





































Education, Language and Sociology Research 

ISSN 2690-3644 (Print) ISSN 2690-3652 (Online) 

Vol. 4, No. 5, 2023 

www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/elsr 

41 
 

Original Paper 

Home away Home: CSP International Doctoral Students’ 

Community Cultural Wealth and Sociocultural Adaptation in 

China 

Fan Yang1 

1 Department of International Education, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China 

 

Received: October 15, 2023   Accepted: November 9, 2023   Online Published: November 28, 2023 

doi:10.22158/elsr.v4n5p41         URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/elsr.v4n5p41 

 

Abstract 

China Studies Program (CSP) is a high-calibre international exchange program launched by the Center 

for Language Education and Cooperation since 2013, which aims to attract overseas students, scholars, 

and elites from all walks of life to come to study in China through providing scholarships and high-

quality training resources. The research site of this study was at a Chinese university in Beijing. Using 

the Community Cultural Wealth theory (Yosso, 2005), this study examined the sociocultural adaptation 

mechanism for international doctoral students of the CSP in China, especially how the students 

themselves, their families, and staff members of the host university help the international doctoral 

students to navigate their sociocultural adaptation by providing community cultural resources, which 

helped international students achieve academic success through accumulating aspirational capital, 

linguistic capital, social capital, familial capital, navigational capital and resistant capital (Yosso, 2005). 

Findings of this study suggest that the sociocultural adaptation of the international students of CSP was 

much facilitated by the host community cultural wealth which provided ample opportunities for the 

international students to acquire and mobilize their various capitals.  

Keywords 

China Studies Program, Community Cultural Wealth, international doctoral students, Sociocultural 

Adaptation 

 

1. Introduction 

Since China resumed postgraduate education in 1978 and established degree system in 1980, Chinese 

doctoral postgraduate education has gone through the development process of nearly 40 years. In the past 

40 years, China has achieved remarkable results in the education of doctoral students. The ability to 



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supply talents has been continuously enhanced, the quality of training has been significantly improved, 

the national innovation capacity has been steadily on the increase, and the international influence has 

been significantly expanded (Zhao & Wu, 2019). 

In 1986, the Notice on Improving and Strengthening the Work of Graduate Students proposed to cultivate 

180,000 graduate students (including about 10,000 doctoral students) within five years. In 1992, the 

Opinions on the Reform and Development of Degree and Graduate Education proposed that graduate 

education should have a great development on the premise of ensuring the necessary conditions, quality 

and efficiency of running a school. The 1995 Recommendations on the Further Improvement and 

Strengthening of Postgraduate Work suggested that postgraduate education should be maintained at an 

appropriate scale and pace of development. In 2013, Opinions on Deepening the Reform of Postgraduate 

Education clearly proposed that China should take “serve demand, improve quality” as the main line and 

adhere to the road of conformal development. In 2017, the Ministry of Education and the Academic 

Degrees Committee of The State Council issued the 13th Five-Year Plan for the Development of 

Academic Degrees and postgraduate Education, which formally established the development goal of 

realizing the transformation of postgraduate education to service demand and improve quality by 2020. 

Globally, modern doctoral education first established in German in the 19th century (Shen, Wang, & Jin, 

2016). International mobility of the doctoral students has always been a key characteristic of the doctoral 

program. For example, in the late 19th century, many American students went to German to pursue the 

doctoral degree. Gradually, America developed its own doctoral training system and boosting the 

country’s academic development in various disciplines and fields.  

Nowadays, doctoral education involves international students as the highest level of education. However, 

international students’ mobility involves many unstable factors. On the one hand, the international 

students need to solve problems in daily life; on the other hand, they always face the complex 

intersectionality of language barriers, lifestyle differences, social needs, and cultural differences (Ding 

& Zhou, 2019). 

 

2. Literature Review 

2.1 International Doctoral Students in China 

With the rapid development of International Chinese Language Education, the demand for international 

Chinese language education talents in both China and overseas countries has been rising greatly. 

However, neither the Masters of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (MTCSOL) nor the 

traditional Ph.D. in Chinese Language and Literature program could meet the demand for high-level 

International Chinese Language Education curriculum, teaching material, teacher training, educational 

management, and public diplomacy. Therefore, on November 2013, the National Guidance Committee 

for Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages issued the strategic plan for the Doctor of Teaching 

Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (D.TCSOL).  



