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How socioeconomic status influences career planning for college business majors in Hong Kong

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How socioeconomic status influences career planning for college business majors in Hong Kong

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How Socioeconomic Status Influences Career Planning for College Business Majors in
Hong Kong
by
Mariana Kou

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education

May 2023

© Copyright by Mariana Kou 2023
All Rights Reserved

The Committee for Mariana Kou certifies the approval of this Dissertation

Cathy Krop
Helena Seli
Tracy Poon Tambascia, Committee Chair

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2023

iv
A b s tr ac t
The historical development of colonial Hong Kong and the slowdown in economic development
in recent years have led to growing inequities in wealth and educational resources. Stratification
in the education system was apparent and the situation was difficult to change. These conditions
have affected career planning for young graduates, which in turn supported the continuity of
inequities in society. This dissertation aimed to study how socioeconomic status (SES) affected
career planning options among college students studying business in Hong Kong. The study
examined how low-SES students leveraged resources at their universities for career planning,
and which networks and resources were helpful to these students as they launched their career.
The research involved a pre-screening survey and interviews with business-major students on
financial aid at the publicly funded universities in Hong Kong. The findings were reviewed
through the lens of social cognitive development theory and social capital theory. They shed
light on students’ motivation, career prospects, and the different types of resources leveraged for
career searching. Four recommendations were offered with the goal of engaging stakeholders in
society to collaborate to level the playing field for all students in career planning and
development. Accessing resources for career development is an important step to revert the
wealth inequality trend in Hong Kong.
Keywords: wealth inequities, Hong Kong, career planning, career resources, business
networks

v
D e d i c ati on
This study is dedicated to my parents and family who have offered love, support, and
patience throughout the doctoral program. I would also like to thank my close friends from
around the world who have encouraged me over the years and have always believed in me. I
could not have done this without you all.

vi
A c k n ow l e d ge me n ts
I would like to thank the faculty and program administrators at the Rossier School of
Education for their guidance and leadership. This doctoral journey would not have been so
rewarding and memorable if not for the support and encouragement of the Rossier School
family. It has been an extremely challenging time for our cohort to start this global program amid
the COVID-19 pandemic, and the administrators have been very helpful and have always tried
their best to be there for us. I cannot thank Dr. Mark Robison, Dr. Tracy Poon Tambascia, and
Dr. Sabrina Chong enough for being accommodative and considerate to the travel restrictions I
faced during the program as I remained based in Hong Kong.
Cohort 9 is an amazing peer group. We supported each other from day one and we helped
each other along the way. It has demonstrated the power of peer support. As a group, we have
overcome much personal and professional challenges to reach the finish line, and I know we will
stay close for the rest of our lives as well. Such is a perfect example of connections and
networks, which relates to the core of this dissertation study.
I also must express my deepest gratitude to the many friends and acquaintances who have
pointed me to the right teams for research recruitment. Without your help, this study would not
have been possible. You have extended your helping hands to me, and I hope that this study and
its recommendations can serve to help other students who are also working very hard building
their dreams.

vii
Table of Contents
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. ix
List of Figures ..................................................................................................................................x
Chapter One: Overview of the Study ...............................................................................................1
Background of the Problem .................................................................................................2
Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................................3
Significance of the Study .....................................................................................................4
Organizational Context ........................................................................................................5
Overview of Theoretical Framework and Methodology .....................................................6
Definitions............................................................................................................................7
Organization of the Dissertation ..........................................................................................9
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature .........................................................................................10
Overview of Hong Kong and the Education System .........................................................10
Wealth Inequality in Hong Kong .......................................................................................21
Career Planning Options and Barriers for College Students .............................................29
Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................................38
Conclusion .........................................................................................................................43
Chapter Three: Methodology .........................................................................................................44
Population and Sample ......................................................................................................44
Interview Sampling Criteria and Rationale........................................................................46
Instrumentation ..................................................................................................................47
Data Collection ..................................................................................................................50
Data Analysis .....................................................................................................................52
Trustworthiness ..................................................................................................................53
Ethics..................................................................................................................................55

viii
Role of the Researcher .......................................................................................................56
Conclusion .........................................................................................................................57
Chapter Four: Findings ..................................................................................................................58
Participating Stakeholders .................................................................................................59
Emergent Themes ..............................................................................................................65
Conclusion .........................................................................................................................77
Chapter Five: Discussion and Recommendations for Practice ......................................................78
Discussion of Findings .......................................................................................................79
Recommendations for Practice ..........................................................................................83
Evaluation Plan ..................................................................................................................90
Limitations and Delimitations............................................................................................92
Recommendations for Future Research .............................................................................94
Conclusion .........................................................................................................................94
References ......................................................................................................................................97
Appendix A: Dissertation Protocols ............................................................................................112
Appendix B: Information Sheet ...................................................................................................114
Appendix C: Recruitment Email ..................................................................................................116

ix
List of Tables
Table 1: Senior Secondary School Enrolments and Undergraduate Graduating Class for the
Respective Years in Hong Kong 17
Table 2: Financial Aid at Full-Time UGC Programs for School Year 2020/2021 45
Table 3: Summary of Survey Responses (n = 65) 62
Table 4: Background of Interview Participants (n = 20) 63
Table 5: Interview Responses on Top Three Factors for Taking a Job (n = 20) 69
Table 6: Interview Responses on Family and Friends as Social Capital (n = 20) 74

x
List of Figures
Figure 1: Hong Kong Real Wage Index Versus Housing Index 22
Figure 2: Conceptual Framework 42
Figure 3: Data Collection Process 52
Figure 4: Age of Survey Participants (n = 46) 60
Figure 5: Year of Graduation of Survey Participants (n = 46) 61

1

Chapter One: Overview of the Study
Underneath the strong economic boom of Hong Kong in the past 60 years is the growing
problem of wealth inequality. The deteriorating state of income equality is leading to resources
disparity in all parts of life and frustrations among the residents, as manifested in the social
unrest in 2019 (Dieter, 2020; Peng et al., 2020). As economic growth slows for a maturing
economy, residents are facing limited social mobility and solidifying intergenerational inequities.
This dissertation aimed to study the problem of how SES affects career planning options
among college students studying business in Hong Kong, in an attempt to find potential solutions
to break the cycle of intergenerational inequities and promote social mobility for the younger
generation in Hong Kong. This study included a screening survey and interviews with the
business-major college students who receive need-based scholarships at publicly-funded
universities in Hong Kong. This dissertation was guided by the research question of how low-
SES students leverage resources at their universities for career planning, and what networks and
resources are helpful to these students as they launch their career.
Accessing resources for career development is an important step to revert the wealth
inequality trend in Hong Kong. This can potentially begin a new virtuous cycle and create a
better ecosystem, whereby business school students, faculty, publicly-funded universities,
business corporations, and the Hong Kong government can benefit. Students and faculties at
other colleges of publicly-funded universities, as well as private universities in Hong Kong, may
study the implications of this research and apply it to their own specific contexts.

2

Background of the Problem
Hong Kong ranks fourth in the world in terms of population density (World Bank,
2020d), based on the number of people per square kilometer of land area. The wealth, however,
has not been equally distributed. The Gini coefficient, which indicates the extent of disparity in
the household income, is computed based on the comparison of cumulative proportions of the
population against cumulative proportions of income they receive. It ranges between 0 in the
case of perfect equality and 1 in the case of an extreme level of inequality. In Hong Kong, the
Gini coefficient ratio has grown from 0.451 in 1981, 0.476 in 1991, 0.525 in 2001, 0.537 in
2011, to 0.539 in 2016 (HKSAR Census and Statistics Department, 1991, 2011, 2016),
indicating an increasingly unequal society from a wealth distribution perspective.
Meanwhile, higher education in Hong Kong, which is closely linked to career
development and lifelong income, has not been equally accessible. The massification of higher
education in Hong Kong has been partially driven by the strategic expansion of the self-financed,
2-year sub-degree programs starting in the 2000s (S. Lee, 2016). Enrolment in full-time, self-
financed sub-degree programs has grown from less than 10,000 in school year 2001/02 to 36,000
in school year 2019/20 (Concourse for Self-financing Post-secondary Education, 2021b; S. Lee,
2016). Instead of increasing the number of publicly funded bachelor’s degree programs, the
government encouraged private investments in higher education. This has helped to preserve the
selectivity and prestige of the public programs, but still add capacity to higher education. As
such, it has lifted the higher education participation rate in Hong Kong without putting additional
burden on the government budget. However, the additional capacity from the private sector did
not provide equal access for all. A comparison of 1991 and 2011 statistics found that low-income
families have a lower chance of enrolling in public 3-year undergraduate programs (S. Lee,
3

2016). Government expenditure per tertiary student as a percentage of GDP per capita has
decreased from 63% in 2004 to 24% in 2018 in Hong Kong (World Bank, 2020c). Moreover, the
job market premium of these self-financed 2-year sub-degree programs has been diminishing (S.
Lee, 2016) and the pay gap between those with regular degrees and sub-degree graduates has
been widening (University Grants Committee, 2021).
Purpose of the Study
Protests and chaos broke out in Hong Kong in June 2019, triggered by discussions around
the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation
(Amendment) Bill 2019 in Hong Kong (Extradition Bill; Shek, 2020). The level of violence and
vandalism was extensive and put Hong Kong on global media’s radar screen. Researchers have
suggested that the social movement may be traced back to growing wealth inequality (Dieter,
2020) and related to the lack of life skills education, leading to economic strains, mental issues,
and a decline in family quality of life (Peng et al., 2020).
The purpose of this study was to examine how SES affects career planning choices
among business-major college students in Hong Kong. The study aimed to analyse themes and
identify opportunities available to business-college students from lower SES in Hong Kong.
Career development potential of lower SES students is at the core of intergenerational inequities.
The study focused on students who received need-based scholarships, and how they gained
access to resources available for career planning. In particular, the role of family in the decision-
making process was examined in context of social capital and skills gained at college.
The research questions guiding this study were
1. In what ways do college students from lower SES families in Hong Kong leverage
resources at the UGC-funded universities to enhance their career planning?
4

2. What social programs and networks outside of the education system do college
students from lower SES families utilize to enhance their career planning?
Significance of the Study
Much research has been conducted on how SES affects access to education at different
levels, such as directly through the financial resources available and indirectly through family
education including the amount of parental time allocated to children and parental awareness of
health-promoting behaviors (Cheung, 2017; Cvetković et al., 2014; Desai & Alva, 1998).
Research findings have also noted that differences in SES lead to academic achievement gaps
(Baird, 2012). This study is important because tertiary education and career planning have a
long-term impact on life satisfaction and can result in intergenerational mobility. In a
metropolitan city such as Hong Kong, wealth inequality often affects information flow and social
networks (C. Lee, 2016; Spring, 2015), which further reinforces inequity in education and career
development opportunities (Ho et al., 2018), leading to low social mobility and inequity across
generations.
There are a few stakeholder groups who play a direct role in this research topic and may
leverage this work, including business school faculty, business school students, publicly funded
universities, business corporations, and the Hong Kong government. Firstly, the study has led to
recommendations to the business school faculty that could help increase the number of job
opportunities available to business school graduates, and particularly those from lower SES
background. This should strengthen the respective business schools’ competitive positioning and
help attract top-notch academic and research talent and high-caliber student candidates.
Secondly, the students could also directly benefit from a wide network of job opportunities that
might be available if our recommendations were adopted. With enhanced career options, the
5

students should be able to secure more job offers and therefore could select the best option,
which would allow them to have a strong head start in their career development.
Improved employment results for business school graduates would then help the
publicly-funded universities in Hong Kong attract international faculty and student candidates,
which would enhance the education ecosystem in Hong Kong. The organizations could lobby for
a higher government budget. In the longer term, organizations with a more robust alumni
network might attract more private funding from alumni. More reputable organizations might
also attract more collaborative opportunities with business corporations, reinforcing their
graduate employment results.
The business sector would also benefit from a larger pool of talents in Hong Kong which
would include students from different SES backgrounds. A more diversified workforce could
open up more business opportunities and reveal new potential, which could become a
competitive advantage for corporations. Moreover, the government could allocate budgets for
programs and initiatives to encourage schools and business corporations to collaborate to create
new job opportunities for Hong Kong graduates. Enhanced job placements for young graduates
should result in a more stable society and a higher level of public satisfaction. Regional labor
mobility should also create synergies and enhance Hong Kong’s overall competitiveness as a city
with international and Mainland Chinese connections.
Organizational Context
For this study, I worked with the University Grants Committee (UGC) higher education
institutions in Hong Kong (except for The Education University of Hong Kong, which does not
offer a Bachelor of Business Administration [BBA] program). The UGC-funded higher
education institutions in Hong Kong were ideal for this study. Their admission process has
6

