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.

Establishing international branch campuses (IBCs) has become one of the key strategies to facilitate the internationalisation of higher education. Researching IBC-related issues (e.g. student experiences, teaching practices, policy and governance) has also become a popular topic in international higher education. However, few studies have explored students’ identity formation in the IBC context. This qualitative study explores mainland Chinese students’ identity formation process in Hong Kong institutions’ intra-country branch campuses within the Greater Bay Area in mainland China. Drawing upon the notions of situated identity and global-national-local imbrications, this study unveils an intricate and nuanced process of identity development among students influenced by the interplay of global, national, and local factors in such an intra-country IBC context. The findings offer new insights into students’ identity formation in cross-border education. It also enhances understanding of the sustainable development of IBCs and strategies for internationalising higher education in the Greater Bay Area. Copyright © 2024 British Association for International and Comparative Education.

This study aims to explore the factors that influence the well-being situation of doctoral students in education from a qualitative perspective and draws on the ecological systems theory as an overarching framework. A total of 18 doctoral students in education from 3 universities in Hong Kong were interviewed. In line with the ecological systems theory, individual influential factors may embed and interact with all layers of systems (i.e., the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macrosystem, and the chronosystem) surrounding the doctoral students that hinder or boost their well-being, respectively. These six main areas of concern were identified from a thematic analysis of participants’ responses. The study highlighted several salient influential factors of doctoral students’ well-being, such as coping strategies, social relations, and their living and cultural environment. An interactive effect among specific factors, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and social movements, was also identified. Findings provide theoretical insights and offer recommendations for improving doctoral students’ well-being. Copyright © 2024 by the authors.

Traditional sending countries of international students in East Asia have emerged as increasingly desirable higher education destinations. Yet little is known about the experiences of international students in East Asia as most research focuses on those in the Anglophone West. In this study, we explored the trajectory and interactions between intercultural communication, acculturation strategies, and adaptation outcomes of international students in Hong Kong. We conducted in-depth interviews with international students from other Asian countries (n = 14) and Western countries (n = 10). Our research reveals a paradox where international students’ eagerness to engage with diverse peers is overshadowed by limited interaction with local students. Cultural and language differences were perceived to create a wall separating them from the local students, inhibiting a cosmopolitan learning environment. Additionally, international students often gravitate towards familiar national or cultural groups, which can hinder broader integration. Sociocultural challenges and outsider feelings were also reported, potentially leading to psychological issues. We propose an interactive framework that connects intercultural communication, acculturation strategies, and adaptation outcomes. The paper offers theoretical and practical insights for policymakers, administrators, educators, and students, aiming to foster effective communication and successful acculturation in a multilingual and multicultural educational setting. Copyright © 2024 The Author(s).

According to the statistics provided by the Office of the Communications Authority of the government of Hong Kong SAR, mobile subscriber penetration rate in Hong Kong is 286.6% (2021). This figure indicates that mobile devices have become ubiquitous as Hong Kong people are increasingly using them to surf the Internet. Although smartphones and tablets, the two most popular categories of mobile devices, provide prevailing features for users in this information age, they also become prevailing targets for collecting users’ personal data. As higher education institution (HEI) students are usually active users of mobile devices for surfing the Internet, visiting social networking platforms, using instant messaging applications (hereinafter ‘apps’) and making online purchases, this research, as an exploratory study, investigated their online privacy concerns.This study aims at providing background information and insight for educators to enhance existing privacy education and also for policymakers in developing privacy policy in tertiary level and thus elevate students’ concerns on protecting their online personal data privacy while using mobile devices.Communication privacy management theory developed by Petronio (2002, 2013) was employed in this study to design the teaching materials including teaching notes and student assignments. Design-based research (DBR) approach with convergent mixed method design was adopted in this study as the mixed methods approach is able to maximise the validity and increases the objectivity and reliability of the current research. In addition, most DBR literature agree that the mixed methods approach is proper for collecting and analysing data (Alghamdi & Li, 2013; Bell, 2004; Design-Based Research Collective, 2003; Wang & Hannafin, 2005). Therefore, in DBR methodology, qualitative and quantitative research methods were adopted to address the research questions (Bogdan & Biklen, 2006; Li & Chu, 2018; MacDonald, 2008). To collect quantitative

This study examined the processes that contributed to students’ aspirations for STEM careers and unpacked the relationships between students’ self-concept in science and mathematics learning, perceived parental expectations, perceptions of STEM professionals, career outcome expectations and STEM career aspirations. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse quantitative survey data of 2,477 primary and secondary school students studying in seven Asian regions (Hong Kong, Malaysia, Mainland China, Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore). The results demonstrated that students’ self-concept, perceptions of STEM professionals, and their career outcome expectations all significantly and positively predicted their aspirations for STEM careers. However, this study failed to establish a direct relationship or positive correlation between perceived parental expectations and STEM career aspirations. Students’ self-concept negatively predicted their career outcome expectations related to seeking parental approval. While no significant positive effects of perceived parental expectations on career aspirations were found, an indirect effect of perceived parental expectations on STEM career aspirations via career outcome expectations was observed. Moreover, career outcome expectations mediated the relationships between students’ STEM career aspirations and their perceptions of STEM professionals more strongly than self-concept. The implications of these results for STEM education are discussed. Copyright © 2024 National Institute of Education, Singapore.

Objective: This study examined the views of secondary school students on sexuality and sexual health education in Hong Kong, China. Methods: A total of 818 secondary school students (mean age = 15.3 years, SD = 1.6) participated in this study by completing a questionnaire consisted of items on sociodemographic characteristics, sexual attitudes, and other measuring scales. Results: Students were slightly permissive in sexual attitudes and supported sexual health education. However, students who were male, highly liberal in sexual attitudes, and low in religiosity and spirituality were less supportive. Conclusions: Educators may need to address these deterring factors of sexual health education before teaching specific sexual health topics. Copyright © 2024 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

To create a socially just teaching method in higher education (HE), we used Fraser’s social justice framework to create a new pedagogical method called student voice for social justice (SVSJ). SVSJ emphasizes student voice and empowerment by developing a co-constructed learning space where students can influence the procedure and content of the class. Applying a participatory action research (PAR) methodology, we explore the skill development of students engaged in SVSJ. Students highlighted five primary learning outcomes (self-learning, critical thinking, knowledge generation, cognitive development, and expression of voice) in the interviews as well as challenges in implementing the model. By employing SVSJ, students’ recognition and representation of their identity groups are enhanced, and the knowledge held by them is redistributed to peers and the lecturer through active participation. In addition, they are equipped with skills that can empower them in their education and future life. Copyright © 2024 The Education University of Hong Kong. All Rights Reserved.