The connection between VFR experience based and sociocultural dimensions of international students and mainland Chinese students

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chung Shing Chan ◽  
Birgit Pikkemaat ◽  
Dora Agapito ◽  
Qinrou Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
International Students ◽  
Chinese Students ◽  
Urban Infrastructure ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mainland Chinese ◽  
Mainland Chinese Students ◽  
Tourism Resources

Purpose This paper aims to present the host experience of student hosts in Hong Kong, a popular educational destination for international students from mainland China and other countries. This study examines the interconnection between the experience-based and sociocultural dimensions of visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel, considering the overall host experience, the host–guest relationship and post-hosting changes in perception of both the VFR experience and destination. Design/methodology/approach This research adopts a qualitative approach to compare the experience-based and sociocultural dimensions of VFR travel considering international university students as VFR hosts in Hong Kong, taking a student sample from both mainland Chinese and overseas students. Based on a voluntary sampling approach, the research team had face-to-face interviews with the students that agreed to participate. The interviews were conducted voluntarily and anonymously and included those students who had hosted any friends or relatives in the past 12 months. A total of 26 interviews were successfully completed, including 10 mainland Chinese and 16 non-mainland Chinese students. Findings The results confirm that the VFR host experience is generally shaped by an integration of internal characteristics (sociocultural characteristics of both hosts and visitors) and external environment (urban infrastructure and tourism resources). The two groups distinctively express their host experience that shows some areas of cultural barriers and geographical proximity. Research limitations/implications The limitations of this research mainly lie on its relatively small sample size because of constraints in accessing the contact information of international students across universities. These shortcomings should be improved by adopting a research design that uses other sampling approaches, such as snowball sampling, to include a wider scope of students from different local universities, or convenience sampling, to interview and compare responses of international students from various educational destinations. Alternative data sources may be considered, for example, through user-generated contents from online and social media platforms that contain sharing of students as hosts. Practical implications The geographical and cultural proximities influence VFR tourism development and social construction of values and the consequent hosting behaviour. The unique role of international students should be further explored, especially in the Asian context. The outcome of VFR travel must be evaluated and studied more from cultural and personal dimensions than economic gain, which should be relevant to host perspective such as improved quality of life, social ties and place attachment and psychological benefits. The changing risk perception caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may be examined through some forms of travel intention. Social implications Firstly, the destination marketing organisations of the educational destination should address the difficulty faced by student hosts in terms of external attributes such as local culture, urban infrastructure, tourism resources and information accessibility. Secondly, to target the hosts, some specific VFR-related products and services may be developed for international students through local tertiary institutions such that the role of hosts as ambassadors can be facilitated and enhanced. Thirdly, the functional role of international students can be distinctive based on their unique network, activities and knowledge constructed upon learning during the period of education. Originality/value The studentification of many educational destination cities, the dynamism of the role of international students as VFR hosts and their cultural differences between places of origin have provided an opportunity for deepening the understanding of VFR tourism.

The academic and personal experiences of Mainland Chinese students enrolled in a Canadian Master of Education Program

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 177-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane P. Preston ◽  
Anhui Wang
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Chinese Students ◽  
Chinese Student ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mainland Chinese ◽  
Mainland Chinese Students ◽  
Master Of Education

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to communicate the positive and challenging aspects of a Master of Education program, as perceived by Chinese students at an Atlantic Canadian university. Design/methodology/approach Assuming a qualitative methodology, 21 Mainland Chinese students participated in individual, paired, and focus group semi-structured interviews. Interviews were member checked. Data were analyzed through content analysis. The findings are discussed using Deardorff’s (2006, 2009) concept of intercultural competence. Findings Students perceived the best features of their educational experience to be personable instructors, their enhanced English skills, and practical course-based experiences embedded in the program. The main challenges were social isolation, English language requirements and related assignments, and theoretical expectations of the program. Research limitations/implications This study contains a somewhat small qualitative small sample size (i.e. 21 participants), therein, disabling any generalization of results. In other words, the data findings are unique and non-generalizable beyond the particular research case. However, transferability, which refers to the extent in which the results of an original study can be applied to similar people, contexts, or settings (Lincoln and Guba, 1985), may be applied to the findings if the reader deems the context of this study in alignment with his/her situation. Practical implications Approximately, 82 percent of Canadian universities rate internationalization as a top priority, supporting the need for research in this area. An implication of the study is that internationalization of higher education must be more than just the recruitment of international students. Universities have direct and fiduciaries responsibilities to support the academic needs, personal needs of their international students, as well as the intercultural competence of all students, instructors and staff. Originality/value There is a plethora of research documenting experiences of international students, in general, but such research is not directly transferrable to the Chinese student. The issues and problems encountered by Chinese international students are unique and should be addressed independently from international students. Moreover, a lot of the research that focuses on Chinese students enrolled in North American universities, predominantly, is conducted within the USA, and such research tends to spotlight the challenges only. In turn, the authors’ research addresses a specialized focus of the international Chinese student in Canada.