already helped to screen candidates and those successfully admitted were academically strong,
which allowed me to focus on the other factors that affect career planning options for students as
they transition into the next chapter of their life. I also reached out to The Society for
Community Organization, a non-government organization that supports lower SES families to
get in touch with the low-income students studying business at one of the universities.
The eight major universities in Hong Kong are funded by the government as advised by
the UGC. The government allocates recurrent grants to the eight public universities in the form
of a block grant, usually on a triennial basis, to match with the academic planning cycle: City
University of Hong Kong (CityU), Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), Lingnan University
(LU), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), The Education University of Hong Kong
(EdUHK), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), The Hong Kong University of
Science and Technology (HKUST), and The University of Hong Kong (HKU). In school year
2020/21, among a total student population of 98,370 in the full-time UGC programs across the
eight schools, 17,573 students received a grant and 3,267 took up a loan under the Tertiary
Student Finance Scheme (Hong Kong Working Family and Student Financial Assistance
Agency, 2022).
Overview of Theoretical Framework and Methodology
This study was guided by the social capital and the social cognitive career development
theories, which provided a useful lens to analyse the challenges lower SES students in Hong
Kong faced when they transitioned from college to the job market. Social capital refers to how
capital, such as knowledge, information, or resources, is transferred through networks and
relationships (Park, 2012). Lower SES high school students may have access to different
information as higher SES students and families. This may have an influence on how they
7

explore tertiary education options, which have a long-term impact on their career development.
The social cognitive career development theory proposes that career choice is shaped by one’s
own expectations and career interests (Lent et al., 1994; Tang et al., 2008). Self-efficacy is at the
core of this theory. Low-SES students may see their self-efficacy, tertiary education, and career
planning influenced by their family’s socioeconomic status.
This study employed a qualitative research approach, providing a more in-depth
understanding of each participant’s situation than quantitative research methods. A screening
survey was used to understand the demographic and other basic information of the study
participants. This was followed by an individual interview with selected participants. The
interviews were based on a set of nine questions to enhance comparability across participants.
The goal was to explore the interviewees’ career planning options, job-searching considerations,
and resources. The theory of social capital and theory of social cognitive development were used
as frameworks to analyse the dynamics and factors driving career searching among business-
major college students on need-based scholarships in Hong Kong.
The study aimed to analyse themes and patterns, which then resulted in recommendations
on how to increase career planning options for all college students in Hong Kong despite their
SES. These recommendations might then be further applied to students in other faculties as well
as the other publicly-funded universities in Hong Kong. The study concluded with suggested
directions for future research.
Definitions
The following terms are defined to facilitate the discussion of this study and the analysis
of the results.
8

The Greater Bay Area (GBA) consists of the two special administrative regions, Hong
Kong and Macau, and nine cities in Guangdong province in China (Constitutional and Mainland
Affairs Bureau, 2021).
Intergenerational inequity refers to how the current and potential future access to
resources and opportunities of this generation is affected by the previous generation’s
accumulated resources and network (Arundel, 2017).
Self-efficacy is self-belief about one’s capabilities to achieve a certain level of
performance. This is often influenced by multiple factors including acculturation, ethnic identity,
conscientiousness, and social beliefs such as the role of women in society (Ali & Menke, 2014;
Flores & O’brien, 2002).
Social capital refers to how capital, such as knowledge, information, or resources, is
transferred through networks and relationships (Park, 2012).
Socioeconomic status (SES) is a construct which is composed of indicators such as
parents’ education level, occupation, and household income (Olsen & Huang, 2021).
Sub-degree programs in Hong Kong are generally self-financed and include Associate
Degree (AD) and Higher Diploma (HD; Concourse for Self-financing Post-secondary Education,
2021a).
The University Grants Committee (UGC) is a non-statutory advisory committee
responsible for advising the Hong Kong government on the development and funding needs of
its public universities (UGC, 2021). Its members are appointed by the Chief Executive of Hong
Kong.
Wealth inequity refers to the unequal distribution of wealth and the disparities between
the rich and the poor in a society (Bhatia & Subramanian, 2021).
9

Organization of the Dissertation
This dissertation is organized into five parts. Chapter One presents the background of the
wealth inequality problem and the purpose of this study of how SES influences career planning
options. Chapter Two begins with a description of Hong Kong and its education system,
followed by an overview of the literature that is related to wealth inequality and resources
disparities in Hong Kong. Chapter Three constructs the research design and methodology of this
dissertation study. Chapter Four provides the analysis and findings of the data. Chapter Five
presents conclusions, recommendations, and suggestions for future research.

10

Chapter Two: Review of the Literature
This literature review provides background on how SES influences career planning
choices among business-major college students in Hong Kong. This chapter starts with a brief
background and historical development of Hong Kong. It then moves on to an overview of the
education system in Hong Kong, which shows system stratification from K-12 to higher
education. Hong Kong has seen massification of higher education since the 2000s, but that was
only partially fulfilled by the expansion of the private sub-degree programs. This is then
followed by an overview of literature related to this dissertation study, including a review of a
range of existing literature on wealth inequality in Hong Kong. This covers economic resources
disparity, the current social trends, and unequal access to educational resources. Educational
resources inequality has resulted in achievement gaps and the private tutoring market further
exacerbates the situation. Career planning options among college students and the role of the
higher education institutions are addressed, as social capital and psychology are key factors in
the career planning process. Lower SES students, as such, face more barriers in their career
planning and development. Lastly, the latest government initiatives to push for further
integration of Hong Kong and Macau with the main cities in Guangdong to create synergies
within the city-cluster may offer more cross-border career opportunities and new upward
mobility for all. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the social capital and the social
cognitive career development theories and their application to the problem of practice.
Overview of Hong Kong and the Education System
Located in the south-eastern coastline of China, Hong Kong was ceded to British rule as a
colony in 1841 at the end of the First Opium War (Zhou, 2002). The city has since transformed
from a small fishing village into a manufacturing hub over a span of 150 years. In 1960, Hong
11

Kong’s GDP per capita was at US$429 while the global average was at US$456 (World Bank,
2020b). Hong Kong surpassed the global average in 1963 and continued to deliver strong
economic growth as it further transformed into a global financial hub.
By 1997, when Hong Kong was returned to China’s rule, its GDP per capita reached
US$27,330, five times that of the world average of US$5,366 (World Bank, 2020b). The latest
figures for 2020 showed that Hong Kong’s GDP continued to grow robustly under the Chinese
rule, reaching US$46,323 and making it one of the highest GDP per capita economies globally.
As the economy matures, however, the annual growth rate of the GDP per capita in Hong Kong
has normalized from 11.9% annually between 1960-1997 to 2.3% between 1997-2020 (World
Bank, 2020a).
Hong Kong is a small city in terms of land size. Total land area only adds up to 1,110
square kilometers based on Hong Kong government’s official computation, including Hong
Kong Island, Lantau Island, the Kowloon Peninsula, and the New Territories, as well as 262
outlying islands (Hong Kong Government, 2021). However, it has a sizeable population for its
land size. With a population of 7.5 million, Hong Kong ranks 4
th
globally in terms of population
density.
Around 92% of the population is ethnically Chinese and the rest are mostly originally
from the Philippines, Indonesia, and India (Hong Kong Government, 2021). Chinese and English
are the two official languages in Hong Kong. Eighty-nine percent of the population speak the
Cantonese dialect as their usual spoken language. Only 4% of the population use English as their
usual spoken language.
Education in Hong Kong
12

The education system in Hong Kong has been evolving since the British occupied Hong
Kong in 1841 and the missionaries started providing education in 1843 (Bray & Koo, 2005). The
colonial government took a centralized and systemized approach in education in Hong Kong,
setting up a vast majority of the primary and secondary schools either as public or government-
aided (Tang & Bray, 2000). The system was reformed after the handover of Hong Kong to
China, most notably in the secondary and tertiary levels. At the kindergarten and primary levels,
the government focused more on policies to enhance the system and changes in school
performance evaluation (Szeto, 2020).
Today, the Hong Kong government provides 12 years of free education covering primary
and secondary levels through its public school network. In the preschool segment, the
government runs a voucher scheme to offer financial assistance to those who are eligible. In
school year 2018/19, the voucher value was at HK$24,150 (US$3,096; Hong Kong Education
Bureau, 2018). In 2019, there were a total of 1,049 kindergartens in Hong Kong (Hong Kong
Education Bureau, 2021a). All of them were privately operated, and 761 of them received
government aid. There were 455 primary and 392 secondary government schools in Hong Kong
that follow a government recommended curriculum, serving 557,199 students. In the private
sector, there were 88 primary and 79 secondary schools that are allowed to offer a more flexible
local curriculum in 2019. Also, there were 44 primary and 33 secondary schools offering an
international curriculum in Hong Kong.
Primary and Secondary Schools
To allow for differentiation in a rather unified education system, the Hong Kong
government launched the School Management Initiative and the Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS)
in Hong Kong in the 1990s, although both were controversial (Wong & Kwan, 2019). Prior to
13

these innovations, schools in Hong Kong were categorized into public, aided, and private. The
government aimed to encourage more innovations and create more options for parents through
this DSS scheme. In the wake of the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to Mainland China, the
publicly-funded schools were vetted and filtered into English as Medium Instruction (EMI) and
Chinese as Medium Instruction schools according to student capacity, teacher capacity, and
school strategies. Because of the perceived brighter career prospect of an EMI education, schools
in the EMI group saw much stronger demand (Wong & Kwan, 2019). Since the DSS schools
were designed to be a place for innovations in education, the government allowed for more
autonomy and flexibility in terms of student recruitment, staff, and teaching arrangements at
these schools. For example, they were exempted from the medium of instruction policy, which
means they could choose their preferred medium and that made these DSS schools very popular.
While creative pedagogies might have been the focus of the Hong Kong government, Wong and
Kwan’s survey (2019) of 910 parents in Hong Kong showed that parents opted for the DSS
schools for their EMI curricula rather than their education innovations.
The DSS schools employ a “user pays” principle and the most elite schools charge as
much as HK$78,000-98,000 a year when the median household monthly income from main
employment in Hong Kong was at HK$25,600 in 2016 (Wong & Kwan, 2019). Wong’s survey
results showed that those with monthly household income of over HK$40,000 were more than
seven times more likely than parents earning HK$10,000 a month or less to consider DSS
schools (Wong & Kwan, 2019). This does not seem to go in line with the government’s objective
for the DSS schools, which is “to inject more variety into our school system and to enhance
parental choice” (Hong Kong Education Bureau, 2021b) if only the higher income families can
enjoy these choices. As of September 2020, there were 71 DSS schools in Hong Kong (including
14

