Chinese Female Immigrants’ Cultural Identity Integration: A Critical Developmental Perspective of Transformative Learning

Abstract

This interpretative phenomenological study explores how five female Chinese immigrants across different adult developmental stages make sense of their cultural identities in the context of acculturation. The participants’ developmental stages were assessed using Kegan’s constructive-developmental theory, providing a framework to understand their meaning-making capacities. The research pursues two interconnected objectives: First, it contextualizes perspective transformation processes within a stage-based developmental model, examining how individuals combine and synthesize different aspects of their cultural identities into a coherent sense of self. Second, it critically examines how dominant ideologies and power dynamics influence immigrants' cultural identity integration. The findings reveal how critical acculturation experiences offer context that shifted participants’ relationships with their heritage and American cultures. Their narratives illuminate Asian immigrants’ transformative journeys toward an integrated sense of self, shaped by their developmental capacities and societal power structure.