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Zong (2015) studied 14 international doctoral students major in humanities and social sciences as well 

as 6 international student management staff members and supervisors in a research university in China. 

This study found determinant factors influencing educational quality for this group of doctoral students 

are from both doctoral students themselves and institutional elements. The individual attributes include 

interest, attitude, motivation, capacity and quality, while the external and institutional factors include 

talent cultivation system, environment, as well as teacher resources. This study provides insights for the 

talent cultivation of international doctoral students from two aspects. On the one hand, the university 

needs to enhance students’ professional quality. On the other hand, it also needs to improve its 

management and cultivation system, including reform student recruitment system, curriculum instruction, 

enhance the quality of supervision, service quality, as well as increase international doctoral students’ 

communication with local students. 

Qiu (2015) proposed to construct a high-level International Chinese Language Education talent 

cultivation platform to meet the urgent demands for qualified overseas international Chinese language 

education talents. The researcher suggests to develop a high-level personnel training platform through 

collaborating with institutions running the Sino-foreign Joint Ph.D. Program and Visiting Scholar to 

China Program as part of the China Studies Program. 

2.2 China Studies Program Ph.D. Fellowship 

The China Studies Program (CSP) is a high-calibre international exchange program launched by the 

Center for Language Education and Cooperation since 2013. China Studies Program provides many 

research and studies opportunities to overseas outstanding students and scholars dedicated to China 

Studies. Through cooperating with prestigious universities in China and inviting famous experts in the 

field of humanities and social sciences, this program provides Ph.D. fellowships in Sinology and China 

Studies, develops Advanced Chinese Interpretation and Translation Training Program for Overseas 

Talents. Furthermore, this program sponsors in-depth research opportunities in China, facilitates or 

sponsors relevant translation and publication of works, as well as collaborates on Chair or professorship 

with overseas universities. This program is expected to facilitate the growth and development of young 

students and scholars. 

The CSP Ph.D. Fellowship program supports foreign students to research and study at the doctoral level 

in China, and aims to cultivate international young sinologists, who are proficient in international 

academic rules and capable of participating in international academic exchanges and research. The Ph.D. 

Fellowship of the CSP includes two types of fellowship: the Ph.D. in China Fellowship and the Joint 

Research Ph.D. Fellowship. The Ph.D. in China Fellowship supports overseas outstanding master’s 

degree holders in pursuing doctoral degrees at Chinese universities. The Joint Research Ph.D. Fellowship 

funds overseas outstanding doctoral students registered with foreign universities coming to China for 

study, research and writing of their doctoral dissertations.  

 

 



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2.3 Community Cultural Wealth  

Yosso (2005) first conceptualizes Community Cultural Wealth as a critical race theory to challenge the 

traditionally deficit view of Communities of Color as socially marginalized groups. The various forms 

of capital from the Community Cultural Wealth include aspirational capital, linguistic capital, social 

capital, familial capital, navigational capital, and resistant capital. Aspirational capital refers to a person’s 

ability to have hopes for the future even in the face of real barriers in social, economic and other aspects 

of life. Linguistic capital makes reference to one’s ability to be able to communicate in more than one 

language and other visual art forms such as music or poetry (Liou, González, & Cooper, 2009). Social 

capital can be understood as one’s ability to obtain instrumental and social support through resources 

such as community organizations and cultural events. Familial capital refers to those knowledge and 

cultural practices that obtained from extended family members. It also includes family’s support through 

emotional, educational, and occupational consciousness (Liou, González, & Cooper, 2009). Navigational 

capital is measured by one’s ability to navigate through social institutions. Resistant capital refers to 

one’s knowledge and skills fostered through oppositional behavior that challenges instances of inequality 

(Yosso, 2005).  

The Community Cultural Wealth theory has been used in many critical race theory studies to understand 

how students from underrepresented and marginalized groups develop a sense of resiliency for academic 

success. Through using the Community Cultural Wealth theory, Liou, Gonzalez, and Cooper (2009) 

examined data from two racially segregated urban schools to understand how Latino/a students utilized 

their Community Cultural Wealth for college-going aspirations. Jayakumar, Vue and Allen (2013) 

studied students from a community college preparatory program called Young Black Scholars (YBS). 

