Choosing Chinese Universities: A Negotiated Choice for Hong Kong Students

This book unpacks the complex dynamics of Hong Kong students’ choice in pursuing undergraduate education at the universities of Mainland China. Drawing on an empirical study based on interviews with 51 students, this book investigates how macro political/economic factors, institutional influences, parental influence, and students’ personal motivations have shaped students’ eventual choice of university.

Building on Perna’s integrated model of college choice and Lee’s push-pull mobility model, this book conceptualizes that students’ border crossing from Hong Kong to Mainland China for higher education is a trans-contextualized negotiated choice under the ＂One Country, Two Systems＂ principle. The findings reveal that during the decision-making process, influencing factors have conditioned four archetypes of student choice: Pragmatists, Achievers, Averages, and Underachievers. The book closes by proposing an enhanced integrated model of college choice that encompasses both rational motives and sociological factors, and examines the theoretical significance and practical implications of the qualitative study.

With its focus on student choice and experiences of studying in China, this book’s research and policy findings will interest researchers, university administrators, school principals, and teachers.

Alice Y.C. Te received her Ph.D. in Education and B.Soc.Sc. in Management from The University of Hong Kong, and M.A. in Training and Human Resource Development from the University of Technology Sydney. She is currently the Managing Editor of Public Administration and Policy: An Asia-Pacific Journal published by Emerald in the United Kingdom. She is also a Director of Studies and Supervisor of doctoral student dissertations of the DBA programme, University of Wales Trinity Saint David operated by the Hong Kong Management Association in Hong Kong, as well as a Postdoctoral Research Associate of the Consortium for Higher Education Research in Asia (CHERA) at The University of Hong Kong, and Vice President for Journal Publication of the Hong Kong Public Administration Association. Her research interests include international student mobility, cross-border higher education, education policies in Greater Bay Area of China.