Ka Ho Mok

Massification of higher education, graduate employment and social mobility in the Greater China region

Globalisation and the evolution of the knowledge-based economy have caused dramatic worldwide changes in the character and functions of education, particularly higher education. In the search for global competitiveness, many emerging economies have begun to expand their higher education systems, which has significantly affected the relationship between higher education and graduate employment. Recently, international comparative studies have suggested that increasing enrolment in higher education does not always promote upward social mobility, and can intensify inequality in education. This article critically examines the impact of the expansion of higher education in East Asia on graduate employment and social mobility in the context of an increasingly globalising economy and changing labour market needs. The article discusses emerging trends in the Greater China region, with a particular focus on Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Taipei, and argues that the massification of higher education has not necessarily led to more occupational opportunities for youth or opportunities for upward social movement, particularly since the significant changes in the global labour market after the 2008 global financial crisis. On the contrary, the intensification of ‘positional competition’ among college graduates seems to reflect growing social inequality.

Higher education, changing labour market and social mobility in the era of massification in China

This article attempts to investigate the relationship between the massification of higher education, labour market and social mobility in contemporary China. Though only a short period of time has elapsed from elite to mass education, China’s higher education has been characterised as a wide, pervasive massification process. Similar to other East Asian countries/economies like South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, the expansion of higher education in China has also generated a great impact on labour markets and social mobility. The massification of higher education has increased college access and in general enhanced the extent of equity and equality in society. Nonetheless, the situation has become far more complex as returns of education have flattened out recently and social mobility has slowed down in general. University students have started to doubt the ability of higher education to improve their competitiveness in the job market. This, in turn, has led to a wide dissatisfaction with higher education development in China, particularly when higher education has experienced highly intensified competition in the context of world-class university movement. Realising that students from different family backgrounds may encounter diverse experiences in graduate employment and opportunity for upward social mobility, this article critically reflects upon how variations in social capital and cultural capital have impacted on graduate employment and social mobility as higher education has massively expanded in China.

Higher education governance in crisis: a critical reflection on the massification of higher education, graduate employment and social mobility

In the last few decades, higher education expansion is becoming increasingly a growing trend in the Asia and Pacific region. With strong conviction to produce more people better equipped with knowledge and skills for coping with the challenges of the globalizing economy, many governments in the Asia and Pacific region have increased higher education enrolments. The massification of higher education has generated significant pressure for graduate employment and eventually affected upward social mobility, with imbalanced supply and demand in terms of higher education graduates. This article sets out against the context highlighted above to critically examine the influence on Asian societies when these higher education enrolments are expanded, as well as its consequences to graduate employment and the impact on social mobility.

Hong Kong: The Quest for Regional Education Hub Status

Malaysia’s agenda for establishing itself as an education hub is driven by the need to build its capacity in human capital, knowledge, and innovation, as well as strengthening education as a trade sector for revenue generation. Malaysia’s current profile is that of a student hub based on the exponential growth of the international student body, particularly in the private sector, during the past decade. This chapter explains that while the country’s commitment and progress is much lauded, there are still several critical issues that need to be addressed for Malaysia to stand firm on its status as an education hub. These include the diversification of the current international student demography, graduate employability, skilled workforce development, and brain drain. Malaysia’s future rests on its ability to integrate the various components of education hub to ensure that there is added value gained from its diverse and important cross-border education activities.

Dual decentralization in China's transitional economy: Welfare regionalism and policy implications for central–local relationship

Abstract In the last three decades, China has experienced dual decentralization in transforming its economy, resulting in decentralization and deconcentration in public administration and social service delivery. Under the policy framework of decentralization, particularly when welfare financing has been decentralized to local governments, the emergence of welfare regionalism is evident in China. This paper sets out against this policy context to examine how three local governments in eastern coastal areas in China handle changing labour welfare needs by institutionalizing social and labour protection measures to meet the local needs instead of implementing central policy. With particular reference to examine why regional variations exist in welfare provision even though the socio-economic development status is similar in these areas, this paper shows how different forms of capitals, governments governance style and diversity of industries have affected welfare arrangements for labour in China.

The rise of transnational higher education and changing educational governance in China

Purpose – Although the existing literature indicates the strategy of decentralization adopted by the Chinese government has permitted the introduction of transnational higher education (TNHE) into mainland China at its very beginning in the 1980s, relatively little research has been conducted to explore the effects of the ensuing-released policies on the development of TNHE after then, especially at institutional level. The purpose of this paper is to fill this research gap by presenting data/information about recent development of TNHE in China and analyzing teachers’/students’ perceptions of autonomy enjoyed by the newly emerging cooperation type, Sino-foreign cooperation universities. Design/methodology/approach – Based upon the purposive sampling method, we chose University A and B as case studies in this research to ensure the representativeness, since they cooperate separately with the major exporters of TNHE in China. In addition, key informants and snowball sampling were adopted to select our resp...

Higher education governance and policy in China : managing decentralization and transnationalism

Abstract China has experienced significant social, economic and political transformations since its economic reform started in the late 1970s. Considerable changes in its policy-making and implementation approaches have also emerged. Confronted with the intensified tension between the call for efficiency and strong pressure to improve social welfare, the Chinese government had no choice but to become instrumentally pragmatic in adopting different governance strategies to address the increasingly complex social, economic and political developments. Thus, neoliberal tenets were introduced. This article sets out to examine, against the wider policy context, how neoliberal tenets, particularly its emphasis on market principles, have been injected in higher education governance. This article aims to explore how the multi-faceted dynamics shaped the development of transnational higher education and influenced the governance of Sino-foreign cooperation universities.

Massification of higher education : challenges for admissions and graduate employment in China

With a strong conviction to transform the country and prepare its people to cope with the growing challenges of the globalizing market, the Chinese government has actively increased more opportunities of higher education. The higher education system experienced a transformation from elite to mass form. The massification of higher education has provided more and more accesses to junior college and universities, and subsequently produced a growing number of college graduates looking for jobs in labor market. Similar to other East Asian countries/economies like South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, the strong impacts of China’s expansion of higher education on higher education admission and labor market are expected to appear. College students start to doubt the effect of higher education massification on bringing more equality in admission and improving their competitiveness in the job market. This, in turn, leads to a wide dissatisfaction of higher education development in China. Realizing students coming from different family backgrounds may confront diverse experiences in higher education admission, graduate employment, and opportunity for upward social mobility, this chapter sets out against the policy context highlighted above to critically examine the impact of the massification of higher education on admissions and subsequently on graduate employment and social mobility in contemporary China. In the final section, this chapter also reflects upon reconstructing new education governance framework in promoting educational equality when higher education is massively expanded.

The Many Faces of Asia Pacific Higher Education in the Era of Massification

Higher education throughout much of the world, and certainly across the diverse Asia Pacific region, has been engaged in one or another aspect of the massification phase (Trow in International Handbook of Higher Education (RSS), 2005) for the past three or four decades. From an outside perspective, it may appear that the general form and dynamics of this massification movement are quite similar, irrespective of local country differences. On closer inspection, however, the process of massification is in fact highly complex and differentiated, taking a variety of shapes and pathways.

Internationalization and Transnationalization of Higher Education: A Review of the Asia Pacific Region

During the past three decades, globalization has appeared as the most frequently used term in nearly all the academic fields. The world becomes flat, and the connections among countries have been increasingly strengthened due to the ever-developing information technologies.