50 secondary, 12 primary, and 9 secondary-cum-primary) out of a total of 1,091 primary and
secondary schools in Hong Kong (Hong Kong Education Bureau, 2021b). A seat at DSS schools
is highly sought-after by high SES families in Hong Kong, and this reinforces the wealth and
education inequity in the city.
International schools in Hong Kong, however, mostly serve the ex-patriot (“expat”) and
the very high-income population (Dvir et al., 2018). In 2019, 23,156 or 6% of the total primary
school population and 17,977 or 5% of the total day secondary school population in Hong Kong
were enrolled in international schools (Hong Kong Education Bureau, 2021a). These
international options were originally designed to serve an increasingly globalized world with a
migrant population relocating on a frequent basis, which made standardized international
curricula much less disruptive for their children.
However, the international path has also become an alternative way to enhance English
proficiency, to gain sanctuary from the intensely competitive mainstream education, and to
obtain an internationally-recognized qualification for higher education for those who are able to
afford it (Lee et al., 2021). Of the 67 International Baccalaureate (IB) schools in Hong Kong in
2020, around one-third of them were under the English Schools Foundation that was established
under the colonial era to serve the English-speaking families. The rest were mostly private
international schools that are affiliated with certain overseas education systems or were
independent. There were also nine local schools that provided the International Baccalaureate
diploma programmes (IBDP) under the DSS and they were among the most prestigious locally,
which were mostly EMI schools serving the local upper-middle class (Lee et al., 2021). This
adds another layer of stratification to the education system in Hong Kong. The tuition fees for
students taking the IBDP are considerably higher than those taking the local standard
15

examination Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE), the difference can be 23%
at the prestigious St Paul’s Co-educational College. The IBDP and HKDSE students are also
separated within the same schools. Moreover, graduates from local IB programs were found to
be over-represented at the elite local universities (Hui & Yap, 2018). An online undergraduate
survey found that IBDP alumni’s self-perceived capacities in communication, creativity, critical
thinking, cultural sensitivity, leadership etc were higher than the non-IBDP alumni (Wright &
Lee, 2020). As such, there are layers of school system stratification in Hong Kong, which
overlay and exacerbate the education and wealth inequality.
Higher Education System
In the financial year 2018/19, the Hong Kong government spent a total of HK$108 billion
(US$13.85 billion) on education (Hong Kong Education Bureau, 2021a), which is equivalent to
20% of total government expenditure or 3.8% of total GDP. The recurring budget allocation was
at HK$85 billion (US$10.97 billions) in financial year 2018/19, which was 68% above the
financial year 2009/10 allocation. However, the increased spending has been allocated mostly to
primary and secondary education. The recurring budget allocation of HK$85 billion was largely
spent on secondary levels, which accounted for 33% of the total, 23% on primary levels, and
18% on preschools, special education, vocational and professional education, and bureau
support. Tertiary education only represented 26% of the budget. According to UNESCO (World
Bank, 2020c), Hong Kong government expenditure per tertiary student as a percentage of GDP
per capita has decreased from 63% in 2004 to 24% in 2018 in Hong Kong. The declining budget
was due in part to the massification of higher education and influenced by private spending. The
current situation is in contrast to the early days in Hong Kong when the higher education system
was designed and built as a rather elitist product.
16

Admissions Exam
Hong Kong’s university admission examination system can be traced back to 1913 when
a matriculation examination was introduced for secondary students to get into The University of
Hong Kong, which was established 2 years prior (Tang et al., 2000). An English standard
admission exam was introduced in 1937, while a Chinese version was launched in 1952. The
University of Hong Kong, 2 years later, followed the dominant UK model and adopted the
Advanced and Ordinary Level examinations for secondary students. The English and Chinese
standard exams were merged in 1974 to form the Hong Kong Certificate of Education
Examination (HKCEE) for schools to select secondary 5 graduates to advance to secondary 6
and 7. The Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE) was shortly set up for tertiary
institutions to select students.
Policymakers started reviewing the education system after the return of Hong Kong to
Chinese sovereignty in 1997 amid increasing globalization and changing needs in a knowledge
economy (Forestier et al., 2016). The government’s study cited that the existing system created
excessive competition, with only around one-third of the age group managing to get to secondary
6 and 7 and eventually to the HKALE. This led to a radical education reform that changed the
system into 3 years of junior secondary, 3 years of senior secondary, one single standard
examination named HKDSE and followed by 4-years of undergraduate studies. This is in
contrast to the colonial system of two levels of examinations and 3 years of undergraduate. As a
result, all students now can finish secondary school, with 86% of students who entered in
Secondary 1 in 2009 completed Secondary 6 in 2014 (Forestier et al., 2016).
Table 1 shows the impact of the change in the school system, which has helped to boost
the completion rate of secondary education. In the 1990s, only around one-third of students from
17

secondary 5 could get into secondary 6 through the HKCEE. The HKALE further filtered access
of students from secondary 7 into the regular undergraduate programs at the respectable UGC-
funded universities. As the system changed from the British 3-2-2-3 system with 2 years of A-
Level education and 3 years of university to a 3-3-4 system with 3 years of senior secondary
education and 4 years of university, the enrolment for secondary 7 fell sharply. Students are now
completing high school at secondary 6. Due to increased capacity at university as well as a
shrinking high school population, a rising percentage of high school students are going into
tertiary education in Hong Kong.

Table 1
Senior Secondary School Enrolments and Undergraduate Graduating Class for the Respective
Years in Hong Kong
1993* 1996* 1999 2011 2015 2019
UGC-funded university
undergraduate graduating class
8169 13806 14600 17599 19602 21450
Secondary 7 enrolment 23146 25522 28207 31799 2210 2429
Secondary 6 enrolment 27606 27583 30041 72628 59835 48824
Secondary 5 enrolment 73346 74841 81639 77371 58512 49690
* There were only 7 UGC-funded schools at the time
Note. From the Hong Kong Education Bureau, 2021. Copyright by Census and Statistics
Department 2021.

18

The eight major universities in Hong Kong are funded by the government, as advised by
the UGC. The committee was established as a non-statutory advisory body in 1965, advising the
government on the development and funding of higher education in Hong Kong and monitoring
the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the universities. The government allocates recurrent
grants to the eight UGC-funded universities in the form of a block grant, usually on a triennial
basis, to match with the academic planning cycle. These eight UGC universities are as follows in
alphabetical order:
1. City University of Hong Kong (CityU)
2. Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU)
3. Lingnan University (LU)
4. The CUHK
5. The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK)
6. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)
7. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)
8. The University of Hong Kong (HKU)
There are two other financially self-supporting universities, Hong Kong Shue Yan
University and The Open University of Hong Kong: 18 private post-secondary institutions, and
six industry-specific training institutions in Hong Kong covering construction, clothing,
hospitality, dentistry, performing arts, and others. In the professional and vocational education
space, there is a growing emphasis on education rather than occupational training, and on
outcomes and assessment (Tam, 2013). In line with the education reforms worldwide, driven by
globalization and rising needs for sustainable economic growth, Hong Kong also had an increase
19

in industry-specific qualifications framework through accreditation, and system alignments to
make learning attainments transferable across platforms and sectors.
Self-Financed Sub-Degree Programs and Educational Inequity
The higher education sector in Hong Kong has restructured substantially from elite to
mass higher education since the introduction of education reform in 2000, but the impact of the
outcomes is debatable. Gross tertiary enrolment rate is computed based on total enrolment,
regardless of age, to the population of the age group that officially corresponds to the level of
tertiary education (World Bank, 2020e). This ratio has jumped from 32% in 2003 to 81% in 2019
in Hong Kong (World Bank, 2020e), bringing the city from a mass level of higher education of
16-50% to a universal level of higher education, which is above 50% (Trow, 1973). The higher
education participation rate in Hong Kong has partially been lifted by private sub-degree
programs (S. Lee, 2016) that have been strategically expanded since the 2000s, are not equally
accessible for all, and have limited impact on upward social mobility.
Enrolment in full-time, self-financed sub-degree programs has grown from less than
10,000 in school year 2001/02 to 36,000 in school year 2019/20 (Concourse for Self-financing
Post-secondary Education, 2020b; S. Lee, 2016). Instead of increasing the number of publicly-
funded degree programs, the government has encouraged private investments in higher
education. This has helped to preserve the selectivity and prestige of the public programs and add
capacity to the higher education segment. As such, it has lifted the higher education participation
rate in Hong Kong, without putting additional burden on the government budget. However, the
additional capacity that was coming from the private segment did not provide equal access to
economic opportunities for all because these self-financed sub-degrees are not equally valued in
the job market.
20

Students of low SES in Hong Kong often find themselves marginalized into sub-degree
programs, including AD and HD, that are often self-financed. A comparison of the 1991 and
2011 statistics found that the low-SES families had a lower chance of getting into the regular 3-
year undergraduate programs in 2011 than in 1991 (S. Lee, 2016). Meanwhile, government
expenditure per tertiary student as a percentage of GDP per capita has decreased from 63% in
2004 to 24% in 2018 in Hong Kong (World Bank, 2020c). Moreover, the job market premium of
the sub-degree programs has been diminishing (S. Lee, 2016). The average annual salary of a
graduate from a regular 3-year undergraduate program was at HK$160,000, only 3% higher than
a graduate from a sub-degree program in the school year 2000/01. This gap has since widened to
19% in the school year 2018/19 (UGC, 2021). Therefore, students from low-SES families often
get marginalized into paying more to receive higher education, but the returns of the type of
programs they are more likely to get into are falling behind the regular undergraduate programs
that are government subsidized.
As the economic returns of a sub-degree have declined, student recruitment at sub-degree
programs has seen some pressure. Wong et al. (2016) found that students tend to have a more
pragmatic approach when selecting sub-degree programs, focusing on articulation, career
services, financial aid, and program design. The outcomes also can vary across majors and
disciplines. Sub-degree engineering program graduates self-reported larger gains in capabilities
than marketing and sociology program graduates (Lee, 2014). As such, sub-degree program
leadership needs to take a more holistic view of their offerings to cater to the demands of
students who plan to leverage a sub-degree to land a job or get into a UGC-funded university
degree program. So far, Kember (2010) noted, the results are unclear and to facilitate the
transition into a degree program, some colleges have started to partner with overseas universities
21

to establish top-up degree programs. Nevertheless, the perception of these partnerships is still
inferior because these programs start off with a sub-degree program and the overseas universities
that offer the top-up portion are usually lowly ranked. In addition, to preserve their prestige, the
UGC-funded universities often make it clear that their top-up degree programs are different from
their regular undergraduate degrees. The silver lining is that some research has found that these
sub-degree programs can offer a rejuvenated sense of support for those students who have
experienced major academic failures, leading them to personal growth and satisfaction, and in
some cases a new academic path (Lee, 2014). The school system in Hong Kong continues to
show signs of stratification in both K-12 and higher education levels. Moreover, this continues
on as young people venture out into the job market.
Wealth Inequality in Hong Kong
The wealth disparity in Hong Kong has an impact on the equality of access to educational
resources and opportunities, which reinforces social immobility and intergenerational inequity.
The Gini coefficient, which indicates the extent of disparity in household income, is computed
based on the comparison of cumulative proportions of the population against cumulative
proportions of income they receive. It ranges between 0 in the case of perfect equality and 1 in
the case of an extremely high level of inequality. The ratio has grown from 0.451 in 1981, 0.476
in 1991, 0.525 in 2001, 0.537 in 2011, to 0.539 in 2016 in Hong Kong (HKSAR Census and
Statistics Department, 1991, 2011, 2016).
Sky-high property prices in Hong Kong have been cited as a key reason for disparity and
deprivation in Hong Kong (Wong & Chan, 2019). While income level heavily impacts the
deprivation level of households; housing cost per capita, living area per capita, and living quarter
problems also exacerbate the situation. The real wage index has increased by 5% between 2004
22

and 2021, while the Centaline private second-hand housing index constructed by leading
property agency Centaline in Hong Kong jumped by over 370% during the same period
(Centaline Property, 2021; HKSAR Census and Statistics Department, 2021) and the HKSAR
Private Domestic Price Index also saw a six-fold increase from 69.5 to 393.7 (HKSAR Rating
and Valuation Department, 2021). This explains the growing wealth inequality and the
frustration of the mass population. Those who have wealth can afford to leverage their existing
assets and further invest in more properties, which supports the demand side of the property
market and keeps prices at a high level. Those who do not yet have assets continue to struggle,
leading to intergenerational wealth inequality. Figure 1 shows the Centaline private second-hand
housing index and the real wage index in Hong Kong.

