The Friendship Experiences of Academic High Achievers in Hong Kong Secondary Schools

This research thesis explores the complex, unique and contextual friendship experiences of ten exceptionally high academic achievers in mainstream Hong Kong secondary schools. The research was conducted through semi-structured interviews and the data was thematically analysed. Three broad themes were found and presented in the thesis. They include friendship needs, friendship processes and contextual factors of high academic achievers in school friendship development. The findings show the complex and unique experiences of these individual students who shared similar academic qualities. The thesis also includes suggestions for professional practice and further directions for inquiry on gifted education and students' school friendship development in Hong Kong.