Studying where the jobs are: Mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Wai Wa Yuen ◽  
Alan Chi Keung Cheung ◽  
Ping Man Wong
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
International Student ◽  
Chinese Students ◽  
Teaching Profession ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mainland Chinese ◽  
Mainland Chinese Students ◽  
Stay Behind ◽  
Country Specific

Purpose Mainland Chinese students (hereafter called Mainland students) are a major source of international student applications. Some countries have initiated policies to enable Mainland students to stay and work after graduation. Additions to the literature, particularly more country-specific studies, are much needed to cast light on the employment issues for such Mainland students overseas. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap by focussing on Mainland students who have completed teacher education programmes in Hong Kong and then served as teachers in Hong Kong schools (Mainland teachers). The incentives that attracted them to stay and work in Hong Kong and the challenges they faced were examined. Their future plans were also probed. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a mixed methodology. Data collection comprised both a questionnaire survey and interviews. The semi-structured interviews provided opportunities for respondents to explain their answers, to narrate and widen the scope of data to areas hitherto unanticipated by the researchers. Findings Mainland teachers were attracted to stay on in Hong Kong to work for both intrinsic and extrinsic reasons. They were in fact settlers. They found the programmes they had taken to be practical and believed that they had acquired a niche situation in the teaching profession. Working and living in Hong Kong was satisfying, but some experienced social distance from local colleagues. Originality/value The paper can be read with reference to countries that recruit Mainland students and there is a possibility that some of them may stay behind to work. It sheds light on the selection criteria of such students, on ways to enrich their programmes, as well as their employment, living and social integration issues.

Acculturative Stressor and Meaning of Life as Predictors of Negative Affect in Acculturation: A Cross-Cultural Comparative Study between Chinese International Students in Australia and Hong Kong

2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (9) ◽  
pp. 740-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia-Yan Pan ◽  
Daniel Fu Keung Wong ◽  
Lynette Joubert ◽  
Cecilia Lai Wan Chan
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
International Students ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Chinese Students ◽  
Meaning Of Life ◽  
Chinese International Students ◽  
Mainland Chinese ◽  
Mainland Chinese Students ◽  
The Impact

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to compare the predictive effects of acculturative stressor and meaning of life on negative affect in the process of acculturation between Chinese international students in Australia and Hong Kong. Method: Four hundred mainland Chinese students studying at six universities in Hong Kong and 227 Chinese international students studying at the University of Melbourne in Australia completed a questionnaire that included measures of acculturative stressor, meaning of life, negative affect and demographic information. Results: The Australian sample was found to have a higher level of acculturative stressor and negative affect than the Hong Kong sample. Acculturative stressor had a positive impact on negative affect in both samples, but the impact of different domains of acculturative stressor on negative affect varied between the two groups. Finally, meaning of life partially mediated the relationship between acculturative stressor and negative affect in the Hong Kong sample, but no such effect was found in the Australia sample. Conclusions: Acculturative stressor is a critical risk factor for negative affect in acculturation for Chinese international students in Australia and Hong Kong. Meaning of life acted as a protective factor that mitigated negative affect for mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong, but not for the Chinese international students in Australia. The theoretical and practical implications for resilience-based and meaning-oriented intervention for Chinese international students are discussed.

Push and pull factors influencing Mainland Chinese MEd students in Hong Kong

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 1539-1560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Cheung ◽  
Xin Guo ◽  
Xiaorui Wang ◽  
Zhuang Miao
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Research Team ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Chinese Students ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Personal Network ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mainland Chinese ◽  
Mainland Chinese Students

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the key factors affecting Mainland Chinese students pursuing a Master of Education degree in Hong Kong on their study abroad decision and return intentions. Design/methodology/approach The current study employed a mixed-methods approach to investigate factors that affect Mainland Chinese students pursuing MEd degrees in Hong Kong. Participants were first invited to fill out a questionnaire. After collecting and analyzing the survey data, in-depth interviews with a selected group of students were carried out by the research team to obtain useful qualitative data to triangulate the survey findings. A purposeful and convenience sampling method, carried out through the personal network of the research team, was used to recruit MEd Mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong to participate in the current study. Findings The findings provided compelling evidence that Hong Kong was an attractive study destination to this particular group of MEd Chinese students. The findings also indicated that academic factors were more important than social, cultural and economic factors when it came to choosing their study destination. In contrast to previous studies, participants expressed a much stronger desire to return home upon graduation. The three most influential predictors of their decision to return were the lack of a Hong Kong teaching certificate (r=+0.36), the opportunity to contribute to their hometown (r=+0.31) and the inclination to be closer to family and friends (r=+0.20). Originality/value While a number of studies have been carried out to study why Mainland Chinese students chose Hong Kong as their study destination to pursue their teacher training degree, none of these studies focused exclusively on fee-paying MEd Chinese students. Hong Kong is facing keen competition from both traditional host countries and emerging host countries to recruit students from Mainland China. It is therefore crucial to understand the needs of these Mainland Chinese students in a competitive, globalized, tertiary education market, as the satisfaction of students, in the form of positive discussion among alumni, promotes a university’s reputation and sustains its advantage in attracting students.