This study found that community played a positive role in facilitating college access for this group of 

middle and higher-income Black college students. Using the theoretical framework of Deaf Community 

Cultural Wealth, Johnson, Stapleton, and Berrett (2020) studied the experiences of deaf students in 

community college. The study showed that the deaf students utilized instances of resistant, navigational, 

social, and familial capital in pursuing their higher education. Erdemir (2022) studied a group of 36 

Syrian refugee children from an early childhood intervention program in Turkey and found those children 

possessed with six forms of cultural wealth capitals which included navigational, social, familial, 

linguistic, resistant, and aspirational capital. In Wick, Willis, Rivera, Lueker, Hernandez’s (2019) study, 

they explored first-generation Latinx students during service activities and homestays in Costa Rica. 

Findings suggest that students were able to use their linguistic and familial capital to quickly connect and 

understand the locals. In addition, they were able to apply their linguistic, familial, aspirational, and 

resistant capital to increase their engagement during overseas experience. The students’ interaction with 

their Community Cultural Wealth deepened their bicultural identities, improved their resistance to 

injustice, and instilled a strong desire to inspire other Latinx students to pursue international education. 

School reformers need to see the potential of international students and their communities’ funds of 

knowledge, and better prepare them for adapting into international culture and developing a sense of 



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resiliency for academic success and integrated development (Liou, González, & Cooper, 2009). Instead 

of observing international students as a minority group which needs help and assistance from a deficit 

view, this study analyzed this group of students from a strength-based perspective to see how 

international doctoral students of the CSP actively applied local knowledge and all kinds of resources in 

establishing networks and interactions in the host community. Through analyzing Yosso’s (2005) 

Community Cultural Wealth model, this study employed in-depth semi-structured interviews with seven 

international doctoral students from seven different countries who participated in the “China Studies 

Program”. This study also intended to analyze how staff members and administrators in the host country 

provided community resources to better prepare them for sociocultural adaptation, thus leading to their 

all-around development.  

 

3. Research Methods 

3.1 Research Site 

The research site university lies in the capital of China, Beijing. The city has around 22 million population 

and 92 higher education institutions. The research site university is noted for its highly internationalized 

campus with students from over 180 countries. According to the official website of the university, until 

July 2021 it has more than 2,300 international students and around 8,200 Chinese students of all levels 

registered. The research site university has around 2,000 faculties and staff members. Its academic 

strength lies in teaching Chinese to speakers of other languages. 

3.2 Research Questions 

1) How did international doctoral students of the CSP acquire the Community Cultural Wealth that 

enable them to achieve sociocultural adaptation in the host country? 

2) What are some recommendations for international doctoral students who participate in the CSP in 

the future? 

3.3 Participants Selection 

The students were recruited through purposeful sampling and selected by the following criteria: 1) the 

participants must currently registered at the CSP during the time of the study, either the Ph.D. in China 

Fellowship or the Joint Research Ph.D. Fellowship; 2) it is hoped that participants from a variety of 

different countries and regions can be included, therefore the seven participants were selected from seven 

different countries and three continents; 3) in addition, the participants selection also considered different 

gender, major, and fellowship type. The demographics of the participants were demonstrated in the 

following table (see Table 1). Considering the research ethics, the students and program management 

teachers were interviewed anonymously and numbered in the order of being interviewed to protect their 

privacy.  

 

 

 



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Table 1. Demographics of the Participants 

 Number Fellowship 

Type 

Continent of 

Origin 

Gender Major Years of 

Living in 

China 

1 PCF Europe Female Literary Studies 12 years 

2 PCF Middle Asia Female International 

Chinese Language 

Education 

7 years 

3 PCF South Asia Male International 

Chinese Language 

Education 

6 years 

4 PCF Africa Female  Linguistics and 

Applied Linguistics 

4 months 

5 JRPF East Asia Male International 

Chinese Language 

Education 

6 months 

6 JRPF East Asia Male Foreign Linguistics 

and Applied 

Linguistics 

2 years 

7 PCF Europe Male Linguistics and 

Applied Linguistics 

8.5 years 

Joint Research Ph.D. Fellowship = JRPF     Ph.D. in China Fellowship = PCF 

 

3.4 Data Collection 

This qualitative study was an instrumental case study (Stake, 1995). In a single instrumental case study, 

the researcher intends to understand a specific problem, and then select a case to best understand this 

issue (Creswell, 2013). In this study, methodological triangulation was applied by using multiple 

methods to study a single problem to ensure the trustworthiness of the study: the research instruments 

include document analysis, questionnaires, and one-on-one interviews with seven international students 

who participate in the CSP and with the two program management teachers at the research site. 

