Belongingness and identity of international school students in Hong Kong: A case study

This study explores international school students’ sense of belonging and sense of identity to and in relation to Hong Kong. The interviewing of students from both Chinese speaking and non-Chinese speaking backgrounds offered greater insight as to how international school students position themselves in Hong Kong society and the manner in which they do so. It finds that international school students’ perceived lack of proficiency in Cantonese, diverse ethnic, cultural and national background, as well as upbringing and education in an international school encourage them to conceptualise their belongingness identity beyond the physical borders of Hong Kong. It also finds that, despite a sense of difference to Hong Kong society albeit to differing degrees, these students view home as where they had grown up, made memories and established relationships; for many of them, it was Hong Kong. The implications for local cultural education and intermingling between students of different school systems are also explored. The findings of this study contributes to the limited literature on the impacts of international schooling on youth’s ideation of identity in relation to their host societies.