Figure 1
Hong Kong Real Wage Index Versus Housing Index

23

Around 45% of Hong Kong’s population resides in public housing (HKSAR Transport
and Housing Bureau, 2020). Households residing in public rental housing had an average living
area per capita of 13.4 square meters, which is smaller than an average parking space of 16.7
square meters in the United States. For private housing, the average monthly rent of flats less
than 70 square meters was HK$425 per square meter on Hong Kong Island, HK$345 per square
meter in Kowloon, and HK$263 per square meter in the New Territories. These are hefty
compared to the median monthly income per capita of HK$18,400 in May-June 2020 (HKSAR
Census and Statistics Department, 2021). For a single person who is willing to live farther from
the core business districts of Hong Kong in the New Territories and allocate 36% of monthly
income on housing, which is in line with the average household expenditure pattern in Hong
Kong, they can only afford a 25-square-meter space.
The housing challenge in Hong Kong is not only an economic issue, but also a social and
psychological issue. Resources deprivation is a form of poverty that presents an observable
disadvantage (Wong & Chan, 2019). Because housing is perceived as a daily necessity, the lack
of such ownership can be felt as deprivation. Housing serves as a place to interact and maintain
interpersonal relationships (King, 2015). It also affects social participation and access to products
and services (Izuhara & Forrest, 2013), and neighborhoods often affect social networks and
access to other resources. There is a strong correlation between income level and educational
attainment across districts in Hong Kong (O’Sullivan & Tsang, 2015).
Current Social Trends
The social movements in recent years in Hong Kong may be traced back to growing
wealth inequality (Dieter, 2020). Major protests and chaos broke out in Hong Kong in June 2019,
as triggered by discussions around the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in
24

Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 in Hong Kong (Extradition Bill; Shek,
2020). The level of violence and vandalism involved in this social unrest, which lasted until the
COVID-19 pandemic hit the city in January 2020, was extensive and astonishing in recent Hong
Kong history. Shek (2020) argued that the extradition bill was only a trigger and the large
number of people involved and the span of 8 months signalled that there were deeper social
issues. He suggested ten potential pre-existing factors, namely distrust in the Central
Government, lack of national identity, political dissatisfaction, economic strains, mental health
threats, drop in family quality of life, lack of life skills education, lack of evidence-based
national education in the formal curriculum, slow response of the Government, and alleged
excessive use of force by the police (Shek, 2020). Many of these pre-existing factors are
interrelated with the lack of life skills education, leading to more economic strains, more mental
issues, and a decline in the family quality of life. There is a large group of the population left
behind amid Hong Kong’s strong economic development in the past decades (Peng et al., 2020).
This may be reflected in Hong Kong’s ranking on the World Happiness Index. The
World Happiness Index was a collaboration among the Earth Institute at Columbia University,
the Centre for Economic Performance’s research support at the London School of Economics,
and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, through their grants supporting research at
the Vancouver School of Economics at the University of British Columbia. It is based on a
number of data including the Gallup World Poll, which is unique in the range and comparability
of its global series of annual surveys. Hong Kong ranked 66
th
on the World Happiness Index in
2021 (United Nations, 2021), down from 60
th
in the 2017-19 ranking. It ranked behind many
poorer countries such as Colombia, Bulgaria, Nigeria, and Ghana. Living in a rich society does
25

not directly translate into happiness in life. Rather, the issue of subjective poverty is especially
important in a high-income society like Hong Kong (Peng et al., 2020).
Solving economic poverty alone is insufficient to tackle the issue of subjective poverty in
Hong Kong. In 2014, 14.5% were living under deprivation which is defined as the lack of two or
more of the 14 essential items in Hong Kong (HKSCC, 2014). Peng et al. (2020) summarized a
number of factors that are associated with subjective poverty. Economic status, such as
household income and economic poverty, is an important predictor of subjective poverty.
People’s perception of their living quality is also key here and that involves having sufficient
financial resources to cover their cost of meals, utility bills, housing, and health and educational
expenditures. Other factors include educational attainment, employment status, marital status,
health status, migrant status, household composition, housing condition, receipt of financial
assistance, neighborhood characteristics, and social capital. Peng found that having a secondary
school level of education, being a public or private rental tenant, and having self-rated poor
health increases the probability of subjective poverty regardless of economic poverty. Therefore,
several policy initiatives, including improving the career prospects of the secondary-educated,
enhancing the mobility outcomes of public rental tenants, and reducing the rent-to-income ratio
of private rental tenants, could contribute to alleviating subjective poverty (Peng et al., 2020).
Psychological and social factors are also important in people’s subjective assessment of
their well-being (Chan & Wong, 2020). The derivative impact of low income on subjective
poverty is almost half in magnitude of the direct impact. Chan and Wong’s (2020) study showed
that households in Hong Kong felt poor not only because of their income level (direct impact),
but also because of the material deprivation and social exclusion caused by their income level
(derivative impact). Deprivation showed a larger influence on the elderly, while social exclusion
26

had a larger impact on the younger group. This is in line with what has been observed with the
recent social movements, which saw more vocal support from the young people in Hong Kong.
The young people who received welfare from the government have lower life satisfaction than
those in less economically disadvantaged positions (Shek, 2008; Shek & Liu, 2014). As such, in
addition to economic policies, material support to the poor and social and emotional support are
also recommended to alleviate the impact of subjective poverty, deprivation, and social exclusion
(Chan & Wong, 2020).
Wong (2011) took a subsample of 11,777 households in the 2006 By-Census obtained
from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department and identified 3,691 young adults aged
19 to 28 who lived with at least one parent as his final dataset for analysis. He noted the
intergenerational transmission of poverty. In his subsample 17.6% of the young adults were born
in mainland China, and so were around half of their parents. Their parents were more likely to
have had a lower level of education and the evidence showed that their children were also more
likely to have a lower level of both educational attainment and income.
Intergenerational economic transmission among high earners remains persistently strong
but the bottom and middle quintiles saw improvements in intergenerational mobility (Peng et al.,
2019). Peng also did a study on the “intergenerational elasticity” (IGE), which captures the
average percentage change in the sons’ earnings linked to a 1% change in the fathers’ earnings in
Hong Kong. After controlling for a son’s educational attainment, his father’s earnings had a
higher influence on the son’s earnings in 1996 than in 2006 or 2016. However, the correlation is
higher for sons with higher-earnings and lower for those in lower-income brackets. For those in
the bottom or middle quantile of the income scale, education mediates most of the correlation
between fathers’ and sons’ earnings. While the “Hong Kong Dream” was being questioned in the
27

local community, Peng’s study concluded that it was the reproduction of wealth not the
reproduction of poverty that supported the intergenerational immobility. Complicating the
economic resources disparity and current social trends is the overall role of education. The return
of non-degree higher education is relatively low, only 13% higher than high school graduates,
while the degree tertiary education also saw the average return falling from 70% to 42% between
1996 and 2006 (Peng et al., 2019). The shrinking return of higher education therefore further
restrains the potential of upward mobility for lower SES families.
Educational Resources ’ Disparity
SES affects access to education at different levels, such as directly through the financial
resources available and indirectly through family education including the amount of parental
time allocated to children and parental awareness of health-promoting behaviors (Cheung, 2017;
Cvetković et al., 2014; Desai & Alva, 1998). Researchers have found that differences in SES
have led to academic achievement gaps among children (Baird, 2012). Even at kindergarten
levels, children with more educated parents and children from families with higher incomes in
Hong Kong tend to participate in more extra-curricular activities, which offer children additional
opportunities for positive development (Lau & Cheng, 2016). Meanwhile, government
expenditure on education as a percentage of total government expenditure has decreased from
22.4% in 2001 to 20.3% in 2019 in Hong Kong (World Bank, 2020c). This puts more financial
pressure on lower-income households. While there are many educational resources disparities,
this discussion focuses on the achievement gaps and the private tutoring market.
Achievement Gaps
Using mathematics scores of students as an indicator, Baird (2012) investigated
achievement gaps between low and high SES students in 19 high-income economies globally
28

using the Oaxaca model. The Oaxaca model is commonly used in racial and gender studies, and
Baird applied this methodology to quantify the extent to which average mathematics test-score
gaps between low and high SES students can be explained by differences in each groups’
average teacher, school, and class characteristics such as teachers’ years of experience and
educational attainment, class size, and schools’ mathematics curriculum – which she referred to
as school-level resources (Baird, 2012). In Hong Kong, differences in school-level resources
available to students from different SES backgrounds explained 48-62% of the achievement gap
based on her model.
Baird ran her model multiple ways to test the different variables. Overall, the school-level
resources explained 59% of the achievement gap between low and high SES students in Hong
Kong. To control for the possibility that low-SES students might be more responsive to school
resources, Baird also ran the model just on the low-SES students and the results showed school
resources accounted for 62% of the achievement gap. To further test for the consistency of the
results, Baird categorized the students into high achievers and low achievers, each at about half
of the sample size, to account for the different level of motivation and ability. A third run of the
model showed that school resources explained 48% of the achievement gap among the high
achievers. Baird concluded that the results suggested that improving the quality of schools that
low-SES students attend should help to narrow the achievement gap in Hong Kong.
Private Tutoring
Hong Kong also has an intense private tutoring culture. According to statistics from the
Education Bureau, there were 2,957 schools offering tutorial, vocational, and adult education
courses in Hong Kong in the school year 2019/20 (Hong Kong Education Bureau, 2021a). It is
easy to spot advertisements of tutoring services and star-tutors on billboards, buses, subway
29

stations, and online. A survey in 2009 of 521 students in Hong Kong found that 72.5% of upper
primary students had received tutoring (Ngai & Cheung, 2010). Another survey of 1,646 students
in 16 secondary schools found that 53.8% of Grade 9 students and 71.8% of Grade 12 students
were receiving tutoring (Bray, 2013). A study on the private tutoring culture of Hong Kong as
well as Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, and Mauritius by Bray (2003) for UNESCO found that
private tutoring can lead to complex social issues. Higher income families tend to leverage
private tutoring and other measures to maintain their social superiority, while lower-income
families try to use private tutoring to gain social mobility through the examination system.
However, due to affordability, the higher income families tend to pay a premium and engage in
one-to-one and small-group tutoring, which may take place at home, while the lower-income
families opt for mass-produced forms of tutoring. Bray argues that tutoring maintains and
exacerbates social stratification (Bray, 2006). Not only is wealth inequality deteriorating in Hong
Kong, education which has served as a path for upward mobility is also no longer an easy and
straight-forward route.
Career Planning Options and Barriers for College Students
In Hong Kong, career guidance and counselling services had historically been focused on
information dissemination prior to the education reform in 2000 (Yuen et al., 2019). Programs at
secondary schools were usually one-way, mostly as career talks and group visits, and they tended
to be short-term focused such as picking courses for the following year or preparing for a job
interview. There was not a holistic career education planning until the education reform which
highlighted lifelong learning and learning skills.
The launch of the New Academic Structure in 2009 with a redesigned senior secondary
curriculum and the new HKDSE at the completion of the secondary-level studies added more
30

flexibility for students and options for them to connect to international education systems, for
example, in Mainland China and Taiwan. One of the learning goals under the new curriculum
was “to understand their own career/academic aspirations and develop positive attitudes toward
work and learning” (Curriculum Development Council, 2009). As such, career education has
since been an area of focus starting at senior secondary level. Schools started introducing a
research-based career guidance curriculum and the government also required secondary schools
to have at least two professionally trained career teachers as coordinators of career and life
planning (CLP) initiatives (Yuen et al., 2019). The quality of the execution of these initiatives,
however, varies. A study in 2016 based on surveys found that there was no clear evidence that
the instrumental goals of the new life planning and career guidance policy were met (Ho &
Leung, 2016). Some schools used the CLP budget on other unrelated work, while others
outsourced the work to non-governmental organizations. Meanwhile, there were also success
stories such as mentorship programs and peer counselling (Wong et al., 2016) at secondary
schools that connected students and alumni, creating a strong support system, and summer career
schemes that offered on-site training and job placement opportunities to prepare students for
their career and help them better understand their interests and goals.
Higher education institutions also play a role in helping college students plan their career
and explore options and opportunities. Arnold (2014) suggested that career exploration produces
positive career development outcomes among college and university students, through career
decision self-efficacy and additional information which has increased over time. It was also
associated with career support, especially from teachers. However, career exploration did not
promote career decidedness, which was defined as how decided one was about their career
choice. As Hong Kong started to see massification of higher education, career support at tertiary
31

levels became increasingly vital (Arnold, 2014). University career services, such as education
programs, internships, and individual counselling, needed to be in place to support career
exploration. Moreover, Arnold suggested that guided reflection on vocational identity and
discussion on progress toward career decision-making would strengthen the career exploration
efforts.
A study of Mainland Chinese master’s students in Hong Kong (Li & Jung, 2021) can help
to highlight the role of higher education institutions in career planning. The students did not
participate in the career programs at secondary schools in Hong Kong. They did not have strong
social ties in the local community in Hong Kong and had to explore career options in a foreign
society amid various barriers such as language and culture. Li and Jung (2021) summarized that
there were four key career support needs by these Mainland Chinese students from the
institutions: (a) relevant career information, (b) relational networks such as mentorship
programs, (c) technical skills training such as Cantonese dialect and industry-specific systems
and programs, and (d) practical experience such as work-based learning activities. The quality of
institutions’ career services and graduates’ career prospects are named to be key decision factors
when students choose programs (Ho & Law, 2020). Therefore, pragmatically, higher education
institutions, especially those more vocational- than research-driven, often highlight career
support as part of their student recruitment and institutional marketing campaigns. Some schools
have gone further to offer career courses. Pre- and post-assessment based on self-reported
measures for one of these courses at a public university in Hong Kong found that the career
course increased the participants’ levels of career exploration and amount of occupational
information (Cheung & Jin, 2016). The course also had a positive effect on the career support
that students felt they received from teachers and families.
32

