J. (2001). Consensual and individual stereotypic beliefs about international students among American host nationals. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 25(6), 639–657. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-1767(01)00029-3
Tesar, M. (2020). Towards a post-Covid-19 “new normality?”: Physical and social distancing, the move to online and higher education. Policy Future in Education, 18(5), 556–559.
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. (2019). Shaping the future: Strategic plan 2019/20–2024/25. https://www.polyu.edu.hk/cpa/splan/StrategicPlan2019/pdfs/PolyU_Strategic_Plan_20210512.pdf
Thomas, V., Ssendikaddiwa, J. M., Mroz, M., Lockyer, K., Kosarzova, K., & Hanna, C. (2018). Leveraging common ground: Improving international and domestic students’ interaction through mutual engagement. Journal of International Students, 8(3), 1386–1397. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v8i3.61
Trice, A. (2004). Mixing it up: International graduate students’ social interactions with American students. Journal of College Student Development, 45(6), 671–687.
Tsuruta, Y. (2013). The knowledge society and the internationalisation of Japanese higher education. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 33(2), 140–155. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2013.780674
University Grants Committee. (2020). Internationalisation and engagement with mainland China. https://www.ugc.edu.hk/doc/eng/ugc/publication/report/AnnualRpt1920/07.pdf
University Grants Council. (2004, January). Hong Kong higher education to make a difference to move with the times. https://www.ugc.edu.hk/doc/eng/ugc/publication/report/policy_document_e.pdf
University Grants Council. (2010, December). Aspirations for the higher education system in Hong Kong: Report of the University Grants Committee. https://www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/ugc/about/publications/report/her2010/her2010.html
Vyas, L., & Yu, B. (2018). An investigation into the academic acculturation experiences of Mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong. Higher Education, 76(5), 883–901. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-018-0248-z
Ward, K. M., & Zarate, M. E. (2015). The influence of campus racial climate on graduate student attitudes about the benefits of diversity. Review of Higher Education, 38(4), 589–617. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2015.0034
Yemini, M. (2017). Internationalization under intractable conflict: The influence of national conflict on Israeli higher education institutions’ internationalization efforts. European Education, 49(4), 293–303.
Yu, B. (2010). Learning Chinese abroad: The role of language attitudes and motivation in the adaptation of international students in China. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 31(3), 301–321. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434631003735483
Yu, B., Bodycott, P., & Mak, A. S. (2019). Language and interpersonal resource predictors of psychological and sociocultural adaptation: International students in Hong Kong. Journal of Studies in International Education, 23(5), 572–588. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315318825336
Yu, B., & Wright, E. (2017). Academic adaptation amid internationalisation: The challenges for local, mainland Chinese, and international students at Hong Kong’s universities. Tertiary Education and Management, 23, 347–360. https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2017.1356365
Yu, B., & Zhang, K. (2016). 'It's more foreign than a foreign country': Adaptation and experience of Mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong. Tertiary Education and Management, 22(4), 300–315. https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2016.1226944
Additional Files
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The findings, interpretations, conclusions, and views expressed in Journal of Comparative and International Higher Education (JCIHE) are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed in any manner to CIES, HESIG, or the sponsoring universities of the Editorial Staff. These works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License. Readers are free to copy, display, and distribute articles that appear in JCIHE as long as the work is attributed to the author(s) and JCIHE, it is distributed for non-commercial purposes only, and no alteration or transformation is made in the work. All other uses must be approved by the author(s) or JCIHE. By submitting a manuscript, authors agree to transfer without charge the following rights to JCIHE upon acceptance of the manuscript: first worldwide serial publication rights and the right for JCIHE to grant permissions as its editors judge appropriate for the redistribution of the article, its abstract, and metadata associated with the article in professional indexing and reference services.
