Kedi Zhao

Kedi Zhao is a fifth-year PhD candidate at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. Rooting his work in the communities of immigrants and migrants, he adopts the lenses of decolonization and social justice to understand and tackle challenges faced by these communities in the cross-cultural context. Under the overarching umbrella of cross-cultural research, his research interests can be further displayed through an integrative framework that includes the macro (e.g., global knowledge production and exchange), mezzanine (e.g., acculturation, anti-Asian racism, health inequity) and micro (e.g., immigrants’ and migrants’ understandings of specific cultural conflicts) levels. Through his research, he hopes to explore immigrants’ and migrants’ diverse cross-cultural experience and constantly promote equity and justice for them.

Selected Publications:

Zhao, K., Lenz, T., & Fang, L. (2023). Understanding Chinese international students’ perception of cultural conflicts in Canada: Through the case of cannabis use. Culture & Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354067X231169287

Zhao, K., & Bhuyan, R. (2023). Assembling social determinants of health: COVID-19 vaccination inequities for international students in Canada. International Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728221143650

Zhao, K., O’Connor, C., Lenz, T., & Fang, L. (2022). Conceptualizing anti-Asian racism in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic: A call for action to social workers. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 31(3-5), 302-312. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15313204.2022.2070892

Zhao, K., Tan, W., & Tsang, A. K. T. (2022). Online mental health resources in Wuhan amid the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of social workers. China Journal of Social Work, 15(1), 3-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/17525098.2021.2006899

Zhao, K., Tan, W., & Tsang, A. K. T. (2021). Indigenization and authentization of epistemology in China’s social work: Moving beyond Confucianism, Taoism and Chinese Buddhism. International Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728211041669

Selected Conference Presentations:

Zhao, K., & Fang, L. (June 2023). The impact of COVID-19 and its restrictions on Chinese international students’ acculturation in Canada. 12-minute talk presented at the Canadian Psychological Association Convention in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Zhao, K., & Fang, L. (June 2023). Revisiting the push-pull model: Chinese international students’ immigration intention in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. Poster presented at the Canadian Association for Social Work Education Annual Conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Zhao, K. (May 2023). Mental health care in local and in-between spaces: the complex experiences of Chinese populations in Canada and China. Panel organized by Kedi Zhao and presented at the Canadian Association for Social Work Education Annual Conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Zhao, K., Quan, Y., & Sakamoto, I. (October 2022). Uncovering the diverse intra-group identity building within Chinese communities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Presentation delivered at the Canadian Association for Social Work Education Virtual Annual Conference. (Outstanding Student Proposal Award)

Zhao, K. (August 2021). A dynamic conceptual model to understand and improve Canadian multiculturalism. Paper presented at the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Virtual Conference.