Jiexiu Chen

Shanghai Jiao Tong University | SJTU · School of Education

Since the expansion of higher education, many rural students in China managed to enter urban universities. However, migrating across layers of structural constraints, those rural students faced dramatic transitions and challenges in the urban university. Drawing upon 50 rural students’ narratives about their educational trajectories, I find that pa...

In the context of rapid development of internationalisation in Chinese higher education, as well as the increasing mobility of academics across country borders, more and more international scholars are seeking career opportunities in Chinese universities. Using 21 in-depth interviews, we investigated international scholars’ acculturation strategies...

Since the restoration of the Gaokao (College Entrance Examination) in 1977 and the nationwide higher education expansion that started in 1998, millions of rural students have enrolled in urban universities. Though Chinese rural students’ educational trajectories have received extensive attention, their subjective experiences in the rapidly changing...

In the context of enduring urban–rural inequality in China, attention has been drawn to rural students’ encounters in the urban university. In this research, I elicit rural students’ narratives about their (classed) perceptions of clothing and style, as well as the bodily practices embedded in their subjective social mobility experiences in the uni...

In the Chinese context of a stratified education system and significant urban–rural inequality, rural students generally face constrained possibilities for social mobility through higher education. Despite these structural constraints, some exceptional rural students manage to get themselves enrolled in urban universities. Drawing on 50 rural stude...

As the rapid development of internationalization in Chinese higher education, the number and scale of international scholars working in China has significantly increased. However, few studies have focused on international scholars’ cross-cultural encounters in the Chinese academic context. Based on 21 in-depth interviews, this article investigates...

In the Chinese context of a stratified higher education system and significant urban–rural inequality, rural students are generally facing constrained possibilities for social mobility through higher education. Despite these structural constraints, some exceptional rural students, like all the participants in this research, manage to get themselves...

This chapter emphasizes the main factors that have influenced international scholars’ cross-cultural adaptation experiences in Shanghai. First of all, three elements played crucial roles in leading participants to take an academic position in China: the promising future and sufficient funding in Chinese academia, the international environment in Sh...

This chapter analyses two essential parts of international scholars’ work in Chinese academic universities: research and teaching. According to the interviews, funding opportunities were the top concern of international scholars when choosing a job, as these would directly determine their academic development in the next couple of years.

The data analyses were mainly conducted according to Kim’s adaptation model of cognitive, affective, and behavioural adaptation. In terms of the cognitive dimension, Schein’s organizational culture three-level theory was used to understand international scholars’ encounters with Chinese universities’ organizational culture. Specifically, language b...

In the last chapter, we summarise the key findings of this research and propose reflections and suggestions from the perspective of both the international scholars and the researchers of this project. Participants reported that they would like to see improvements in internationalisation policies, management systems, school integration, and assistan...

This chapter provides four case studies of international scholars’ cross-cultural adaptation experiences. All participants in these case studies had rich and unique cross-cultural experiences, and their stories represent and supplement some of the important issues illustrated in previous chapters. The case studies include an international scholar’s...

In this chapter, the core concepts and research method used in this study are introduced in detail, in order to provide the readers with an academic basis for later discussion. There are three major terms most often mentioned in this research: foreign experts (indicating international scholars working in Chinese universities), organizational cultur...

The theoretical development of cross-cultural adaptation research has been closely related to the empirical studies on cross-cultural immigrants’ experiences. Considering the diversity of immigrants and their practices and experiences in different cultural contexts, cross-cultural adaptation research has long been an interdisciplinary research fiel...

This chapter sets the scene for the analysis of international scholars’ cross-cultural adaptation in China and provides background information for readers to get a glimpse of the historical and social context international scholars are facing.

This chapter starts with a brief literature review on theories of organizational culture and the features of Chinese universities, so the reader can better understand international scholars’ interactions with the administration in their universities.

This book examines the cross-cultural adaptation experiences of international scholars working at Shanghai’s top public research universities. On the basis of in-depth interviews, it comprehensively assesses the organisational culture of Chinese universities, recurring problems in international scholars’ cross-cultural adaptation processes, and the...