Building an international education hub: Addressing non-local students’ needs in the associate-to-bachelor transition in Hong Kong

Abstract

For both local and non-local students, the transition from an associate’s to a bachelor’s degree in Hong Kong brings both opportunities and challenges. Based on Bourdieu’s Cultural Capital Theory (1986) and Cobb’s Social Support Theory (1976), this study uses a longitudinal qualitative research to track 19 associate degree students from Lingnan University (8 local, 11 non-local) through three key transition phases: pre-application (January 2025), post-acceptance (May 2025), and early enrolment (October 2025) in order to analyse their experiences, barriers, and strategies during this educational transition. According to preliminary findings, there are significant differences between local and non-local students in terms of support networks, acculturation, and resource accessibility. While non-native students experience social isolation and language barriers that significantly affect their application process, local students gain from familiarity with the educational system. The purpose of this study is to give policymakers practical insight to increase the efficacy and inclusivity of the educational system and guarantee that all students have fair access to pathways to higher education.

Document Type: Original article

Cited as:

Ye, M. Y. (2025). Building an international education hub: Addressing non-local students’ needs in the associate-to-bachelor transition in Hong Kong. Education and Lifelong Development Research, 2(2): 63-74. https://doi.org/10.46690/elder.2025.02.03

References

Belfield, C. (2013). The economic benefits of attaining an associate degree before transfer: Evidence from north Carolina. CCRC Working Paper No. 62.

Bourdieu, P. (1986). The Forms of Capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education (pp. 241-258). New York: Greenwood.

Brown, L., & Walser, A. D., & Beharry, R. (2017, June). Creating institutional bridges to engineering for underserved populations: Examining associate-to-bachelor engineering programs. Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio.

Chung, S. (2021). Associate degree sociology education in Hong Kong: An exploratory study based on student focus groups. Teaching Sociology, 49(2), 150-161.

Cobb S. (1976). Social support as a moderator of life stress. Psychosomatic medicine, 38(5), 300-314.

Cooper, K.M., Cala, J.M. & Brownell, S.E. (2021). Cultural capital in undergraduate research: an exploration of how biology students operationalize knowledge to access research experiences at a large, public research-intensive institution. International Journal of STEM Education, 8(6).

Crosta, P. M., & Kopko, E. M. (2014). Should community college students earn an associate degree before transferring to a four-year institution?. New York, NY: Community College Research Center.

Feeney, B. C., & Collins, N. L. (2015). A new look at social support: a theoretical perspective on thriving through relationships. Personality and social psychology review : an official journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc, 19(2), 113-147.

Hayman, R., Wharton, K., Bruce-Martin, C., & Allin, L. (2022). Benefits and motives for peer mentoring in higher education: an exploration through the lens of cultural capital. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 30(2), 256-273.

Hermanowicz, J.C. (2013). The longitudinal qualitative interview. Qualitative Sociology, 36, 189-208. 

Holmegaard, H. T., Ulriksen, L. M., & Madsen, L. M. (2012). The process of choosing what to study: A longitudinal study of upper secondary students’ identity work when choosing higher education. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 58(1), 21-40.

HONG KONG IDEAS CENTRE. (2011, April). Associate degree study report. HONG KONG IDEAS CENTRE. (in Chinese)

Igarashi, H., & Saito, H. (2014). Cosmopolitanism as cultural capital: Exploring the intersection of globalization, education and stratification. Cultural Sociology, 8(3), 222-239.

Jabbar, H., Schudde, L., Garza, M., & McKinnon-Crowley, S. (2022). Bridges or barriers? How interactions between individuals and institutions condition community college transfer. The Journal of Higher Education, 93(3), 375-398.

Jin, H. (2025), A comparative study of the academic experiences between local and non-local community college students in Hong Kong, Higher Education Evaluation and Development, 19 (1), 70-86.

Kember, D. (2010). Opening up the road to nowhere: problems with the path to mass higher education in Hong Kong. High Educ 59, 167-179.

Košutić, I. (2017). The role of cultural capital in higher education access and institutional Choice. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 7(1), 149-169.

Lee, W. W. S. (2014). Opening up a road to somewhere: development of associate degree students in Hong Kong. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 33(5), 607-624.

Lee, W. W. S. (2019). Nexus between massification of tertiary education and community college students’ learning experiences in Hong Kong. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 38(5), 527-537.

Legislative Council Secretariat. (2025). Policy pulse on “Building an international education hub”. Legislative Council.