The public documents were selected from the official website of the research site university as well as 

the official website of the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC). The research site 

university website offers background information of the university, while the official website of the 

CLEC provides information about the CSP. 

The questionnaire is consisted of two sections. The first section contains questions regarding personal 

information such as gender, code name, nationality, age, years of living in China, mother tongue, major, 



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work experience, scholarship type, HSK Level, grade, economic income, martial status, overseas 

experience, etc. The second section was revised from Ward and Kennedy’s (1999) version of the 

Sociocultural Adaptation Scale (SCAS-R) designed by Wilson (2013). It is a self-assessment 

questionnaire to let the respondent think about the life in a country, and rate their behaviors base on 

interpersonal communication, academic performance, personal interests and social participation, 

environmental adaptation and language proficiency. The respondent can select Likert scale ranging from 

1 (not at all competent) to 5 (extremely competent). The overall internal consistency of the SCAS-R is 

0.92, while each SCAS-R subscales’ internal consistency was larger than 0.7, indicating a relatively high 

reliability of the SCAS-R. The original questionnaire was translated into Chinese and sent to the 

participants through an online link. The SCAS-R consists of 21 items, sample questions include 

“Maintaining my hobbies and interests” and “Expressing my ideas to other students/work colleagues in 

a culturally appropriate manner.” After the factor loadings for explanatory factor analysis with oblique 

promax rotation, scores are calculated by averaging the individual item scores. The higher scores of the 

items represent greater competency in a new cultural environment, where as the lower scores represent 

less sociocultural adaptation competency. The results of the questionnaire are presented in Table 2. 

 

Table 2. Results of the SCAS-R 

 Number Interpersonal 

Communicati

on 

Academic 

Performance 

Personal 

Interest 

and Social 

Participati

on 

Environm

ental 

Adaptatio

n 

Language 

Proficiency 

 

Sociocultur

al 

Adaptation 

Status 

1 4.14 4.75 4.25 5 5 4.55 

2 5 5 4.75 4.6 5 4.77 

3 5 5 5 5 5 5 

4 4.14 4.75 4.5 4.4 4 4.36 

5 3.71 4.25 2.75 4.8 5 4 

6 3.86 4 4.25 4.8 3.5 4.14 

7 3.57 3.75 3.75 3.8 4.5 3.77 

 

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, students were interviewed through voice call on a popular social 

software called WeChat. Before the interviews, students were sent an informed consent to let them 

understand the purpose, ways to protect their rights, confidentiality, and possible risks of this study. 

Among the nine contacted students, seven agreed to participate in the study. After getting participants’ 

permission, the semi-structured interviews were conducted in Chinese and recorded in order to continue 

with the data analysis.  



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3.5 Data Analysis 

First of all, the recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim for creating interview transcripts to help 

with the data analysis (Creswell, 2013). Secondly, the researcher read through the interview transcripts, 

public documents, and results of the questionnaires to find a few key issues recurred from the data and 

used categorical aggregation to generate major themes or meanings. The researcher used color coding to 

mark each instance by using different colors based on different categories. Thirdly, margin notes were 

taken to summarize the major meaning or initial thoughts. Meanwhile, a table was used to describe the 

basic demographics of the participants. Fourthly, the researcher collapsed the categories into several 

major themes. Finally, a large number of quotes were presented to ensure the trustworthiness of the study.  

