UCL Geography Student Wins Joanna Stillwell Prize for Outstanding Dissertation

Supervised by Professor Johanna Waters, the research, “Negotiating home, belonging and national identity: Mainland Chinese Student Migrants’ Childhood Educational Experiences in Singapore,” explores how mainland Chinese student migrants navigate their sense of home, belonging, and national identity during their educational experiences in Singapore.

XinTong’s dissertation was inspired by Professor Waters’s inaugural lecture in 2022, where she discussed the impact of children’s education on family migration strategies and the personal lives of young migrants. 

The lecture not only introduced her to the study of student mobility but also highlighted the importance of including children’s perspectives in research.

The topic also resonated with XinTong, who migrated from China to Singapore at the age of seven. She explains, “My personal experience, being deeply connected to both societies yet not fully belonging to either, has made this topic particularly meaningful to me.” 

Through her dissertation, XinTong reflected on her own fluid understanding of home, belonging, and identity, which she describes as being both deeply embedded and occasionally uncomfortable due to her unique position of feeling neither truly Singaporean nor entirely mainland Chinese.

XinTong explained to us how winning the Joanna Stillwell Prize has been a significant experience. “It still feels quite surreal to have my research, which is so closely tied to my own life experiences, recognised in this way,” she shares while thanking Professor Johanna Waters for her support and guidance.

One of the most surprising findings from the work was the realisation of the privileged position that Chinese student migrants hold within Singapore’s immigration system. 

She notes, “As student migrants, we enjoy relatively secure residency status, which has given us a much greater capacity to develop a sense of home and belonging in the city-state compared to other types of migrants.”

XinTong told us that she hopes her research will contribute to the field of population geography by bringing greater visibility to young student migrants’ transnational lives. 

She observes that while themes of home, belonging, and national identity are common in migration research, there is often a lack of focus on student migrants, especially those who migrated during childhood. 

She aims for her work to help fill this gap and ensure that the experiences of young student migrants are better understood.

Currently working as a geography teacher in a secondary school, XinTong will begin her teacher training at the Singapore National Institute of Education in December. 

Her research has deepened her understanding of the challenges faced by student migrants, and she plans to use this knowledge to support migrant students in her future teaching career.

To incoming and prospective students, XinTong says: “Be kind to yourself and don’t let self-doubt hold you back! Trust yourself, and when things become overwhelming, don’t hesitate to seek help.” 

XinTong Chen’s achievement is a remarkable start to the academic year, and we look forward to seeing the continued impact of her research in population geography and beyond. 

Congratulations, XinTong, on this well-deserved recognition!