An Empirical Illustration of Social Legitimation through Hegemony: Narratives of Students from a Community College on Seeking a Transferal in Hong Kong

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (10-12) ◽  
pp. 771-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-Lee Wong
Author(s):  
Shirley Siu Yin Ching ◽  
Kin Yuen Tam ◽  
Lillian Weiwei Zhang ◽  
Jeremy Ng ◽  
Kin Cheung

Limited research has been conducted on community college (CC) transfer students’ (TS) experiences in four-year universities, particularly in Asian contexts. To fill this research gap, in this qualitative study, 124 TS from various disciplines in a Hong Kong university participated in 39 focus groups and seven individual interviews. Unlike their Western counterparts, our TS were relatively better prepared and more academically adaptive. Nevertheless, their social integration was restricted by a lack of time for extra-curricular activities, a sense of inferiority and incompetence, and restricted social circles that did not enable interaction with non-TS. These challenges and their implications are discussed. In particular, this study has highlighted differences between the special education systems for CC transfer in Hong Kong and those in Western CC models. The study has also highlighted the study-induced stress, and poor self-perceptions that TS experience, despite their academic abilities.


2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 386-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa May Yee Lau

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the effects of 8Ps of services marketing affect students’ selection of self-financing sub-degree programmes in Hong Kong. The factors that affect students’ selection of self-financing sub-degree programmes have not been studied in higher education market of Hong Kong. This research is to fill the gap by examining the effects of 8Ps (“Product Elements”, “Price and Other User Outlays”, “Place and Time”, “Promotion and Education”, “People”, “Process”, “Physical Environment” and “Productivity and Quality”) on self-financing sub-degree programmes in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach – The research taken was a quantitative survey of students at Community College at Lingnan University in Hong Kong. Findings – The results reveal that “Productivity and Quality” is the most important element of 8Ps of services marketing. Accreditation of programmes seeking recognition in Hong Kong and overseas can increase student enrolment. “Promotion and Education” element is the least important element of 8Ps of services marketing. Self-financed higher education institutions should develop strategies to build relationships with the secondary school teachers and counsellors rather than invest money on advertising. Research limitations/implications – The data were collected from a particular community college in Hong Kong only. Practical implications – Management can increase student recruitment by allocating minimum amount of limited resources to recruit maximum number of students. Originality/value – This research adds knowledge to the marketing of higher education in Hong Kong. The management of self-financing sub-degree programmes can use the findings of this research as a reference to develop their marketing strategies.


2020 ◽  
pp. 009155212096487
Author(s):  
Yi-Lee Wong

Objective: Educational expansion as a policy is believed to address the issue of the youth’s blocked social mobility. But, the argument that the transition to university is emotionally straining in a deindustrialized neoliberal context suggests an emotive aspect of neoliberalism in higher education. This article seeks to offer an illustration of such an emotive operation of neoliberalism through examining the emotional struggles of community-college students in Hong Kong. Method: This study draws on two qualitative analyses based on data collected from 83 community-college students in Hong Kong pursuing a bachelor’s degree through a newly available transfer function of an associate degree. Results: Given an emphasis of neoliberalism on individualism and competition, the respondents showed the following negative emotions: perverse feelings of inferiority about the new option, stress about the competitiveness of this pursuit and strategic/calculating in organizing their learning and dealing with their classmates, and anxiety of being seen as inadequate despite their successful transferals. Contributions: The emotional struggles of the respondents suggest that in view of a lack of well-paid prestigious professional or managerial jobs in a deindustrialized capitalist context, educational expansion as a policy—expanding the sector of community college in particular—wrapped up in a neoliberal discourse is not merely giving the youth a false hope but inflicting on them unnecessarily strained emotions. This suggestion urges policy makers to rethink the effectiveness of adopting an educational policy with a neoliberal approach to address an economic issue.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document