 

4. Findings 

4.1 Aspirational Capital  

Student 5 used to work as a female textile worker and later became the first Master of Chinese in her 

home country. Her story has inspired many Chinese learners to continue their study of Chinese. She was 

also the first CSP student in her home country and Confucius Institute because she wants to be the first 

local Chinese teacher in the Confucius Institute she worked at. Her aspiration kept her studying hard 

during the CSP. Despite suffering from headache and eye problems, she still tried her best in balancing 

her health and study:  

Why do I choose to join the CSP? Because I used to be a textile worker and then continued my study. 

Therefore I think it is not easy for me to study for a doctorate degree, I need to work hard. Whatever 

problem I met, I always do my best. 

Similarly, student 6 used to work at foreign trade export companies. He was clear in stating his goal for 

joining the CSP and pursuing his doctoral degree is to find a teaching position at the university level. 

Student 1 mentioned the importance of self-discipline during the doctoral study: 

I feel the biggest challenge is self-discipline, which is strictly following you own plan, instead of following 

others’ requirements. You need to make your own plan and try to finish some tasks. 

Student 3 worked at a private university. She shared that her university has high requirements for the 

teachers and she was motivated by her elder colleagues: 

I see my colleague who are more than 50 years old, but still study for an online doctoral degree. Working 

in a place like this, everyday I see people in their forties or fifties still learning. As a young teacher myself, 

I feel the pressure. I am still in my thirties, how can I feel satisfied for earning a master’s degree. I have 

the motivation that I need to study for a doctorate. 

In spite of the social and economic barriers students in the CSP may currently face, they all have high 

aspirations for the future and believe that earning the doctoral degree can help them in better achieving 

their goals. 

 

 



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4.2 Linguistic Capital  

The CSP Ph.D. Fellowship program admits two types of fellowship: the Ph.D. in China Fellowship and 

the Joint Research Ph.D. Fellowship. The language requirements for the Ph.D. in China Fellowship 

students of the CSP are a minimum of HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test) Level 5. For students in the Joint 

Research Ph.D. Fellowship, students need to achieve a minimum of HSL Level 3 to meet the application 

requirements. However, due to the competitive number of applicants, many candidates who finally being 

admitted to the Ph.D. in China Fellowship CSP, even some candidates of the Joint Research Ph.D. 

Fellowship, have achieved HSK Level 6. After being admitted to the CSP, students also need to use 

Chinese by reading textbooks and learning materials, writing papers, doctoral dissertation and other 

publications, communicating with teachers, classmates and scholars in and out of class, as well as 

listening to lectures, workshops, and various study visits. Moreover, students also need to use Chinese in 

their daily life to survive in a new country. Most of the interviewed students report they have little 

difficulty with their Chinese proficiency. They must also develop and apply different language registers 

to communicate with different audiences. For example, student 1 shared that: 

I feel adapt to communicate with Chinese friends and teachers... I have been living in China for many 

years and language environment plays an important role for my language learning. My eldest child is 

bilingual, I also need to practice my Chinese, so we would communicate in Chinese at home. 

The international students in the CSP can communicate in bilingual or multilingual languages or 

communication skills. However, there are also students who reported having difficulty with their 

dissertation writing: 

Since I have been teaching Chinese for many years, I have little problem with looking for literature, 

translating, or even lecturing. Currently my biggest challenge is dissertation writing... you know you can 

speak Chinese either in a simple way or a literary way. For writing, I think it is a challenge to enrich my 

Chinese expressions. 

Student 7 also reported that after being admitted into the doctoral program, he has more understanding 

of the limitations for his Chinese language ability. During his master’s study, he felt his language ability 

was quite strong. Later in his study during the CSP, he realized there is still a distance between his Chinese 

ability and his mother tongue.  

4.3 Social Capital 

For the several students who participated in the study, identifying and attaining the CSP scholarship itself 

was a reflection of social capital in getting help from social contacts and community resources. Student 

1 used to be a visiting scholar at the research site university for two weeks in the year 2014. During her 

study at the program, she first got to know the CSP scholarship and found the research direction she has 

always been interested in. Because of the recommendation from his supervisor, student 2 got to know 

and finally being admitted to the CSP.  

