MAINLAND CHINESE STUDENTS' ADAPTATION TO HONG KONG HIGHER EDUCATION

This research is concerned with the growing phenomenon of mainland students studying in Hong Kong universities and the lifestyle and academic adjustment process they undergo in terms of living and studying. The aim of this research is understand the issues mainland students face when going to live and study in Hong Kong Higher Education Institutions (HEI) from 2005, including the difficulties they encounter and the adaptation strategies they develop in order to fit in the local cultural and educational environment. The author draws insight from a qualitative research approach within an interpretivist paradigm. The case study approach was used in order to study individual cases and data were collected through face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with fifteen mainland students studying in the University in Hong Kong. The purpose of this research is not to test a theory; rather, it is to explore the mainland students' experiences regarding the phenomenon of cultural and personal adjustment they live and study in Hong Kong. The study offers an Emergent Model from students' perspectives to describe the experiences and adaptation strategies of mainland students during their sojourn in Hong Kong. To this end, this study conceptualises the adaptation process, and contributes to a developing body of theory on internationalisation of higher education and students studying overseas, and also to the emerging research tradition of comparative cross-cultural studies. It has implications for the development of theory, practice and future research in the internationalisation of higher education.