Students From Lower SES Families
SES and family capital or resources also play a key role in career search and development
(Ho et al., 2018). The Hong Kong government started highlighting career development as a
major aim of secondary education starting in 2009, and in 2011, the Education Bureau further
refined and shifted the paradigm from career guidance to life planning education. Ho et al.
(2018) analysed PISA 2012 data of a sample of 4,670 students in Hong Kong and found positive
correlation between SES and self-reported career and educational search competencies (CESC),
largely due to differences in cultural possessions and home educational resources. This confirms
that low-SES students are at a disadvantaged position in terms of career development, which
supports the intergenerational transmission of poverty.
Mok (2016) studied emerging trends in the Greater China region, with a particular focus
on Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Taipei, and argued that the massification of higher education
has not necessarily led to more occupational opportunities for youth or opportunities for upward
social movement. Instead, the intensifying competition seems to reflect growing social
inequality. The higher education credential may have helped some low-SES students with little
social capital to move up, but for most, the massification of higher education only came with
more competition, differentiation in returns to degrees by institution and field of study, and over-
qualification in certain fields.
In Hong Kong, the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Centre for Greater China
Studies at the Hong Kong Institute of Education, the Roundtable Community, and Powersoft
Consultancy Limited conducted a survey of 500 young adults aged between 18 and 34 by
telephone on a random basis with a response rate of 63% (Mok, 2016); 51.9% percent agreed and
26.0% strongly agreed that the opportunities for upward social mobility among college students
33

were decreasing, while only 3.9% disagreed and 1.3% strongly disagreed. The rest of the 16.9%
of students had no opinion. Many felt the current system was unfair, and 69.6% agreed that
enrolment in preferred secondary and primary schools was crucial for personal growth but
almost half believed that the student admission policies at primary and secondary schools were
unfair. Almost 75% agreed that those with parents who were businesspeople or professionals had
a competitive advantage in terms of career opportunities and over half agreed that social capital,
notably family background and relationships, were important for university graduates getting
jobs.
However, Ho et al. (2018) also found evidence that various types of career and
educational exploratory activities (CEEA) could enhance CESC despite socioeconomic
background. This suggests that policies and programs by schools, governments, and the business
sectors can help to alleviate the education and career inequality caused by skewed wealth
distribution.
Role of Social Capital and Psychology in Career Planning Choices
In a metropolitan city such as Hong Kong, wealth inequality often affects information
flows and social capital (C. Lee, 2016; Spring, 2015), which further reinforce inequity in
education and career development opportunities (Ho et al., 2018), leading to low social mobility
and inequity across generations. It can be especially difficult for newly migrated families, which
have been a key source of population growth in Hong Kong after World War II (Wong, 2011). In
2012, only 61% of Hong Kong’s population was born in Hong Kong, with 32% born in mainland
China or Macau and the remaining 7% in other places (Kennedy, 2014). The early immigrants
during the 1960-80s faced abundant social opportunities when Hong Kong was enjoying high
economic growth. However, as economic growth started slowing down and capital markets
34

began to play a bigger role, social mobility started to become stagnant. This poses challenges for
lower SES groups, recent immigrants, and second-generation immigrants (Wong, 2011).
Ngai et al. (2014) found that contextual influences, such as lower levels of parental
involvement and lack of opportunities for further education or skill development, have
constrained the establishment and pursuit of educational and career goals for young people from
low-income families. They studied 50 young people with an average age of 22 from low-income
families in Hong Kong to investigate their experiences and identify barriers and facilitators of
their life development. Only 12% were attending post-secondary education, while only 12% of
those who found work were employed through fixed-term contracts in the fields of social
welfare, education, fashion design, business, and maintenance services. Meanwhile, 56%
reported that they landed inadequate low-skilled jobs with low pay, and the remaining 20% were
unemployed while actively seeking work. The research studied the role of service use and
supportive interactions with parents and non-family adults, as well as intrapersonal agency and
coping styles between youths who were attending further education or engaged in jobs with
career advancement opportunities and those who were not. While the low SES affected the
whole sample group, the ones who were either pursuing further studies or who landed fixed-term
contract jobs indicated more connections with adults in the community through their current
education or work settings. They were actively building their networks and social capital. In
contrast, the unemployed ones were mostly excluded socially and reported a lack of extra-
familial connections. The former groups also tended to be self-reliant and engaged in a more
active instrumental coping style, while the latter who saw exclusion from home, school, and
community supported a sense of passivity and hopelessness.
35

Existing literature shows that schools serve as a place to nurture social capital.
Connections can be developed within the institutions and subsequently through alumni networks
and resources. This institutional social capital can have a direct impact on employment
experiences from landing the first job to future promotions as well as social mobility (Hall, 2011;
Lee & Brinton, 1996; Waters, 2009; Waters & Leung, 2013).
Psychological factors also play an important role in career development. The Career
Adapt-Abilities Scale was developed by a team of vocational psychologists from 18 countries to
measure four aspects of career adaptability: concern, control, curiosity, and confidence (Hui et
al., 2018a). Hui et al. (2018a) applied the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale–China Form (CAAS-
China) with 522 Hong Kong Chinese undergraduates and found self-esteem a key factor
associated with career adaptability. It was expressed as self-acceptance and self-knowledge
which helped students transition from school to work. Social support also strengthened
university transition (Lau et al., 2018) and career adaptability through the build-up of self-
esteem. In a Chinese society, filial piety also influences career adaptability. It is a traditional
value that is well-respected and embedded in Chinese culture, and the hierarchical parent-child
relationship continues to influence individuals throughout their lifespan and at key decision-
making times. The study concluded that despite a higher level of Westernization in Hong Kong
due to its colonial history and commercial focus, students in Hong Kong are still influenced by
filial piety when they decide on a career path (Hui et al., 2018b). There was empirical support to
show that this filial piety came more from reciprocal piety that is gratitude-based than from
authoritarian piety that is submissive-based (Hui et al., 2018b).

36

Mainland Chinese College Students in Hong Kong
The Mainland Chinese student population in Hong Kong is also an interesting group to
investigate. In school year 2020/21, they accounted for 13% of the total enrolments at Hong
Kong’s UGC-funded schools. Despite its proximity, Hong Kong is an international city that has
been managed in a “One-country, Two-system” framework after the handover. As such, it
usually takes Mainland Chinese students some adaptation efforts, from socio-cultural to
psychological to academic, as they settle in Hong Kong universities (Ganotice et al., 2020).
Lingling (2015) studied the characteristics of student mobility between Mainland China and
Hong Kong and the internal and external European borders against a background of the
internationalisation of higher education worldwide, and noted the inequalities brought by the
spatial mobility and the linguistic practices of migrant students and the implications on identities
as well as the stereotypical perceptions by the host community. These inequalities then affect the
social network and circle of these cross-border students, further weakening their efforts to
accumulate social capital. Ganotice et al. (2020) studied the differences in motivation and the
eventual adaptation, or the psychological aspect to career planning. Those who chose to go to
Hong Kong because of preservation factor, defined as driven by avoiding some conditions in
their home country, tended to see more challenges with socio-cultural and psychological
adaptation as well as self-assessed academic adaptation. On the other hand, those who chose to
go to Hong Kong for self-development opportunities saw more positive psychological adaptation
and institutional and goal commitment (Ganotice et al., 2020). Motivation is key. Yang et al.
(2011) studied 214 undergraduate students in Hong Kong, who studied or engaged in overseas
internships or volunteer work in 20 countries. Their findings also confirmed that study abroad
37

goals motivated students to engage in experiences that were likely to enhance their intercultural,
career, and personal competencies.
Cross-Border Career Opportunities in Mainland China
While some prefer to cross the border from Mainland China to Hong Kong to pursue a
wider range of education opportunities, the reverse direction may be at work for career
development opportunities. While the early immigrants during the 1960s to 1980s faced
abundant career opportunities when Hong Kong was enjoying high economic growth, later
generations were not as lucky, as economic growth started normalizing. Today’s Hong Kong
may see the next wave of new opportunities for economic development and job openings as the
Central Government promotes the GBA development. The GBA consists of the two special
administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau and nine cities in Guangdong province in
China. The goal is to deepen cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau, facilitate
integration within the region, and promote coordinated regional economic development. The
total area of the GBA is around 56 000 square kilometers

with a total population of over 86
million and GDP at US$1,668.8 billion in 2020 (Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau,
2021).
Amid such a major regional development initiative, business-major college students
should consider opportunities outside Hong Kong for a brighter career outlook and more upward
mobility. They should improve their self-exploration awareness and be more proactive in seeking
resources to explore suitable career paths and employment opportunities (Lian & Feng, 2021).
The business sector is actively looking for investment projects in the region and this should open
up many career options for young people in the region. The local governments in the region are
introducing policies, incentives, and programs to encourage businesses and young people to tap
38

into the GBA opportunities, although some research also point out that the Central Government’s
plan to create this city-cluster and enable free flow of goods and services may come with
competition among cities and hiccups along the journey (Yu, 2021). Higher education
institutions from around the region have also worked closely to create exchange and
entrepreneurial programs. Learning from recent economic developments in Hong Kong, whereby
the skewed income growth resulted in deteriorating wealth and education inequity, the Hong
Kong government should ensure that these new regional opportunities can be fairly captured by
low-SES students.
Theoretical Framework
The social capital and the social cognitive career development theories provide useful
lenses to analyse the challenges lower SES students in Hong Kong face when they transition
from college to the job market.
Theory of Social Capital
Social capital refers to how capital, such as knowledge, information, or resources, is
transferred through networks and relationships (Park, 2012). Lin (1999) suggests that strong ties
may effectively preserve resources, but weak ties may enable access to resources that are not
available through strong ties. Strong ties are usually formed among family members and close
friends, and they are thus closed networks. Lower SES high school students may not have access
to the same information flow and the same ties as higher SES students and families. This may
have an influence on how they explore tertiary education options, which have a long-term impact
on their career development.
Social networks can create possibilities. However, the construction of such networks, for
example with institutional agents such as teachers, mentors, and community leaders, may be
39

more difficult for some groups (Stanton-Salazar, 1997). In such case, the ability to build
relationships and form networks with agents, who have the capacity to transmit institutional
resources from funding to knowledge of opportunities, is a form of social capital. Social
structures can facilitate or limit the flow of social capital (Coleman, 1988). They can set
obligations and expectations, and those who do not follow these norms may become outsiders.
Communities are often one way to form social capital. Some communities such as school
alumni networks may be more exclusive, while others such as religious communities may be
more inclusive and hence allow for interclass interaction and information flow (Park, 2012).
Research has found that social capital in different forms can be transmitted intergenerationally,
for example, how parental education and economic resources might shape the size, density, and
structure of students’ social networks (Brooks et al., 2011).
Within social organizations, expectations for normative behavior are formed. In a school
setting, social capital often refers to teacher-student and student-student relationships. Higher
SES adolescents tend to be more engaged in their peer-group activities, which in turn make them
less likely to experience rejection and isolation from peers (Eamon, 2001; Sorhagen & Wurster,
2017; Ye et al., 2020). They also tend to gain more attention from teachers, which influences the
level of peers’ liking and grouping (Hughes, 2012; Hughes et al., 2001; McLoyd, 1998; Ye et al.,
2020). In a family setting, social capital and SES also affect parental involvement and parent-
child relationships (Ge, 2020).
Research has also linked social capital to general health and well-being. Health is
influenced by demographic, socioeconomic, and behavioral factors. Therefore, social capital
plays a large role. It affects information flow, leisure time physical activities, and how people
cope with health problems (Jorge et al., 2018; Schneider et al., 2020). Moreover, social
40

