The assumption that Chinese young people are passive beings with little or no agency is a dominant theme within the academic literature. However PhD research findings demonstrate how British Chinese adolescents (aged 11-14) do exhibit varying degrees of agency in their lives. Here, agency is understood as individuals having the capacity to act, to interact, to make choices, to influence, and shape one’s life, especially in matters that concern the individual and the lives of others. Based on the accounts of 12 British Chinese adolescents, using repeat interviews over a 9-month period, this article adds to the current but limited understanding of British Chinese adolescence.
