Navigating Cultural Tensions: Dynamic Integration of Rural-Urban Art Identities in Chinese Art Education

Authors

  • Yaoyao Ding

    1 School of Design and Art, Communication University of Zhejiang, Hangzhou 310018, China

    2 Future Front Interdisciplinary Research Institute, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
  • Yuntao Zou *

    Future Front Interdisciplinary Research Institute, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074,

    China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55121/cci.v2i2.647

Keywords:

Art Education Migrants , Cultural Adaptation , Dynamic Integration , Rural Art Students

Abstract

This paper explores the cultural adaptation process of rural art students in China after passing the college entrance examination and entering urban art academies. The authors note that traditional cultural theories cannot fully explain the unique challenges faced by this group, such as value conflicts and conceptual differences in teacher-student interactions. Therefore, the paper proposes an “education-driven dynamic integration theory of art and culture,” which frames their adaptation as an active, selective, and reflective process. Through qualitative interviews with 55 rural art students, the study found that these students adopted strategies of “phased adaptation” and “dual artistic maintenance,” skillfully retaining and integrating their own rural cultural symbols while absorbing mainstream urban art elements. This dynamic adaptation not only effectively alleviated psychological stress but also significantly enhanced their creativity. Furthermore, the study found that institutional support, social network heterogeneity, and individual artistic resilience were key factors influencing their adaptation. The theoretical contribution of this study lies in its ability to break away from the static categorization of traditional cultural adaptation theories and provide a new framework for understanding cultural adaptation within specific institutional contexts. On a practical level, this paper also provides valuable references for art schools and policymakers, hoping to promote the integration of urban and rural art and culture by building a diversified art dialogue platform and strengthening institutional support, thereby promoting artistic equity and the sustainable development of the educational ecology.

References

[1] Tomšic Cerkez, B.G., 2013. Visual art education: Between spatial sustainable development and the image of architecture. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal. 3(1), 79–96.

[2] Petersen, A.R., 2017. Migration into art: Transcultural identities and art-making in a globalised world. Manchester University Press: Manchester, UK.

[3] Xie, S., Chen, J., Wei, L., 2023. The strength of culture: Acculturation and urban-settlement intention of rural migrants in China. Habitat International. 138, 102855. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2023.102855

[4] Chen, L., Li, M., Huang, Y., 2025. From industry to education-driven urbanization: A welfare transformation of urbanization in Chinese counties. Habitat International. 155, 103248. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2024.105653

[5] Yan, K., Wu, L., 2020. The adjustment concerns of rural students enrolled through special admission policy in elite universities in China. Higher Education. 80(2), 215–235. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00475-4

[6] Li, H., 2013. Rural students’ experiences in a Chinese elite university: Capital, habitus and practices. British Journal of Sociology of Education. 34(5/6), 829–847. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2013.821940

[7] Patel, S.G., Bouche, V., Thomas, I., et al., 2023. Mental health and adaptation among newcomer immigrant youth in United States educational settings. Current Opinion in Psychology. 49, 101459. DOI:

[8] Tang, L., Zhang, C., Institution., 2023. Global research on international students’ intercultural adaptation in a foreign context: A visualized bibliometric analysis of the scientific landscape. SAGE Open. 13(4), 1–20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231218849

[9] Bourdieu, P., 1986. The forms of capital. In: Richardson, J. (ed.). Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education. Greenwood Press: New York, USA. pp. 241–258.

[10] Ersoy, M., Akçaoğlu, M.Ö., 2025. The interplay between social support, acculturative stress, perceived stress and generalized anxiety among international students. Current Psychology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-025-07798-9

[11] Ergin-Kocaturk, H., Tekel, E., Su, A., et al., 2025. Acculturation strategies of international higher education students in Türkiye: The role of social support, cultural capital, self-esteem, general trust, and general self-efficacy. Current Psychology. 44(11), 10679–10695. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-025-07919-4

[12] Bender, M., Osch, Y. van, Sleegers, W., et al., 2019. Social support benefits psychological adjustment of international students: Evidence from a meta-analysis. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. 50(7), 827–847. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022119861151

[13] Tineo, P., Bixter, M.T., Lillian, P.-R., et al., 2024. The impact of acculturative stress on internalizing problems among racially and ethnically minoritized adolescents and young adults in the U.S.: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Social Science & Medicine. 357, 117192. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117192

[14] Berry, J.W., 2008. Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Applied Psychology. 46(1), 5–34. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.1997.tb01087.x

[15] Ward, C., Kennedy, A., 1999. The measurement of sociocultural adaptation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations. 23(4), 659–677. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-1767(99)00014-0

[16] Schwartz, S.J., Zamboanga, B.L., Weisskirch, R.S., 2008. Broadening the study of the self: Integrating the study of personal identity and cultural identity. Social and Personality Psychology Compass. 2(2), 635–651. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2008.00077.x

[17] Zhang, F., Yang, J., 2022. The ecological civilization education construction in art education under the background of “Internet +”. Alexandria Engineering Journal. 61(11), 8955–8962. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2022.02.032

[18] Opoku-Asare, N.A.A., Siaw, A.O., 2015. Rural–urban disparity in students’ academic performance in visual arts education: Evidence from six senior high schools in Kumasi, Ghana. SAGE Open. 5(4), 1–14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244015612523

[19] Li, Y., Chen, J., Xie, S., et al., 2021. Acculturation, urban identity, and psychological well-being of rural–urban migrants in China. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being. 14(4), 1129–1150. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12327

[20] Song, Q., Liu, N., Yang, J., 2024. Removing institutional barriers or reframing inequality: Effects of China’s college entrance exam reform on inequality in internal migrant students’ higher education attainment. Higher Education. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-024-01318-7

[21] Wang, J., Li, Q., Luo, Y., 2022. Physics identity of Chinese students before and after Gaokao: The effect of high-stake testing. Research in Science Education. 52(2), 675–689. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-020-09978-y

[22] Glaser, B., Strauss, A., 2017. Discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research, 1st ed. Routledge: London, UK. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203793206

[23] Thomas, E., 1997. Developing a culture-sensitive pedagogy: Tackling a problem of melding ‘global culture’ within existing cultural contexts. International Journal of Educational Development. 13–26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0738-0593(96)00066-1

[24] Cuervo, H., 2020. Rethinking teachers’ production of social justice in rural schools. International Journal of Inclusive Education. 1357–1371.

[25] Singh, C., Basu, R., 2020. Moving in and out of vulnerability: Interrogating migration as an adaptation strategy along a rural–urban continuum in India. The Geographical Journal. 186(1), 87–102. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/geoj.12328

[26] Lähdesmäki, T., 2016. Politics of tangibility, intangibility, and place in the making of a European cultural heritage in EU heritage policy. International Journal of Heritage Studies. 22(10), 766–780. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2016.1212386

[27] Volet, S., Jones, C., 2012. Cultural transitions in higher education: Individual adaptation, transformation and engagement. Advances in Motivation and Achievement. 17, 241–284. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/S0749-7423(2012)0000017012

[28] Li, J., Rose, N., 2017. Urban social exclusion and mental health of China’s rural-urban migrants – A review and call for research. Health & Place. 48, 20–30. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2017.08.009

Downloads

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 2 (December 2025): In Progress

Section

Articles