Relating Academic Performance and Social Integration in Hong Kong Students Studying in the Mainland Chinese Universities
在中國內地大學就讀的香港學生的學習成績與社會融合的關係
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis
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Award date | 6 Aug 2020 |
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Permanent Link | https://scholars.cityu.edu.hk/en/theses/theses(8f284939-76af-4386-907e-fa13be13c74e).html |
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Other link(s) | Links |
Abstract
Numerous studies have investigated social integration and the ambiguous effects of academic performance on it. However, the theoretical linkages among academic performance, social integration, resource use, and ethical sensitivity have been underexplored. Furthermore, the application of resource use theory based on Sunzi’s The Art of War remains uncertain, especially the application of this work in areas outside the field of military research, such as the social sciences.
Quantitative and qualitative research methods were used in this study to explore the relationship between academic performance and social integration. Study 1 is a qualitative study that includes 22 interviews for verifying the validity of the measurements. Study 2 is a quantitative research that involves a survey of a sample of 616 university students in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province who come from Hong Kong. The major variables are academic performance, social integration, spying for social integration, overpowering for social integration, ethical sensitivity, social desirability, and other cultural factors. To validate the measurements to be used in the next step, factor analysis was conducted, notably the regression to test the main effects, the moderation effects, and the mediation effects.
The findings illustrated that the key views of the theoretical framework constructed from resource use theory were applicable. Academic performance, ethical sensitivity, and overpowering for social integration had positive effects on social integration. Among the factors extracted from military thinking, namely, spying for social integration and overpowering for social integration, the former always depended on the latter.
The findings further showed that academic performance and ethical sensitivity had positive effects on social integration and that academic performance positively affects ethical social integration (the interaction variable of ethical sensitivity and social integration). Two of the components of overpowering for social integration, concentrating and leveraging, positively mediated the effect of on academic performance and social integration. Social desirability, extremity, and acquiescence were response sets. Social desirability negatively affected social integration and the effect of academic performance on social integration. Interestingly, South China culture influenced the process of social integration, including the process of using resources (overpowering for social integration).
The moderating role of social status and social desirability also existed in the effects of academic performance and overpowering on social integration. However, ethical sensitivity had a nonsignificant moderating effect on the effect of academic performance on social integration, whereas it had a moderating role in the effect of social desirability and overpowering on social integration.
As for the mediation analysis, results indicated that ethical sensitivity mediates the effects of social desirability and overpowering on social integration, whereas social desirability mediated the effects of academic performance and overpowering on social integration. This indicated that social desirability affected overpowering for social integration through the effect of ethical sensitivity, and students with higher academic performance and lower social desirability had higher social integration.
The current thesis has several contributions and implications in terms of theory and practice. This thesis creatively applied resource use theory from Sunzi’s The Art of War as the theoretical framework in explaining how military thinking influences the relationship between academic performance and social integration. Military thinking in The Art of War extends resource use theory in the aspect of the resource utilization process. In addition, to the author's best knowledge, this work marks the first time in which ethical sensitivity is used to explain social integration and a new outcome variable (i.e., ethical social integration) is created. This thesis strengthens resource use theory through research on Hong Kong young adults attending universities in Mainland China.
Integrating Chinese philosophy into resource use theory is another significant theoretical contribution of this study. The findings of this study, which incorporate both the qualitative and quantitative research methods, enrich the literature by clarifying the relationship between academic performance and social integration in relation to certain relevant variables. As for the practical implications, there are three aspects for accepting these cross-border students: governments, teachers, and the cross-border students themselves. Governments or policymakers can absorb the students with higher academic performance and higher ethical sensitivity to cross the border in making the “talents attraction policy.” Teachers and university administrators are under pressure to improve students’ academic performance and deal with their adaptation problems at the same time. Cross-border students must also take the initiative to integrate themselves into the host society through effective psychological preparation.
Quantitative and qualitative research methods were used in this study to explore the relationship between academic performance and social integration. Study 1 is a qualitative study that includes 22 interviews for verifying the validity of the measurements. Study 2 is a quantitative research that involves a survey of a sample of 616 university students in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province who come from Hong Kong. The major variables are academic performance, social integration, spying for social integration, overpowering for social integration, ethical sensitivity, social desirability, and other cultural factors. To validate the measurements to be used in the next step, factor analysis was conducted, notably the regression to test the main effects, the moderation effects, and the mediation effects.
The findings illustrated that the key views of the theoretical framework constructed from resource use theory were applicable. Academic performance, ethical sensitivity, and overpowering for social integration had positive effects on social integration. Among the factors extracted from military thinking, namely, spying for social integration and overpowering for social integration, the former always depended on the latter.
The findings further showed that academic performance and ethical sensitivity had positive effects on social integration and that academic performance positively affects ethical social integration (the interaction variable of ethical sensitivity and social integration). Two of the components of overpowering for social integration, concentrating and leveraging, positively mediated the effect of on academic performance and social integration. Social desirability, extremity, and acquiescence were response sets. Social desirability negatively affected social integration and the effect of academic performance on social integration. Interestingly, South China culture influenced the process of social integration, including the process of using resources (overpowering for social integration).
The moderating role of social status and social desirability also existed in the effects of academic performance and overpowering on social integration. However, ethical sensitivity had a nonsignificant moderating effect on the effect of academic performance on social integration, whereas it had a moderating role in the effect of social desirability and overpowering on social integration.
As for the mediation analysis, results indicated that ethical sensitivity mediates the effects of social desirability and overpowering on social integration, whereas social desirability mediated the effects of academic performance and overpowering on social integration. This indicated that social desirability affected overpowering for social integration through the effect of ethical sensitivity, and students with higher academic performance and lower social desirability had higher social integration.
The current thesis has several contributions and implications in terms of theory and practice. This thesis creatively applied resource use theory from Sunzi’s The Art of War as the theoretical framework in explaining how military thinking influences the relationship between academic performance and social integration. Military thinking in The Art of War extends resource use theory in the aspect of the resource utilization process. In addition, to the author's best knowledge, this work marks the first time in which ethical sensitivity is used to explain social integration and a new outcome variable (i.e., ethical social integration) is created. This thesis strengthens resource use theory through research on Hong Kong young adults attending universities in Mainland China.
Integrating Chinese philosophy into resource use theory is another significant theoretical contribution of this study. The findings of this study, which incorporate both the qualitative and quantitative research methods, enrich the literature by clarifying the relationship between academic performance and social integration in relation to certain relevant variables. As for the practical implications, there are three aspects for accepting these cross-border students: governments, teachers, and the cross-border students themselves. Governments or policymakers can absorb the students with higher academic performance and higher ethical sensitivity to cross the border in making the “talents attraction policy.” Teachers and university administrators are under pressure to improve students’ academic performance and deal with their adaptation problems at the same time. Cross-border students must also take the initiative to integrate themselves into the host society through effective psychological preparation.