Lessky, F., Nairz-Wirth, E., & Feldmann, K. (2021). Informational capital and the transition to university: First-in-family student’ experiences in Austrian higher education. European Journal of  Education, 56(1), 27-40.

London, B., Rosenthal, L., Levy, S. R., & Lobel, M. (2011). The influences of perceived identity compatibility and social support on women in nontraditional fields during the college transition. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 33(4), 304-321.

Maguire, M., & Delahunt, B. (2017). Doing a thematic analysis: A practical, step-by-step guide for learning and teaching scholars. All Ireland Journal of Higher Education, 9(3).

Mok, K. H., & Zhang, Y. (2022). Remaking international higher education for an unequal world. Higher Education Quarterly, 76(2), 230-246.

Morosanu, L., Handley, K., & O’Donovan, B. (2010). Seeking support: researching first‐year students’ experiences of coping with academic life. Higher Education Research & Development, 29(6), 665-678. 

Naeem, M., Ozuem, W., Howell, K., & Ranfagni, S. (2023). A step-by-step process of thematic analysis to develop a conceptual model in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 22.

Nthabiseng, S. P., Lydia K. M., & Khashane S. M. (2024) Transition from high school to university: Challenges faced by first-year B.Ed. students at a University of Technology in South Africa. E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, 5(2), 112-122.

O’Toole, M., Dunnett, S., Brennan, M., Calvard, T. & Fakeyeva, L. (2024). Widening participation in scotland 1997-2021: A semi-systematic literature review and avenues for further research. British Educational Research Journal, 50, 1655-1675. 

Richards, B. N., (2022). Help-seeking behaviors as cultural capital: Cultural guides and the transition from high school to college among low-income first generation students. Social Problems, 69(1), 241-260.

Roksa, J., & Robinson, K. J. (2016). Cultural capital and habitus in context: the importance of high school college-going culture. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 38(8), 1230-1244.

Saldaña, J. (2003). Longitudinal qualitative research: Analyzing change through time. AltaMira Press.

Shek, D. T., & Shek, M. M. (2013). Perception of collaborative learning in associate degree students in Hong Kong. International journal of adolescent medicine and health, 25(4), 449-458.

Shepard, C., & Rose, H. (2023). English medium higher education in Hong Kong: linguistic challenges of local and non-local students. Language and Education, 37(6), 788-805.

SILK ROAD INSTITUTE, Pan Sutong Shanghai-Hong Kong Economic Policy Research Institute, Hong Kong Higher Education Convergence, & Office of Legislative Council Member Dr. CHOW Man-kong. (2023, August). Research Report on Policy Recommendations for the Development of Hong Kong as an International Education Hub.

Stefani, A. (2024). Parental and peer influence on STEM career persistence: From higher education to first job. Advances in Life Course Research, 62.

Tan, G.L.C., & Zheng, F. (2023). Family social and cultural capital: an analysis of effects on adolescents’ educational outcomes in China. The Journal of Chinese Sociology, 10(21).

Tian, Z., Zhang, Y. (2024). Choosing Hong Kong for postgraduate studies: A systematic analysis of the key determinants influencing intra-Asia mobility among mainland Chinese students. Education and Life long Development Research, 1(1), 31-40.

Wang, L., & Woo, E. (2022). We are stuck in the middle: intercultural adjustments and adaptations of Western-educated mainland PhD students at one Hong Kong university. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 45(2), 434-448.

Wang, X., Chuang, Y., & Mccready, B. (2017). The effect of earning an associate degree on community college transfer students’ performance and success at four-year institutions. Teachers College Record, 119(2), 1-30.

Weng, Y. (2025). Singapore’s global education hub ambitions: Government and institution strategies and practices. Education and Lifelong Development Research, 2(1), 11-22.

Wong, Y. L. (2011). Class differences between students’ opting for doing an associate degree in community college in Hong Kong: different states of cultural capital and their conversion. SIC Journal. 

Wong, Y. L. (2014). Community College Policy in Hong Kong: Intention, Practices, and Consequence. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 39(8), 754-771.

Worsley, J. D., Harrison, P., & Corcoran, R. (2021). Bridging the gap: Exploring the unique transition from home, school or college into university. Frontiers in public health, 9, 634285.

Yamamoto, Y., & Brinton, M. C. (2010). Cultural capital in east asian educational systems: The case of Japan. Sociology of Education, 83(1), 67-83.