Existing research on the psychological and academic experiences of China-born students studying outside of China has mainly been conducted in Western English-speaking countries. Using a coping resources framework, we investigated the predictors of psychological and academic adaptation of 2,201 mainland Chinese students (74% female) studying in universities in Hong Kong, China’s Special Administrative Region and a former British colony. We found that academic self-efficacy, social support, and low levels of perceived discrimination predicted both psychological and academic adaptation. Language competence in English and the local dialect Cantonese was found to be additional factors in mainland Chinese students’ academic adaptation. Implications for future research and higher education policies and practices are discussed. Copyright © 2019 Society for Research into Higher Education.

This article examines the implications of a new school counselling policy, namely, ‘one school social worker for each school’, for the professional identity of school counsellors and guidance and counselling services in Hong Kong primary schools. This paper reviews primary school counselling development since the 1970s with a focus on workforce planning. As a result, it identifies two themes: (1) counselling workforce planning has gradually shifted from purely government-led to more school-based planning, and (2) school counsellors with master’s-level counselling training qualifications are not adequately recognized in primary school settings. Making school counsellors visible to school principals, the Education Bureau and the public before the full implementation of the new policy in 2021/2022 is critical. The strategic positions of counsellor educators and counselling associations that are central to the advancement of the professional identity of school counsellors are discussed. Copyright © 2019 The Canadian Center of Science and Education. All Rights Reserved.

This article reports on a case study of a Hong Kong undergraduate student's lived experiences of second language (L2) investments and identities across different contexts, including inside and outside the classroom on the university campus, in the professional workplace, and during study abroad. Findings indicate that the student's differential L2 investments across contexts appear to be closely intertwined with the different identities constructed in specific circumstances and mediated by the perceived likelihood of yielding a good return on the investments. His selective L2 investments were also found to be driven by a desire for membership in an imagined international community and an imagined identity associated with a cosmopolitan lifestyle in the projected future. The article argues for the importance of a holistic understanding of individuals' L2 learning experiences both inside and outside the classroom in order to appreciate the complexities of their variable L2 investments and identities across contexts.
[Copyright of Journal of Language, Identity, and Education is the property of Routledge.]

Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with ethnically Chinese adolescents enrolled into a school-based mentoring programme at a private secondary school in Hong Kong. Interview data were analysed thematically and two themes developed: 'experiencing mentoring' and 'experiencing the mentor'. The mentees, although initially sceptical about mentoring, were surprised by its helpfulness. Through the development of an informal and collaborative relationship in which students experienced their mentor as a trustworthy, mature and objective adult, students found an important source of emotional support and practical help which benefited their academic work. Students' experience was influenced by their mentors' role in the school, length of service and gender match. School-based mentoring programmes in a Hong Kong context have the potential to offer emotional and academic support to students. Cultural factors may have an impact on the experience of mentoring which schools should take into account when setting up such programmes.
[Copyright of Asia-Pacific Education Researcher is the property of Springer.]

Higher education internationalisation (HEI) emphasises the benefits of international research partnerships, knowledge production through education hub development, and global marketisation/exportation of education. The connections between internationalisation and student life are less documented in East Asian universities, particularly regarding social exclusion issues. This study takes an intersectional approach to explore and analyse students' social exclusion experiences at one international Hong Kong university using an anonymous online survey (n = 100). Thematic analysis revealed social exclusion in multiple student life areas across three major axes: Area of origin, particularly Mainland Chinese students; Sexuality, specifically lesbian, gay and bisexual-identified students, and the intersectionality of nationality, language and ethnicity. The study findings are situated within the sociocultural and political context of Hong Kong HEI since the mid-1990s. Internationalisation presents opportunities for Hong Kong universities to make needed commitments to addressing social exclusion issues, as they continue to affect campus ecologies and the increasingly diverse student population.
[Copyright of Multicultural Education Review is the property of Routledge.]

