The discrepancies between inclusive campus climate initiatives and realities: The perspectives of Hong Kong students in a Mainland university of the Greater Bay Area

The discrepancies between inclusive campus climate initiatives and realities: The perspectives of Hong Kong students in a Mainland university of the Greater Bay Area

• Gao, Fang The Education University of Hong Kong

Educational Review, 2024

Routledge

2024

• N Students & Student Services
  • NC Charactieristics & Conditions of Students; Opinion & Attitudes of Students, Problems of Adjustment

Campus Climate Inbound Hong Kong Students Mainland China Universities The Greater Bay Area (GBA)

• Hong Kong
• Macau
• Guangdong

• 1997.7 onwards

• Unknown or Unspecified

Within the context of the multipolar higher education landscape, China in the past decade has emerged as an important destination for Hong Kong students, especially in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). However, little is known about their experiences in Mainland universities. The extant literature on international students moving from the rest to the West, considers individuals’ language barriers and cultural differences as main inhibitors for their academic and social engagement in the destination institution. Little research examined the role of the institutional context, especially for international students who do not head to the West to study. Building on the theory of campus climate for diversity, this study interviewed ten Hong Kong students in the early years of their undergraduate programmes in one Mainland China university, located in the GBA, and interrogated the impacts of inclusive campus climate initiatives, perceived and experienced by these cross-border Hong Kong students. Two salient initiatives, namely mixed residential living arrangements with their Mainland peers and a Hong Kong/Macao student organisation, were identified by participants who indicated that when the initiatives aimed to better integrate Hong Kong students into the host institution/society, they separated them from the domestic counterparts while strengthening their in-group trust and safety nets for navigating the university. This study’s findings have implications for the development and evaluation of institutional strategies for the purpose of embracing Hong Kong and other international/non-local students upon their arrival and supporting their well-being and academic progression in Mainland universities. Copyright © 2024 Educational Review.

• English

Journal Articles

• 00131911

• 10.1080/00131911.2024.2433105

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/bibs/9b855d57

2025-05-12