Enculturation of immigrants in multicultural contexts: A case of young Pakistani students in Hong Kong

Abstract

While a wealth of empirical studies with varying perspectives illustrates the importance of acculturation among immigrants, little is known about their enculturative experiences in multicultural contexts. Despite highlighting the psychological, sociocultural, and intercultural benefits of integration orientation (intermixing the cultural repertoire from heritage culture and mainstream culture), cross-cultural studies tend to focus more on learning and adopting the host culture at the cost of immigrants’ heritage culture. By adopting a culture learning approach and an ecological framework, this study explored the lived enculturative experiences of young Pakistani students in Hong Kong. The phenomenographic analysis of sixteen semi-structured interviews underscores the various ways young people learn about their heritage culture across socialization contexts. The study calls for a paradigm shift in studying immigrants’ adaptation and wellbeing, highlights the importance of enculturation, and discusses the potential educational policy and practice implications across multicultural contexts in the globalized world.