expectations and perceived norms affect health-related behaviors such as crime and drinking. In
some societies, such as Iran and Taiwan, social capital has also been found to be correlated with
life satisfaction (Gilan & Zardoshtian, 2021).
Social capital also affects the acceptance of risk. Social capital relates to trust level, and
hence businesses invest in social capital, which has been found to demonstrate tangible business
benefits, such as the probability of loan approvals and the level of interest costs (Schmid &
Robison, 1995). As such, social capital is a productive asset in a business setting. The connection
and trust involved in business referrals and information flow can be very valuable for career
searching and long-term planning.
Community Cultural Wealth
In contrast to a more deficit-informed perception of social capital, Yosso (2005)
suggested that minority groups also have cultural wealth, which is just different from the form
valued by the majority of society but nonetheless a form of capital. Social capital should not be
defined by social norm. Employing the critical race theory approach which uses the racial lens to
examine social capital, Yosso highlighted six types of capital as community cultural wealth
nurtured by communities of color: aspirational, linguistic, familial, social, navigational, and
resistant capital. This therefore reframes social capital as an asset, which carries different value
in different settings.
Social Cognitive Career Development Theory
The social cognitive career development theory proposes that career choice is shaped by
one’s own expectations and career interests (Lent et al., 1994; Tang et al., 2008). Self-efficacy is
the core of this theory. Self-efficacy reconciles one’s background and interests and one’s
outcome expectations. Individual variants, such as gender and race, and contextual factors, such
41

as family SES, influence one’s learning experiences, which in turn affect self-efficacy, career
interests, outcome expectations, and eventually one’s career choice and planning. Low-SES
students may see their self-efficacy, tertiary education, and career planning influenced by their
family situation.
A key component of the social cognitive career development theory is self-efficacy,
which is people’s self-belief about their capabilities to achieve a certain level of performance.
This is often influenced by multiple factors including acculturation, ethnic identity,
conscientiousness, and social beliefs such as the role of women in society (Ali & Menke, 2014;
Flores & O’Brien, 2002). The theory suggests that self-efficacy plays a large role in one’s
vocational identity and level of motivation and engagement in career exploration.
Outcome expectations are what people believe will likely happen as a result of certain
actions. These are usually formed based on learning experiences, perceptions, and second-hand
information. The social cognitive career development theory suggests that expectations for one’s
potential achievement feeds self-efficacy and affects career choices, planning, and development.
People set goals for themselves and work toward them based on self-motivation and drive over a
long period of time, without external interventions. The social cognitive career development
theory suggests that self-efficacy and outcome expectations affect how people set their career
goals. These career goals translate into career ambition and are a manifestation of people’s belief
about how far they can go in their career.
The social cognitive career development suggests that self-efficacy and outcome
expectations influence personal preferences. Positive self-efficacy and outcome expectations
encourage enduring interest and efforts, while the opposite may lead one to avoid certain career
paths (Lent & Brown, 1996).
42

Perceived barriers can deter one from choosing a certain career path, despite positive self-
efficacy and positive outcome expectations (Lent & Brown, 1996; Lindley, 2005). This,
however, can be balanced off by support systems provided by family, community or government.
As such, the decision-making process is a negotiation between perceived barriers and the barrier-
coping interventions available.
Figure 2 presents a conceptual framework and how the elements of the social capital
theory and the social cognitive development theory will be used in this study.

Figure 2
Conceptual Framework

Social capital:
networks,
knowledge, and
information flow
Student
Social cognitive
development
43

Conclusion
While there is a wealth of research discussing the deteriorating wealth and educational
inequity in Hong Kong and the role social capital and psychology have on career planning in
general, there is a gap in research in how the government and higher education institutions can
work together to alleviate this situation. The job landscape in the region is evolving and
improving thanks to the GBA development initiatives. A better understanding of how lower SES
business-major college students plan for their career can help support more efficient government
and institutional programs and ensure this group has equal access to the employment
opportunities created by the GBA development.
44

Chapter Three: Methodology
This chapter examines the methodology used in this study. It starts with an overview of
the organizations to be studied, followed by description of the population and how the sample
was selected. It then covers the instrumentation, data collection process, and data analysis. The
chapter ends with discussions on trustworthiness and ethical considerations in this study as well
as the role of the researcher.
The purpose of this study was to examine how SES affects career planning choices
among business-major college students in Hong Kong. The study focused on students on need-
based scholarships and how they explored resources available for their career planning. The
research questions guiding this study were:
1. In what ways do college students from lower SES families in Hong Kong leverage
resources at the UGC-funded universities to enhance their career planning?
2. What social programs and networks outside of the education system do college
students from lower SES families utilize to enhance their career planning?
This study employed a qualitative research method including a screening survey and
individual interviews. The screening survey was used to collect demographic data and other
basic information, while the qualitative interview went into each participant’s story and provided
more detailed data points for analysis.
Population and Sample
This study used a qualitative research approach to gain understanding of how participants
from lower SES explored career planning and searching. I employed a purposeful sampling
method to target the participants of interest (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). At the UGC-funded
institutions, two financial assistance schemes are available: (a) Tertiary Student Finance Scheme
45

- Publicly-funded Programs (TSFS), which is means-tested and (b) Non-Means-Tested Loan
Scheme for Full-time Tertiary Students (NLSFT; Hong Kong Working Family and Student
Financial Assistance Agency, 2022). Under TSFS, financial assistance is provided in the form of
a grant and/or a loan. The grant is to cover tuition fees, academic expenses, and compulsory
union fees; while the loan is for living expenses and is interest-bearing at 1.0% per annum
chargeable from the commencement of the repayment period. Table 2 provides the data of the
financial aid programs at the full-time UGC programs in school year 2020/21.

Table 2
Financial Aid at Full-Time UGC Programs for School Year 2020/2021
UGC student population 98,370
Financial aid programs Applications Grants Loan
TSFS 21,945 17,573 3,267
NLSFT 16,134 12,127

46

Interview Sampling Criteria and Rationale
I reached out to the financial aid departments of the UGC-funded higher education
institutions in Hong Kong (except for The EdUHK, which does not offer a BBA program), as
well as The Society for Community Organization, a non-government organization helping the
underprivileged, to distribute a recruitment email, which contains a link to a screening survey.
Participants were then chosen based on two criteria: need-based scholarships and business
majors. From this respondent pool, I invited 20 participants for individual interviews.
Criterion 1: Full-Time Students at UGC-Funded Schools
Participants in this study were enrolled full-time at a UGC-funded university. The eight
UGC-funded higher education institutions in Hong Kong have a rigorous admissions process and
therefore focusing on students at these schools can help ensure that participants are academically
strong. As such, the study could focus on forward-looking career options available and the role
of SES at play. Full-time students at UGC-funded schools were also more comparable, as
opposed to others who might have taken a break and decide to go back to school for self-
financing programs.
Criterion 2: Need-Based Scholarships
Participants in this study were receiving need-based scholarship, which indicates lower
SES. I focused on the students who have received financial assistance, whether it is a grant
and/or a loan under the TSFS, which is means-tested.

47

Criterion 3: Business Majors
Participants in this study were majoring in business. Business majors have broader career
potential and room for SES to play a role, and hence they were preferred over other more
technical majors such as medical and legal.
Multiple institutions were willing to collaborate, allowing me to employ a three-tier
sampling strategy (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). I could first select the institution, then sample
from each school’s financial aid pool, and further select individual interviewees. This provided
more data points and a level of understanding on the role and impact of institutional resources on
the participants’ career planning options.
I sourced a total of 20 participants. Balancing the depth I went into each person’s story
and the amount of time required for interviewing each participant, I believed a sample size of 20
participants provided enough data points for this study.
Instrumentation
This study utilized screening surveys and interviews. This qualitative research method
offered a set of comprehensive data points on the sample. The screening survey was an efficient
way to collect demographic data, family status, and education plans. It was then followed by a
qualitative interview that provided more in-depth data points for further inductive analysis.
Appendix A presents the dissertation protocols.
Survey
The survey consisted of 14 questions. These questions aimed to confirm the sample’s low
SES and collect data that provided a general understanding of the demographics profile and
current situation of the sample. It asked the participants to select their households’ income level
and a series of questions that aimed to dig deeper into their family situation, including household
48

size, parents’ jobs and education level, and number and age of siblings. The survey also asked
about how many of their grandparents were born in Hong Kong, which helped with analysis on
intergenerational social mobility. The rest of the survey focused on the participants. It asked
about their age, major, institution, and expected graduation date. The survey ended with two
important questions, which led to a more in-depth discussion during the interview. The first
question was on their post-graduation plans, whether they planned to look for a job or pursue
further studies or other specific plans. The second question asked about whether the participants
would look to work outside of Hong Kong and if so, where they would like to go. This aimed to
generate a discussion during the interview to understand the social networks they had in Hong
Kong and whether these connections might encourage or discourage them from relocating.
Lastly, the survey asked if the participant was willing to participate in a 30- to 45-minute
interview for this study.
Interview
The interview was structured with nine standard questions to enhance comparability. The
interview questions were designed to go deeper into discussions that helped to answer the
research questions on how college students from lower SES families in Hong Kong leverage
resources at their higher education institutions and how social programs and other networks
outside of the education system that these students utilized to enhance their career planning. The
interview questions were framed based on the social capital and the social cognitive development
theories. As such, they focused on the role of social capital, self-efficacy, expectations, and
interests.
The interview started with asking the participants how they picked their respective
institutions and majors. These aimed to understand how the participants gathered information
49

and resources during their college decision-making process, resulting in data that were useful for
the analysis of social capital. It then moved to a question on social cognitive development and
expectations, asking participants about their perception of the potential and opportunities
available to them compared to their parents’ generation. This shed light on participants’ current
thinking and expectations of the future, which were key factors that influenced their motivation
level. Before moving into further discussion on the job-searching process and the various type of
resources that might be available, I asked the participants if they might consider entrepreneurship
and why. Firstly, entrepreneurship is a global megatrend, and it should be fair to assume that this
is a path some young graduates in Hong Kong will consider. However, it is also realistic to note
that some low-SES families may not be able to afford to invest the time and opportunity cost for
entrepreneurship since an imminent stable cash flow from a job may be needed for the
households. Secondly, by asking why they might or might not consider entrepreneurship, I would
be trying to investigate their decision-making process such as their perception of the opportunity
cost involved, the social capital needed for a successful entrepreneur, their confidence level, and
their life goals and expectations.
The last five questions of the interview focused on the job-searching process. I started
with a big picture question on the dream career path, which planned to touch on the type of jobs
the participants were interested in, how they envisioned themselves to progress in their career,
and the type of corporations they hoped to work for. These questions aimed to understand what
the participants hoped to achieve and how their SES might be limiting their options in career and
life. Then I brought the conversation back to today and how the participants planned to go from
the current state to their dream state. I asked for the top three factors that they would consider
when they evaluated job offers. These were essentially what they wanted or were hoping to get
50

from their jobs. With both long-term and short-term demands in mind, I then spent the rest of the
interview time to discuss with their participants on how they planned to hunt for their first job.
Three main areas were explored. First, I asked about the role of the institutions, which included
career center services, faculty, and alumni connections. Second, I asked about the role of family,
friends, church, and other social organizations in this job-searching process. Third, I asked about
the role of the Hong Kong government and other non-government organizations.
Data Collection
For participant recruitment, I first reached out to the financial aid departments of the
seven UGC-funded higher education institutions with business programs. I passed on a simple
survey through the financial aid office(s) to distribute to their list of students on financial aid. I
also reached out to The Society for Community Organization, a non-government organization
that supports lower SES families to get in touch with the target population. In this recruitment
email, I provided details of their role in the study and the research data collection process if they
were willing to participate. Appendix B presents the Information Sheet that was included in this
recruitment email and Appendix C presents the email. I highlighted that all the data collected
were confidential and the participants would remain anonymous. The participants who returned a
completed survey would be entered into a raffle, if they wished, for a gift card of HK$1,000
(US$129).
From the survey response pool of 172 participants, I first categorized them by institution
and majors and whether the respondent was on need-based scholarships. I then arranged the data
based on 1) household size, 2) single or double-income household, and 3) first, second, or third
generation local Hong Kong residents. From the survey response pool of participants who have
51

indicated that they would be willing to join an interview, I then invited 20 participants to join the
interview on a rolling basis.
This was then followed by interview scheduling with the selected participants. I
scheduled these interview meetings on Zoom due to COVID-19 restrictions in Hong Kong. Each
interview lasted for 30–45 minutes and took place in the spring semester of 2022. Information
sheets were provided to highlight confidentiality. Also, it stressed that the participants could
withdraw anytime if they changed their mind and mentioned that there would be a small token of
gift cards worth of HK$400 (US$51) for those participants selected for the interview to show
appreciation of their time and efforts.
I also asked if the participants would agree to an audio-recording of the interview, and it
also explained that a transcript application Otter might be used during this process. The
transcript recording would be safely secured offline and backed up on Google Cloud. The
transcript would only be used to confirm and clarify the data and it would only be used for data
analysis purpose for this study. Figure 3 illustrates the three main steps of the data collection
process of this study.

