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On 20 December 1999, Macau closed the chapter of more than four centuries of Portuguese rule and officially became one of the Special Administrative Regions (S.A.R.) of China. During these centuries, a creole culture emerged along with a community of racially mixed individuals, commonly known as the Macanese (Pina Cabral, 2002). While many of them have opted to disaffiliate themselves from the ‘capital of Portugueseness’ (Pina Cabral, 2002:41), for the purpose of conglomerating with and adapting to the major Chinese population in Macau, others remain severely proud of their Macanese identity. By employing a theoretical framework in mixed race studies (Bhabha, 1994; Ali, 2003; Song, 2003), this thesis will explore the Macanese’s identity, language and culture as a consequence of the impact of post‐handover in Macau. The focus will be on how the Macanese, as a racially mixed community, have managed and negotiated their identity, language and culture in this context. The perspectives of positioning will be amplified, since there is an apparent lack of research in Macau. By utilising biographical research in qualitative methodology, this thesis examines the Macanese context due to sinicization from the interviews of three sample groups (Category A, Category B and the Category C). The disparities in ages and experiences are specifically arranged to allow their aspirations and perceptions to be explored and discussed as being mixed in the dominating Chinese society. Despite the consequence of the handover, my results show that younger Macanese are keen to search for new ways to adapt and to preserve their community and cultures from dissipating. Many have acknowledged the significance to look beyond the traditional norms (as previously adopted by the older Macanese generation) and to acquire a receptive attitude with the major Chinese population in order to endure their sustainability in contemporary Macau.

The number of first-generation students entering higher education has increased over the years. Unfortunately, their retention rates are lower than their peers (Cahalan & Perna, 2015; Robb et al., 2012). The Portuguese comprise the largest immigrant population in southern New England, many of whom are first-generation students (MAPS, 2016). Researchers have suggested various student engagement programs that help improve student retention (Astin,1999; Stephens et al., 2014), yet there is a lack of research showing persistence rates for first-generation Portuguese students. This study was guided by the following research questions: 1. Is there a significant difference in self-reported involvement for first-generation Portuguese compared to continuing-generation and first-generation students? 2. Is there a significant difference in identified obstacles to involvement for first-generation Portuguese compared to continuing-generation and first-generation students? 3. How do first-generation Portuguese students perceive academic and extra-curricular involvement? 4. How do first-generation Portuguese students describe their college experience and challenges on their journey to graduation? This explanatory sequential mixed methods study began with a survey of undergraduate students (N = 389) to investigate if there were differences in student involvement and challenges among the three groups. This was followed by interviews with seven (n = 7) first-generation Portuguese students to further explore their perceptions of involvement and challenges. Major findings included significant differences in obstacles such as family financial support (F = 5.95, p = 0.003, n[superscript 2] = 0.03sm) and the level of parent loans (F = 6.77, p = 0.001, n[superscript 2] = 0.03sm) among continuing-generation (M = 3.56; M = 4.53), first-generation (M = 3.00; M = 4.24), and first-generation Portuguese (M = 3.09; M = 4.95) students. First-generation Portuguese students had the lowest number living on campus (9.1%), the highest number living with their parents (63.6%); and the highest number working over 25 hours per week (54.5%) compared with continuing-generation (32.2%; 37.7%; 26.1%) and first-generation students (42.5%; 36.2%; 16.3%). There were no significant differences in many areas such as academic engagement outside the classroom, emotional support, encouragement, and objection to education received from family. The study also revealed the following themes: Cultural differences, indebtedness to family; financial burden and time management; and, college involvement, experience, and mentors. The results and recommendations of this study may assist institutional leaders in enhancing and implementing programs to improve persistence rates, especially for Portuguese students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]