The international school sector in Hong Kong makes a substantial contribution to educational provision in the city, employing many expatriate teachers. Wellbeing has taken on increasing prominence in international school discourses, but little research has investigated how the wellbeing of international school teachers is influenced by school-level factors. For the purposes of this study, thirteen expatriate teachers from ten different international schools in Hong Kong were interviewed and the data were analysed thematically. The teachers’ wellbeing was found to be influenced by relationships with students, colleagues and senior leaders, and a pervasive climate of accountability. Teachers felt a sense of social isolation associated with cultural differences, and often did not feel supported by their schools. Teachers’ wellbeing, it is proposed, may be improved by the articulation of a shared vision which focuses on classroom-level interactions, an affiliative climate, and an institutional environment which addresses social isolation and protects teachers against an excessive climate of performativity and accountability. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s).

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.]

Conceptions of learning and preferred learning approaches have been suggested to vary cross-culturally. The extent to which learning is 'student-centred' or 'teacher-centred' also appears subject to cultural variation. This has led some to conclude that particular cultures exhibit learning preferences more suited to distance learning than do other cultures. This article examines the strategies that students from varying cultural backgrounds use to manage the experience of the isolation of distance learning. Two distinct isolation experiences emerge that reflect differences in the perceptions of the student-teacher relationship. These, it is argued, can be classified as a 'surrogate teacher' model in the Asian cultures of Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia and a 'student identity' model in Europe.
[Copyright of Open Learning is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0268051032000131035]