52

Figure 3
Data Collection Process

Data Analysis
Data analysis is the process of consolidating, reducing, and interpreting what the sampled
participants have shared (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). In this study, the data were coming from
both the survey and the interview. In the survey, data on household income and household size
were used to compute income per capita, which was used to assess the economic situation of the
households. Categorization was a main approach in analysing data from the rest of the survey
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). I categorized parents’ jobs, for example, by job function and by
industry. For siblings, I categorized and tabulated the data into number of siblings and
participants’ position in the sibling ranking. For the parents and grandparents’ birthplace
Email
• Sent to financial aid departments of the seven UGC-funded higher
education institutions with business programs, as well as The Society for
Community Organization, a non-government organization helping the
underprivileged
Survey
• Collected demographic and basic information
• A raffle was offered for those who completed the survey
Interview
• Targeted for a total sample size of 20 participants
• Each intereview took 30-45 minutes
• Gift cards were offered to interviewees as a token of appreciation
53

question, I also created a data table to categorize how many participants are third-generation
Hong Kong residents – with at least one grandparent born in Hong Kong. Age and expected
graduation dates were used to triangulate the data to ensure the analysis capture and reflect the
timetable and urgency of the job-searching process for respective participants. I also categorized
the data by institution; and to ensure comparability across institutions, I grouped the majors by
subject.
For the interview data, I coded the transcript (Harding, 2018). A priori codes were related
to the two theoretical frameworks used for this study – the social capital theory and the social
cognitive development theory. I identified and highlighted comments related to social capital,
self-efficacy, expectations, and interests. At the same time, I also looked for empirical codes that
could be inductive, and these emerging themes might then lead the study to other conclusions.
The focus for this exercise was to understand the role of personal networks including family and
friends, school resources, and government and non-government organizations (NGO) programs
in the job searching of low-SES business-major students. The purpose of the coding was to
categorize and interpret the roles of these stakeholders, which would help with crafting
recommendations and identifying areas for future research.
Trustworthiness
The purpose of this dissertation study was to examine how SES affects career planning
choices among business-major college students in Hong Kong. The study focused on students on
need-based scholarships and how they explore resources available for their career planning. This
study used a screening survey and an interview approach to gain understanding of how
participants from lower SES explore career planning and searching. Given the many different
factors involved in social development in a metro city like Hong Kong, a qualitative interview
54

should offer more insights than quantitative research methods. There should not be a single
simple truth as indicated by a positivist research paradigm. A study to explore and understand
human behavior in different situations should be more appropriate for a study involving SES and
social cognitive development analysis, and therefore the main part of the research should be a
qualitative study.
The study employed the social cognitive development theory and the theory of social
capital to study the factors affecting the sample. The social cognitive development theory
assessed how self-efficacy affected participants’ decision-making in the career searching
process, while the social capital theory studied how social capital influenced the career options
students had and how they approached career searching. This was an empirical analysis
supported by data on each participant based on the 30- to 45-minute interview with them. There
were nine standard questions offered to each participant, to provide a structure to the interview
and enhance comparability across participants.
To limit potential biases in data analysis, triangulation was incorporated (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2015). The study was based on survey data, interview transcripts, and data on the UGC-
funded universities. Preliminary themes were verified and checked with each participant for
clarification. Organized storage of the interview data and peer reviews were engaged.
Confidential sharing was included in the consent and the participants were fully aware of how
the interview data were processed. I actively looked for data that support alternative
explanations, hence I needed multiple participants from each institution. In this case whereby
more than one institution was willing to distribute the recruitment email and the sample was
consisted of participants from different institutions, I reviewed and understood how the potential
different type of resources available at various institutions help each participant individually.
55

Ethics
Ethical research is an overarching principle in scholarly research. Research work should
be ethical and respectful to the individuals and institutions, who should have the right to make
choices. Ethics should be a main component of the research design and research process. It
should be an evolving concept that overlays research as new methodologies emerge. Ethical
research should comply with legal requirements and be responsible to research participants,
institutional colleagues, and the society. As such, ethical researchers should seek the consent and
assent of participants and protect their identities. Justice should be maintained in the process of
determining who can and should participate in research. Ethical research overall should be based
on the principles of beneficence, maximizing benefits, and minimizing harm.
American Educational Research Association (AERA) has published five guidelines on
research practices (Lochmiller & Lester, 2015): 1) Professional competence, whereby education
researchers should ensure that they are competent, recognize their limitations, and commit to
ongoing training to stay competent. 2) Integrity, delivering honest and trustworthy research
work. 3) Professional, scientific, and scholarly responsibility, which supports and drives the core
of the research work. Scientific research should be linked to relevant theories and be replicable
(National Research Council, 2002). It should pose questions and employ methods for direct
investigation. It should be clear and easy to follow for peer reviews and critiques. 4) Respect for
people’s rights, dignity, and diversity, whereby education researchers should protect the
participants and be sensitive about differences in race, culture, gender, sexual orientation, etc. 5)
Social responsibility, whereby researchers should stay focused on the goal of the study, which is
to serve the public good and advance the scholarly knowledge of research topics.
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In line with the ethical research principles, the selection criterion using need-based
scholarships should be objective and scientific as a tool to show lower SES. Unlike professional
career paths such as medical and legal, business graduates should have broader career options
from more specific paths like accounting and banking or more general entry points like
management trainees at corporates. Narrowing the study to just business majors, hence, should
bring us more focused on the impact of SES on career planning choices.
In compliance with the AERA principles, the study highly respected people’s rights,
dignity, and diversity. This was very important in this interview approach. Participants’ consent
was requested, with detailed information about their involvement in the study and the research
data collection process, the benefits and risks, the confidentiality of the data, and the anonymity
of the participants. Consent for interview recordings was requested, and the recordings were
securely stored. Moreover, the participants were allowed to withdraw from the study at any point
in time.
Role of the Researcher
I believed that my personal experience might influence the analysis of the interview data.
I grew up in a middle-class family in a small city, Macau, which was a Portuguese colony during
my childhood and was returned to China in 1999. I was not fully aware of how contained my
worldview was growing up in this town of half a million people. I considered myself lucky to be
supported by my parents to explore higher education options overseas. They encouraged me to
be adventurous and were also committed to support me financially. I was eventually admitted
into the University of Notre Dame in the United States, which opened the door for me for a
career on Wall Street in New York, followed by an MBA education at Columbia Business
School, and now I am on an entrepreneurial journey in Hong Kong. My personal background
57

might have led to biases and presumptions as I designed my standard interview questions, during
my interviews as I interacted and carried on the conversation with the participants, as well as
after the interviews as I analysed the data.
Separately, I am also professionally trained as an equity-research analyst, which requires
me to offer my opinion on the current market trends and different stock investment opportunities.
My career in finance and my active involvement in local charities that help low-SES families
have shown me the sharp contrasts in daily lives in Hong Kong between the haves and the have-
nots. This might have created biases as I analysed the case studies. I was also aware that the
government and public policies play an important role in this, as such I was careful with not
allowing my personal political view to interfere. I was therefore aware that I could be subjective
in the interpretations of participants’ struggles (Locke et al., 2009) amid the growing wealth
inequality situation in Hong Kong.
However, I did not grow up in Hong Kong and I was educated in a different system. I
believe this might be helpful to keep me independent. My role as a researcher was then more of
an instrument, although I still had to take into account my personal experiences in the study to
highlight the potential limitations and biases (Patton, 2009).
Conclusion
With the methodology of this study set and planned out, the next step was to embark on
the data collection journey. This process took a month and after which the data analysis started. I
would go through the findings in Chapter Four.

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Chapter Four: Findings
This chapter summarizes the findings from a pre-screening survey to business-college
students on financial aid in Hong Kong, and in-depth interviews with a smaller sub-group by
invitation. The findings served to answer the research questions of this study and offered
directional input and insights to support the recommendations in the next chapter.
The purpose of this study was to examine how SES affects career planning choices
among business-major college students in Hong Kong. The research focused on students who
received need-based scholarships, and how they gained access to resources available for career
planning, particularly the role of social capital and skills gained at college.
The research questions guiding this study were:
1. In what ways do college students from lower SES families in Hong Kong leverage
resources at the UGC-funded universities to enhance their career planning?
2. What social programs and networks outside of the education system do college
students from lower SES families utilize to enhance their career planning?
The financial aid departments, career centers of the UGC-funded higher education institutions in
Hong Kong, as well as The Society for Community Organization, a non-government
organization helping the underprivileged, were contacted to request their assistance in
distributing information about this study to the student participant population. The email
contained a link to a screening survey and asked for the participants’ willingness to join an
interview. From the 172 participants who responded to the survey request, I screened out those
who were full-time students, on need-based scholarships, and enrolled as business majors.
Twenty participants from the survey respondent pool were then invited for individual interviews
based on their indication of interest to participate, and they all accepted the invitation.
59

Participating Stakeholders
Survey Participants
A total of 172 participants filled out the survey on Qualtrics. Their ages ranged from 18–
25 years and were expecting to graduate in 2022-2025. They were currently enrolled at HKBU,
LU, The CUHK, The Hong Kong PolyU, and The HKUST. To confirm our sample selection
criteria, the first two questions of the survey asked about student status and financial aid. The
majority of the pool, 146 survey respondents, confirmed that they were a full-time university
student in Hong Kong, while eight said no and 18 did not answer. Sixty-five survey respondents
confirmed that they were on financial aid, while 74 said no and 33 left this blank. The survey
would end for those who said no to either of these two questions. Sixty-five participants met both
criteria and continued on to the rest of the survey.
The table below summarizes the survey results on participant characteristics. Over 70%
of the survey respondents considered their household income level low. Half of the pool said
their parents were in blue collar jobs and 20% cared for the family only and did not work outside
of the home. A vast majority 82% of the pool also indicated that their parents’ education level
was at high school graduate or below. One said their father held a master’s or above degree. The
participant pool were mostly new migrants to Hong Kong. Thirty-three survey respondents said
none of their grandparents were born in Hong Kong, while only three said theirs were all born
locally. Twenty-five said neither of their parents were from Hong Kong.
In terms of post-graduation plans, 74% of participants were planning to look for a job
after university graduation, and the remaining planned to pursue further studies. Thirty-nine
percent reported they would consider moving outside of Hong Kong, with United States, Canada,
60

and Europe as the most popular destinations, followed by Mainland China and Taiwan as well as
Southeast Asia, Japan, and Australia.

Figure 4
Age of Survey Participants (n = 46)

Age 18
13%
Age 19
20%
Age 20
15%
Age 21
22%
Age 22
11%
Age 23
11%
Age 24
6%
Age 25
2%
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Figure 5
Year of Graduation of Survey Participants (n = 46)

6
14
15
11
2022
2023
2024
2025
62

Table 3
Summary of Survey Responses (n = 65)
# of Participants Average
Household income
Low 34 -
Middle 13 -
Average household size (including participant) - 4.2
Parents’ occupation (father and mother separately)
Blue collar 41 -
White collar 9 -
Entrepreneur 4 -
Housewife 18 -
Unemployed 4 -
Retired 4 -
Parents’ education (father and mother separately)
High school graduation or below 74 -
University or junior college graduation 15 -
Master’s degree or above 1 -
Average number of siblings - 1.8
Number of parents born in Hong Kong
None 25 -
One 12 -
Both 9 -
Number of grandparents born in Hong Kong
None 33 -
One 2 -
Two 8 -
Three 0 -
Four 3 -
Post-graduation plans
Find a job 34 -
Pursue a master’s degree 12 -
May work outside Hong Kong 18 -

63

Interview Participants
Twenty survey respondents were invited for Zoom interviews. The interviewees were
selected based on their willingness to join an interview. They all confirmed their status as full-
time students in Hong Kong, studying in a business major and were on financial assistance.
Table 4 below listed out some basic information about the interviewees along with their assigned
pseudonyms for discussion purposes. The list was based on the order of scheduled interviews.
Eleven interviewees were male and nine were female. All the interviews were based on
the interview protocol in Appendix A. Fourteen interviews were conducted in the local dialect,
Cantonese, one in Mandarin, and five in English. The five English language interviews were
with David, Gordon, Jack, Quinn, and Theodore. David mentioned that he was from Myanmar
originally, while Gordon and Quinn were from Kazakhstan. Evelyn was from Mainland China
and requested the interview be done in Mandarin. The interview pool came from four of the
UGC-funded universities. Catherine was studying at the CUHK, while Nelda and Patrick were at
LU. Five interviewees were at the HKUST, and the remaining 12 interviewees were from
HKBU.

