[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-594841-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":80,"doc-detail-594841-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","chinese-international-students-sense-of-belonging-in-north-american-postsecondary-institutions-a-critical-literature-review","Chinese International Students’ Sense of Belonging in North American Postsecondary Institutions - A Critical Literature Review","","Since 2000, increasing numbers of Chinese international students have studied in North American postsecondary institutions, yet many report difficulties with a sense of belonging that can affect academic achievement, social participation, and psychological well-being. Existing studies insufficiently focus exclusively on Chinese international students. To guide future inquiry, this critical literature review synthesizes research on these students’ perceptions and experiences, identifies shaping factors, and examines impacts on both learners and institutions.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/chinese-international-students-sense-of-belonging-in-north-american-postsecondary-institutions-a-critical-literature-review/594841/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/chinese-international-students-sense-of-belonging-in-north-american-postsecondary-institutions-a-critical-literature-review/594841.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Mary Man","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-22","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":30},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"Why does sense of belonging matter for Chinese international students in North America?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"A stronger sense of belonging is linked to more positive self-evaluations, greater academic capability, and reduced tendencies to externalize problems. When belonging is missing, students may experience loneliness and disengagement, including attrition from education.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"What is the main aim of the literature review?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"The review aims to clarify future research directions by examining Chinese international students’ perceptions and experiences of belonging, identifying factors that shape this phenomenon, and determining its impacts on students and institutions.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"How were relevant studies searched and selected?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"The review applied multiple strategies, including database searches through ERIC, ProQuest Social Sciences, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar, structured search terms covering belonging-related synonyms and North American locations, and additional narrowing terms related to culture, acculturation, and student outcomes.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},594841,1792192417,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,91,95,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":88,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":131},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":30,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":108,"preview_page_count":4},7421720224475,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","Chinese International Students’ Sense of Belonging in North  \nAmerican Postsecondary Institutions: A Critical Literature Review  \nJia Chen  \nUniversity of Windsor  \nGeorge Zhou  \nUniversity of Windsor  \nAbstract  \nSince 2000, an increasing number of Chinese international students have been entering North American universities, and many have experienced issues with a sense of belonging, which in turn can impact their academic and social performance and psychological well-being. However, limited research on this topic focuses exclusively on Chinese international students. Therefore, in order to establish the direction that future research should take, a thorough literature review has been conducted with the aim of exploring those students’perceptions and experiences regarding sense of belonging, establishing the factors that shape this phenomenon, and identifying the impact it has on students and institutions.  \nKeywords: Chinese international students, sense of belonging, integration, student retention Jis Chen, MEd, has recently graduated from the Faculty of Education, University of Windsor.  \nHer research interest covers international education and teaching English as a second language. Email: [chen1cf@uwindsor.ca](chen1cf@uwindsor.ca)  \nGeorge Zhou, PhD. Professor from the Faculty of Education, University of Windsor. He received PhD from the University of Alberta. He taught at City University of New York before joining the University of Windsor. His research interest covers science and technology education, teacher education, ICT integration with curriculum, parental involvement, and international education. Email: [gzhou@uwindsor.ca](gzhou@uwindsor.ca)  \nContext  \nSince 2000, an increasing number of Chinese international students have been pursuing postsecondary education in North America. In the United States, the number of international students enrolled in higher education programs reached 1,043,839 in the 2015/2016 academic year, which marked a 7.1% increase from the previous academic year. China remained the top source country in this regard, contributing 31.5% of the total number of international students in America (Institute of International Education, 2016) . In Canada, there were 353,570 international students in 2015, which marked an 8% increase over the previous year. Among these students, approximately two-thirds were from Asia, with China being the highest sending country (Canadian Bureau for International Education, 2016) . This trend was also demonstrated by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (2015), which found that 88% of Canadian universities consider China as their first choice in terms of their expansion into international markets.  \nIn such a context of ever expanding and diverse higher education population, students’ sense of belonging and engagement has become an important topic among administrators and scholars (Masika & Jones, 2016) . Students who have a greater sense of belonging on campus would feel more capable academically, evaluate themselves more positively, and are less likely to externalize problems (Pittman & Richmond, 2007) . Strayhorn (2012) argues that a sense of belonging is of particular importance for individuals who live in a perceived unfamiliar or foreign environment. Students who are not able to have a sense of belonging tend to have negative outcomes. Strayhorn points out that the “deprivation of belongingness needs often leads to diminished interest in life activities, loneliness, self-hatred, disengagement from life (often through suicide) or, in the context of education, disengagement from college through attrition”(p. 23) . This suggests a need to examine the extent to which international students—including Chinese—perceive and experience belongingness in foreign educational settings in order for institutions to better facilitate their positive learning experiences. Particularly, limited research is found that focuses exclusively on Chinese international ","cbCaiivfnqYuxmho","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiivfnqYuxmho","pdf",340501,16,"English","# Context\n## Literature Search Methods\n### Database Search\n### Search Terms\n# Selection Criteria and Manual Search","[{\"question\":\"Why does sense of belonging matter for Chinese international students in North America?\",\"answer\":\"A stronger sense of belonging is linked to more positive self-evaluations, greater academic capability, and reduced tendencies to externalize problems. When belonging is missing, students may experience loneliness and disengagement, including attrition from education.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the main aim of the literature review?\",\"answer\":\"The review aims to clarify future research directions by examining Chinese international students’ perceptions and experiences of belonging, identifying factors that shape this phenomenon, and determining its impacts on students and institutions.\"},{\"question\":\"How were relevant studies searched and selected?\",\"answer\":\"The review applied multiple strategies, including database searches through ERIC, ProQuest Social Sciences, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar, structured search terms covering belonging-related synonyms and North American locations, and additional narrowing terms related to culture, acculturation, and student outcomes.\"}]","Chinese International Students’ Sense of Belonging in North American Postsecondary Institutions - A Critical Literature Review | PDF",1792079943]