Place attachment and affinity: turning the Mainland Chinese students into “Word-of-Mouth Champions”

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Wang ◽  
Ivan Ka Wai Lai ◽  
Baoyi Song
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Place Attachment ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Chinese Students ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Place Identity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mainland Chinese ◽  
Mainland Chinese Students ◽  
Place Dependence

PurposeMainland Chinese students are the largest group of international students globally. The role of international students in destination marketing can be seen as “Word-of-Mouth Champions”. This study attempts to examine the effect of place attachment and affinity for Mainland Chinese students on generating word-of-mouth intention towards their place of study.Design/methodology/approachSix well-trained research assistants collected paper-based questionnaires in six institutions in Macao. They chose every tenth student who passed by to fill in the questionnaire at six locations in each institution. This study employed partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to estimate the strength of causal relationship among place identity, place dependence, affinity and intention to word-of-mouth.FindingsThe results of the survey from 327 students in Macao indicate that place dependence, place identity and affinity drive Mainland Chinese students to provide word-of-mouth regarding Macao. Place dependence has a positive influence on place identity, and place identity has a positive influence on affinity with residents. However, place dependence has no significant direct effect on affinity.Practical implicationsEvidence from this study indicates the importance of students' word-of-mouth as they as sojourners, in particular, the students' place attachment and affinity for residents is critical to positive their Word-of-mouth on destinations. This research offers insights about the potential group which need require attention.Originality/valueThis study fills a research gap by exploring the relationship between place attachment and social distance in influencing Mainland Chinese students' behaviour, a relationship that has rarely been investigated in tourism research. Practical recommendations are provided to the governments, universities and education enterprises according to the results of the study. From both theoretical and practical perspectives, the findings from this study suggest promoting international students to turn into real “Word-of-Mouth Champions”.

Towards an understanding of multilingual investment: multilingual learning experiences among mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chit Cheung Matthew Sung
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Language Ideology ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Chinese Students ◽  
Local Society ◽  
Mainland Chinese ◽  
Mainland Chinese Students ◽  
Multilingual Learning ◽  
Local Students

Abstract This paper investigates a group of mainland Chinese students’ multilingual learning experiences in an English-medium university in multilingual Hong Kong. Informed by the sociological construct of investment, the study focuses on the role of identity and language ideology and their interaction in shaping the participants’ experiences of learning English and Cantonese and their multilingual development. The findings reveal that the participants’ multilingual investments were mediated by their ideologies of sociolinguistic competence and flexible multilingualism, which contributed to the development of their identities as competent multilingual speakers. However, the participants’ negotiations of their multilingual identities were constrained by the local students’ deficit perspectives on the participants’ multilingual competences as a result of the influence of the ideology of native-speakerism in the local society. The findings also show that the participants’ internalization of the ideology of neoliberal multilingualism and the ideology of multilingualism as indexical of cosmopolitan membership prompted their multilingual investments, which expanded their imagined identity options for the future. Taken together, the findings point to the complex and dynamic interaction between identity and language ideology in shaping multilingual investments. The study also expands our understanding of multilingual learning by contributing to the conceptualization of ‘multilingual investment’ from a sociological perspective.

Examining Adjustment Challenges of Mainland Chinese Students in Hong Kong

2014 ◽  
pp. 97-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Chi Keung Cheung ◽  
Jocelyn Lai Ngok Wong
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Chinese Students ◽  
Related Services ◽  
Tertiary Institutions ◽  
Mainland Chinese ◽  
Mainland Chinese Students ◽  
Major Adjustment ◽  
Adjustment Issues ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Methods

The purpose of this chapter is to examine major adjustment challenges facing mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong. Even though a large amount of studies have been carried out to understand adjustment issues of mainland Chinese students studying overseas, few are with students in Hong Kong. This study aims to deepen our understanding of the major adjustment issues of this particular group. The current study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods and included over 300 mainland Chinese students studying in seven major government-funded universities. The findings of this study point to the need that individual tertiary institutions and the Hong Kong government should step up their effort in responding sufficiently and flexibly in meeting the critical needs of these mainland Chinese students by paying additional attention to the quality and accessibility of both education-related services and non-education factors.

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