The research site university also provides many opportunities for international doctoral students to 

participate in social activities and events. For example, student 3 participated in the 70th anniversary for 



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the founding of People’s Republic of China at Tian’anmen Square in 2019. She was the only student 

representative from the CSP at the research site university, and was interviewed by China Central 

Television (CCTV) and China Daily’s reporters. She always joined in the embassy’s events and once 

was the interpreter for Jack Ma, the famous entrepreneur in China who founded Alibaba. Student 3 also 

loves Chinese culture and joined all kinds of lectures, conferences, and toured around the country.  

In addition to the scholarship sponsored by the CSP, student 4 mentioned the social capital provided by 

the Center for Language Education and Cooperation in providing information and holding all kinds of 

events for students in the CSP, such as academic activities, the International Chinese Language Education 

Weeks, CSP Forum, language studies forum, etc. Student 4 also mentioned how the Center for Language 

Education and Cooperation provided cultural experience events and research platforms for the CSP 

students. He joined the Association of International Understanding (AIU), a student organization 

organized by the Department of International Student Affairs at the research site university, which 

provides a platform for Chinese and international students’ communication and cooperation. For example, 

during the student registration process, volunteers from AIU can provide assistance to both freshmen and 

returning international students.  

4.4 Familial Capital 

Student management staff 1 explained during the interview that compared with other doctoral students, 

many CCSP doctoral students have already established their own family. Most of them have worked for 

several years and have certain work experience. Therefore, compared with doctoral students of other 

program, they often have many family burden such as taking care of their own children. Student 1 has 

two kids to take care during her pursue of doctoral degree in China. Her children have always been her 

concern before applying the doctoral program. During this process, her mother provided valuable family 

support to help with looking after her children while her studying in China. During the interview, she 

said:  

My mother is great in taking care of the two children since both me and my husband were in China. I 

really appreciate her support which makes my study in China possible.  

Similarly, student 3 also expressed appreciation to her parents: 

My first gratitude goes to my parents, they support my decision by telling me feel free to study abroad 

and they will take care of my children. 

Familial capital can model lessons of caring, coping, and providing education. Because of family support, 

international doctoral students found that they were not alone in dealing with their problems.  

4.5 Navigational Capital 

Student 6 expressed that he has a great sense of achievement while living off campus and experiencing 

Chinese citizens’ life. Using daily communicative Chinese, he could communicate with the local citizens 

by using basic Chinese vocabulary words. Thus, he was able to exercise in the local gym, order and study 

at coffee bars, read in the community library, find and rent an apartment, also go online shopping by 

using shopping platforms such as Pinduoduo (buy together) and JD.com.  



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In addition, administrators who work at the research site department provided navigational capital for the 

international doctoral students in the CSP. Basically, there are several divisions at the research site 

university which are responsible for the management of students from CSP: Division of Confucius 

Institute Development, Graduate School, each college where students study at, and the Department of 

International Student Affairs. Among them, student 1 reported that their largest support came from the 

Division of Confucius Institute Development: 

The teachers and staff not only shared some information, but also earnestly solve all kinds of problems 

for us. Last time there were some problems with my room, the teacher in the Division of Confucius 

Institute Development spent his weekend time helped me with consulting the issue, I was really touched.    

Traditionally, navigational capital refers to one’s ability to navigate through social institutions. For 

students in the CSP, in addition to individual’s efforts in navigating during this process, the staff members 

and teachers in the research site also helped in supporting and facilitating the community navigational 

process. 

4.6 Resistant Capital 

While mentioning if there were anything students not adapted to during the CSP, several students 

mentioned the issue of accommodation. When faced this kind of problem, they would frankly express 

their opinions and report the problem to relevant staff members to ask for their help. Most of the time, 

their appeal can be appropriately solved. This is a reflection of resistant capital in applying knowledge 

and skills fostered through challenged situations.  

 

5. Recommendations for CSP Students 

 

 

Figure 1. Recommendations for CSP Students 

 



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5.1 Better Understanding of the Host Country  

Student 1 mentioned in the interview that some international students who joined the CSP has no 

experience of studying or living in China. Therefore, she thought that in order to better adapt to the new 

environment, first they need to learn to accept and avoid comparing the host country with their own 

country. In her opinion, international students should understand the culture and characteristics of the 

host country, to better understand instead of complain.  

