Mainland Chinese students' responses to the cognitive conflicts in their adaptation to a Hong Kong university: a developmental perspective

Abstract

Students are becoming more and more mobile globally and Mainland Chinese students (MCSs) contribute a big part to this mobility. Hong Kong, emerging from the colonial era with a blended social system of the East and West, shares significantly similar cultural heritage with Mainland China while differs as well in some cultural dimensions for historical reasons. It attracts a lot of MCSs every year, especially at research postgraduate level. Things central to the mobility of the sojourning students are their adaptation to the new environment and how this adaptation may shape who they become. Amundson (1996) suggested that adaptation was usually accompanied with an increasing complexity and changes in intelligence and conceptions. It is in nature a continuing developmental process as a result of human’s constant confrontation with the new environment. This study adopted a developmental approach in looking at the adaptation of MCSs in a sibling cultural environment, Hong Kong. Qualitative data were collected from 25 MCSs studying in a Hong Kong university through focus group discussions. The analytical framework of conceptual change which deeply rooted in developmental theory was applied to deconstruct the types of cognitive conflicts MCSs experienced in their adaptation to Hong Kong, how they responded to the conflict points, and at which level the experience shaped their conceptions. The implications of the study were discussed in the chapter.