Navigating through the mists of cross-cultural journey: unpacking international scholars’ acculturation strategies at Chinese universities

Abstract

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 at Chinese universities through Berry’s theoretical tools. We find that the adaptability of experienced international scholars are key indicators that have successfully led participants to achieve integration strategy, and we demonstrate how a lack of response and feedback from the institution might lead participants to the status of marginalisation and separation. Moreover, we emphasise that the individual strategy is not always freely chosen, but largely impacted and constrained by the contextual feature of institutional culture. We highlight the importance of notifying the dynamic nature of cross-cultural adaptation, and recognise the fluidity ingrained in this process.