5.2 Plan Ahead of Time and Figure out your Research Interest  

While talked about the recommendations for coming CSP students, student 7 thought that if the students 

lack of understanding for the research field he or she is interested in, they need to contact their supervisor 

before the semester and see if there are any reading list. He explained this point further: “the more you 

read, the better you can understand the field, and the better you can prepare for your research proposal 

or the specific research problems.” 

Student 5 also mentioned in the interview that the first preparation of CSP start in the application process 

which is the psychological preparation.  

Because it is not easy to study for a doctorate, you need to achieve all the requirements, otherwise it is 

such a pity to give it up. Therefore there are things you need to know ahead of time, for example the 

application requirements, when to apply, the language test requirements, the graduation requirements... 

You need to know them in advance. The HSK requirements for CSP applicants are not easy, so I would 

like to remind the intended applicants to well-prepare for it. 

5.3 Make your Accommodation Choice Flexible  

Student 6 talked about the issue of either living on campus or off campus. In his opinion, if it is possible, 

it is a good experience to live both on campus and off campus. Since CSP allows international doctoral 

students to choose whether living on or off campus and provides living allowances, according to student 

6, it is better to live on campus in the first or second year during the CSP to accommodate oneself in a 

new environment, and then live off campus to better experience the local customs and practices. 

Similarly, student 5 enjoyed the choice of choosing where to live. This helped her a lot so that she can 

bring her children to study in China, and sometimes her husband can also come to visit her. 

5.4 Use the Target Language as much as Possible  

Student 6 mentioned in the interview that as international students who come to study in China, it is 

better to have more communication with Chinese students through joining student societies or reading 

groups. In order to better learn Chinese and experience the local culture, it is better to use the language 

as much as possible. Similarly, student 1 also believes that Chinese proficiency and certain academic 

ability are crucial for the CSP students. 

5.5 Self-discipline and Learning Autonomy  

During the interview, student 1 mentioned the importance of self-discipline and the autonomy of making 

rigorous plans. For example, in the first year of the CSP, apart from taking classes, it is important to 

actively participate in all kinds of academic activities. In addition, students must finish the assignments 



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and read books and literature recommended by your teachers and advisors. The advisors usually set a 

deadline for the students and then its all depend on the student’s schedule to finish the readings.  

For example, during one month’s time, you need to finish those readings. So how to read? On the basis 

of reading, how to finish the papers? It all depends on our own schedule. So you must make a writing 

plan for yourself. I think that’s the biggest challenge. The second year also has many readings, then how 

to appropriately arrange your time, that’s the emphasis. 

Student 1 mentioned that in the third year of CSP, the requirements are harder to achieve. It is a problem 

for how to finish the research proposal and then the drafts of the paper to your advisor in a limited amount 

of time. The advisor wouldn’t supervise you everyday, it all depends on your own.  

5.6 Get Family Support to Deal with Your Problem 

Three out of the seven participants expressed sincere appreciation to their family members during the 

interviews, especially their parents for providing parental care to their children. The support from their 

family members provide enormous contribution for the international doctoral students’ study of the CSP. 

The family members not only provide psychological support and parental care, but also sometimes offer 

capital, which means provide money support to the students. When the students study abroad in another 

country, they would also contact their family members to get emotional support. 

 

6. Conclusions 

Through the data analysis of public documents, results of the questionnaires, and interview transcripts, 

this study examined CSP international doctoral students’ Community Cultural Wealth and sociocultural 

adaptation in China. Results of the study indicate that CSP international doctoral students’ sociocultural 

adaptation was in a relatively high status. Students were able to adapt their interpersonal communication, 

academic performance, personal interest and social participation, environmental adaptation, as well as 

language proficiency during their CSP in China. In addition, students were able to mobilize their 

aspirational capital, linguistic capital, social capital, familial capital, navigational capital and resistant 

capital to adapt their life and study in China with their families, and staff members of the host university’s 

help. This study also provided recommendations for CSP students which included better understanding 

of the host country, plan ahead of time and figure out your research interest, make your accommodation 

choice flexible, use the target language as much as possible, self-discipline and learning autonomy, as 

well as get family support to deal with your problem.  

 

Project 

This research project is supported by Science Foundation of Beijing Language and Culture University 

(supported by “the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities”) (Approval number: 

22YJ240010).  

 

 



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