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

香港少數族裔人口近年不斷上升，入讀本地學校的人數亦相應遞升。就回應本港學前機構對支援少數族裔幼兒學習的需求，本講座會討論學前機構遇到的問題，並就此提出改善策略，希望能透過教師培訓、政府支援和民間團體組織協助，為少數族裔學童提供多元學習機會，推廣共融學習文化。The population of ethnic minorities in Hong Kong has been increasing in recent years, and correspondingly the number of ethnic minority students enrolled in local schools has been rising. To address the needs of preschools in Hong Kong to support the learning of ethnic minority children, this seminar examines the problems that preschools are facing on this issue and proposes strategies for improvement. Hopefully, through strategic management, teacher training, government support and collaboration with civil organizations, more learning opportunities can be provided to ethnic minority children and an integrated learning culture can be promoted. Copyright © 2018 Learning & Teaching Expo.

Present literature concerning ethnic students in Hong Kong has been largely focusing on ethnic students' struggle in identity formation, emotional and behavioral needs, acquisition of Chinese language, disparity of social rights and opportunities as well as academic and career mobility, etc. While perspectives of ethnic students' learning under mainstream teaching in Chinese schools have attracted much attention, voices of frontline educators' learning from everyday teaching ethnic students are not widely addressed. Rather perceiving teacher as a traditional authority figure in a mono-cultural Chinese classroom, this particular case-study argues growing number of frontline Chinese teachers have been undergoing experiential learning and ongoing reflection through daily teaching and interaction with ethnic Muslim students in Hong Kong. Copyright © 2018 Hong Kong Sociological Association 20th Annual Conference.

Students from Mainland China are the largest group of non-local students for Hong Kong universities in recent years. To attract more Mainland students and smoothen their application processes, the admission policies of Hong Kong universities are becoming increasingly more compatible for students from Mainland by recognizing various qualifications and standard examinations (e.g., Joint Entrance Exam For Universities in PRC, College English Test and Test for English Majors). However, the quick increasing amount of Mainland students in Hong Kong universities has brought various social issues concerning arguments about the medium of instructions, Hong Kong-mainland contradictions and so on. To understand how the various policy text, this essay reviews the admission policies of Hong Kong universities and related issues from three aspects: institution categories, programme levels, and place of origin. Furthermore, research questions such as what broader politics surround the policy issue, which institutions/actors are involved in the policy process and what the outcomes are answered by employing the political system theories. The social problems related to the admission policies will be examined and discussed, solutions for which will also be proposed. Copyright © 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Informed by research literature about intercultural competence development, this paper aims to explore non-local students’ skills and strategies in communication when they study at a university in Hong Kong. The previous research indicated that they usually experience many problems to adapt into host culture and country because they are lacking in language proficiency and social-cultural knowledge. Students’ prior learning experience, attitude, psychological or behavioural factors can affect their communication skills. In addition, different languages, dialects, accents, characters or cultural difference between their home and host cultures can also cause communication barriers to the students. This study shows that most of the non-local students, mainly the Chinese, still encounter language difficulties in communication in a Chinese society. Such difficulties are reported in studies on Gangpiaos (literally meaning Mainland Chinese drifters in Hong Kong) as well; the word “drifter” implies adaptation difficulties for Mainland Chinese immigrates. Nonetheless, existing empirical studies have been seldom tapped into non-local university students’ intercultural communication capability and how they cope with their communication difficulties in a Chinese society. The present study seeks to fill this research gap in the literature. Based on in-depth interviews with 30 non-local students who were studying in undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programmes, this paper adopted thematic analysis to examine the students’ language obstacles and identify the pattern of their communication practices in the process of intercultural adaptation in Hong Kong. Coping strategies in communication and implications for policies, which assist in young Gangpiaos in developing their intercultural communication knowledge and skills, are drawn based on the findings. Copyright © 2018 HKERA International Conference.