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Article published In: Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education
Vol. 11:1 (2026) ► pp.68–94

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The manifestation of global identity among international students in Japan

ORCiD logo with link | Hiroshima University
Published online: 6 November 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/sar.24011.men
Abstract
Amid a shifting global cultural landscape, fostering global identity (GI) among students has become a critical focus in international education (Hendershot, N. K., & Sperandio, N. J. (2009). Study abroad and development of global citizen identity and cosmopolitan ideals in undergraduates. Current Issues in Comparative Education, 12(1), 45–55. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). Japan’s surge in international student enrollment, driven by policies promoting global learning within a multicultural context, underscores the need to examine how international students navigate their experiences in Japan and manifest a GI. This study views international students as active agents, investigating multifaceted factors shaping their GI. Combining questionnaire data and semi-structured interviews, the analysis applies Identity Theory (Stryker, S., & Burke, P. J. (2000). The past, present, and future of an identity theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 63(4), 284–297. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) to explore both personal and external influences during their time in Japan. The findings reveal that students’ regional backgrounds, language proficiency, and engagement with academic, multicultural, and local Japanese communities significantly relate to GI formation. This empirical evidence challenges the traditional view of GI as an inherent disposition, instead linking it to community dynamics within the unique context of a non-Western and non-English-language setting.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Global identity among international students
    • 2.2Discourse of global identity in Japan
    • 2.3Factors influencing international students’ global identity
  • 3.Theoretical framework
  • 4.Methods
    • 4.1Data collection and participants
    • 4.2Quantitative analysis
    • 4.3Qualitative analysis
  • 5.Findings
    • 5.1A two-dimensional construct of global identity among international students
    • 5.2Differences in global identity according to different personal factors
      • 5.2.1Regional background
      • 5.2.2Language proficiency
    • 5.3External factors embedded in students’ social networks contributing to global identity
      • 5.3.1Academic community
      • 5.3.2Multicultural community
      • 5.3.3Local community
  • 6.Discussion and conclusions
  • 7.Implications and limitations
  • Notes
  • References
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