Acculturation in a postcolonial context: Language,identity, cultural adaptation,and academic achievement of Macao students in Mainland China |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, Canada;2. Centre for Youth and Society, University of Victoria, Canada;1. University of Bologna, Department of Psychology, Berti Pichat 5, Bologna, Italy;2. Social Sciences University of Ankara, Department of Sociology, 06050, Ulus, Alt?nda?, Ankara, Turkey;1. Utrecht University, Ercomer, Interdisciplinary Social Science, Padualaan 14, 3584CH Utrecht, The Netherlands;2. Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano, Escuela de Psicología, Av. Condell 343, H96C+RR Providencia, Chile;3. Universidad de Valparaíso, Chile, Centro de Estudios Interdisciplinarios sobre Cultura Política, Memoria y Derechos Humanos (CEI-CPMDH), Blanco 951, X95F+PR Valparaíso, Chile;1. Department of Social Science, Springfield College, 263 Alden Street, Springfield, MA 01109, USA;2. JSI Research & Training Institute, Arlington, VA, USA;3. Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA;4. Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA;1. Saint-Joseph University, Faculty of Educational Sciences, Beirut, Lebanon;2. American University of Beirut, Faculty of Arts & Sciences, Department of Education, Beirut, Lebanon |
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| Abstract: | The mainstream acculturation research focuses on international students and immigrants’ settlement in a new cultural environment, but little is known about the adaptation process of people from postcolonial areas relocating to their home country. Drawing from research on acculturation and postcolonial studies, this research examined the importance of language and social identity of Macao Chinese (N = 102; 50 males, Mage = 20.1) transitioning to universities in Mainland China. The results of path analysis showed that Chinese national identity and perceived Mandarin language proficiency were positively associated with each other, but they were linked to cultural adaptation through different paths. Perceived language proficiency was directly linked to social, academic, and psychological adaptation, whereas Chinese identity was indirectly associated with social and academic adaptation through acculturation to the Mainland Chinese culture. Moreover, academic adaptation was, in turn, associated with academic achievement (i.e., GPAs). The present study extends acculturation research to a postcolonial context, highlighting that national identity and language proficiency are important factors for successful cultural adaptation to the homeland. The theoretical and practical implications regarding intra-cultural adaptation barriers andprocesses in postcolonial contexts were discussed. |
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| Keywords: | Identity Language Cultural adaptation Acculturation Postcolonialism Academic achievement Macao China |
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