Table 4
Background of Interview Participants (n = 20)
No. Pseudonym Student status School Gender Interview
language
1 Adam Local Hong Kong Baptist
University
Male Cantonese
2 Brian Local Hong Kong Baptist
University
Male Cantonese
3 Catherine Local The Chinese University
of Hong Kong
Female Cantonese
4 David International Hong Kong Baptist
University
Male English
64

No. Pseudonym Student status School Gender Interview
language
5 Evelyn Mainlander Hong Kong Baptist
University
Female Mandarin
6 Freda Local Hong Kong Baptist
University
Female Cantonese
7 Gordon International Hong Kong Baptist
University
Male English
8 Helen Local The Hong Kong
University of Science
and Technology
Female Cantonese
9 Ida Local Hong Kong Baptist
University
Female Cantonese
10 Jack International Hong Kong Baptist
University
Male English
11 Katie Local Hong Kong Baptist
University
Female Cantonese
12 Lily Local The Hong Kong
University of Science
and Technology
Female Cantonese
13 Mark Local Hong Kong Baptist
University
Male Cantonese
14 Nelda Local Lingnan University Female Cantonese
15 Oliver Local The Hong Kong
University of Science
and Technology
Male Cantonese
16 Patrick Local Lingnan University Male Cantonese
17 Quinn International Hong Kong Baptist
University
Male English
18 Rose Local The Hong Kong
University of Science
and Technology
Female Cantonese
19 Sam Local The Hong Kong
University of Science
and Technology
Male Cantonese
20 Theodore International Hong Kong Baptist
University
Male English

65

Emergent Themes
The following section summarizes the five themes identified from the 20 interviews and
the implications to their career search and planning: 1) Motivated by more opportunities
available today than previous generations; 2) Optimistic but realistic with their career launch; 3)
School as an information platform; 4) Lack of social capital and reluctant to ask for assistance;
and 5) Inadequate government resources. There were also two additional findings on the impact
of COVID as well as the positioning and influence of Hong Kong as a decision-making factor.
Theme 1: Motivated by More Opportunities Available Today Than Previous Generations
The majority of the interviewees said that there are more opportunities in Hong Kong for
this generation of young people than previous generations. They see a broader range of
possibilities and options for making a living with the advance of technology, more global
mobility, and more university access. They are motivated and dedicated to pursuing their dreams.
Education levels overall are also higher for this generation in Hong Kong. Brian thought that
some of the older generation could not take advantage of the opportunities available because of
their generally lower education level. As a college student, he felt he was more equipped to build
a career than his parents.
Most believed that technology has advanced substantially since their parents’ generation
and this has opened up more opportunities and created more jobs. Technology has lifted the
barrier of distance and has helped with information flow. The development of technology has
directly changed the toolkit for career searching, and also indirectly changed the opportunities
available in the market and the strategy to locate them. “This generation has more opportunities.
Technology is more advanced. Fintech is the trend now. Innovation creates more opportunities.
There are also job posting platforms, which our parents did not have,” said Oliver from the
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HKUST. Sam, who was very keen on finance, mentioned that there is now cryptocurrency and
real time access to the stock market; while Helen and Ida believed that the development of social
media has opened up a consumer market for key opinion leaders (KOLs) to market themselves
and sell products online. Helen believed that the entry barriers for certain jobs today were lower,
creating more competition. She said, “There are many more options nowadays, but also more
competition. There are many more job varieties like KOLs. They can just work from home with
a computer and make money. There is more diversity in job nature, but more competition.”
Quinn and Theodore held a more neutral view. They thought this generation just had
different opportunities, and they were less of the traditional nine-to-five jobs. They were still
motivated to pursue their dreams and keen to fight the competition in life. While the last
generation could land a nice job if they studied hard and received good grades, Quinn and
Theodore saw more competition and they felt they had to put in more efforts and work. Theodore
believed that this generation just needed different experiences and skills. Quinn offered a
different angle: “People always say there are more options and opportunities today because of
the Internet and globalization. But I believe every generation has their own opportunities and
there are enough opportunities for each generation. It is not like our kids will have more
opportunities.”
There were also some pessimistic ones. Lily was cynical about the generational changes.
“This generation is lazier and not very proactive,” she said. There was more competition in the
past and people needed to fight for a living. She believed that this generation of young people
was just too comfortable. Katie and Mark thought Hong Kong’s economy and property prices
have grown too rapidly. Katie said, “The last generation can work hard and afford a property, but
the current generation may not be able to afford one even if they would work very hard.” Nelda
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was excited to see the growth of the transportation industry which led to more mobility. She said,
“There are more opportunities for this generation. Education level is generally higher. There are
also more start-ups. You can also go outside of Hong Kong, for example, the GBA. There are
more travel options. But there is also more competition due to globalization.” Mark also saw
more competition due to globalization. Mark was particularly concerned about the banking
industry. He thought, “The geopolitical landscape and COVID policy may have also led some
private companies to move jobs to Singapore, reducing the number of job opportunities for
young people locally. This was in contrast to the last generation, when there was a wave of
migration around the handover of Hong Kong in 1997, leading to more upward mobility.” Helen
concluded that social status was fixated. She said, “Social status is fixated due to wealth
inequality. Upward mobility was higher in the last generation even though they did not have as
many options.”
Theme 2: Optimistic but Realistic With Their Career Launch
The interviewees mostly had set goals to pursue a business career, which would be in line
with their BBA degree. Seven mentioned that they would explore going down an entrepreneurial
path. Adam specifically said that he thought this generation wanted to make money to enjoy life
and living a more upper-class lifestyle. The interviewees picked business as a major since it was
more general and practical. Gordon thought that it would be easier to find a job with a business
degree and that would give him a quick start with his career. The three most common target
career paths are an accounting career at one of the Big Four global accounting firms, a finance
job at an investment bank, and a management trainee role at a large corporate.
Table 5 shows the top factors the interviewees indicated they would consider when
evaluating a job. Salary and promotion opportunities were named as key factors when they
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considered their career options and future employers. Corporate culture and mission were also
important to the interviewees. Work-life balance and their relationships with co-workers were
mentioned. Nelda wanted the employer to be supportive of her career. She would like a firm that
would allow her time to work on gaining her certified public accountant qualification instead of
putting her on projects around the clock.
It was not all about money, nevertheless. Helen, for example, would like a well-paid job
in banking or consulting, but also expressed that she wanted to do something meaningful at an
NGO or in the government. David also echoed that he would like to work for a company with
environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals, and that prioritizes innovation. He said, “I
want to do something in social sector, like training farmers. Business training is needed for
developing Myanmar. [There is] probably a 80% chance of me finding a job in Hong Kong or
Southeast Asia, and a 20% chance of me starting a business right after graduation.” Jack said, “I
would like to work for 2-3 years and also have a side project during that period. I would look for
a job in start-ups and social enterprises, or as a business consultant in these fields.” Corporate
financial stability was a concern for many of the interviewees. Katie said she did not want a
small company that might shut down or lay off staff during economic downturns.
It should be noted that David, Gordon, and Theodore’s data in Table 5 did not show three
factors, like the others. David mentioned two other factors as employer having a branch office in
Southeast Asia and in an industry that had development potential in Myanmar, which were not
tabulated as they were unique to David. Gordon said location of the job mattered to him. He
would compare jobs in Hong Kong or overseas. Meanwhile, Theodore mentioned two factors
that both fell under corporate culture, namely work-life balance and a culture whereby
employees were free to share ideas.
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Table 5
Interview Responses on Top Three Factors for Taking a Job (n = 20)
Pseudonym Nature of
role
Promotion
opportunities
Personal
interest
Corporate
culture/
mission
Corporate
financial
stability
Salary
Adam x x x
Brian x x x
Catherine x x x
David x
Evelyn x x x
Freda x x x
Gordon x x
Helen x x x
Ida x x x
Jack x x x
Katie x x x
Lily x x x
Mark x x x
Nelda x x x
Oliver x x x
Patrick x x x
Quinn x x x
Rose x x x
Sam x x x
Theodore xx x

The interviewees seemed realistic. Seven of the 20 would like to pursue an
entrepreneurial path, and five of whom said they would delay their start-up plan mostly due to
the lack of capital. Rose said, “Yes, I would consider entrepreneurship, but not as a career path. I
am already doing a start-up part time with a friend.” Quinn has tried it and it was not very
70

successful financially, but he would consider trying it again later. For the 13 participants who did
not consider being an entrepreneur, five of them cited lack of capital was the reason; four of
them said entrepreneurship involved too much risk; two just said “it is not for me”; one believed
that it was very hard to execute; and one just preferred to work at a start-up. Katie said, “No.
Firstly, it is expensive. I do not have capital and my family is quite poor and cannot afford. I
would prefer to be more down to earth. My friend who studies entrepreneurship is very
discouraged. He thinks that people nowadays only make money from the stock market and
property market.”
Theme 3: School as an Information Platform
There was a general sense of lack of choice among the local interviewees when asked
about why they picked their current universities. Ten participants indicated that they landed at
their school because of their HKDSE scores, with seven specifically saying this school was not
their first choice. HKDSE is a standardized examination at high school graduation and used for
university admission. Four of the five international interviewees picked the institutions in Hong
Kong since they were offered a scholarship.
Fourteen of the interviewees have used their school’s career center services for internship
and job search. Five said they did not use these services much; one was upset and said his
school’s career services were useless compared to other schools’. The feedback from those who
used these services was positive. They mostly perceived the career center as an information
platform that offered career talks, job postings, access to alumni, and assistance such as resume
editing and mock interviews. Evelyn stressed the importance of school rankings. “Employers
might not even consider you if your school is not good enough. That is why we need to focus on
rankings. Life planning is important,” she said. Helen was proud that her school was influential
71

and could connect her to large corporates. The school student clubs also helped with her job
search. Meanwhile, Catherine believed in individual efforts. She said, “I have made use of the
job fairs, presentations, CV workshops, and internship matching, but still, you need to rely on
yourself. School is just a platform. Employers do not just hire you because of the school.”
The interviewees tended to find it harder to leverage the school resources due to the
pandemic. Brian, David, and Gordon were specifically frustrated by the COVID disruption.
Brian said, “My school offers opportunities to see the horizon and market. There are many talks
offered. My school requires students to take internships to graduate, but it will not line up an
internship for you and will only put through recommendations. I do not join many of these
activities, because the talks were mostly Zoom and I would just be sitting there.” As international
students, David and Gordon had barely been in school in person, and it was challenging for them
to connect with peers. David said, “I have only had in person classes for a few months in 2021. I
am in Year 2, and there has been COVID impact. I cannot get a lot of help from these student
associations. Many events are postponed.”
Jack found that the career center resources were mostly related to finance and banking,
while he would like to start a business and was interested in innovations, computer science, start-
ups, and social enterprises. As first-year students, Lily and Theodore found that the job postings
were not very practical to them, but they applied anyways. On the other hand, Nelda as a Year 3
student, would prefer to apply for jobs on the company websites. She believed, “(The) career
center was useful as an information center. But I do not apply for jobs through them since their
offers are not that great. I will apply directly on company websites. Also, the school application
system requires you to write reports after internships and asks you to join useless training before
the internships. The department sometimes shares info about jobs, but sometimes they are
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duplicates of what the career center has sent. But either way, I am in Year 3, and I know how to
find the jobs on company websites. Both career center and the department are usually late when
they notify us about these programs.”
Katie also shared her expectations for the school’s career center. She applied for a
marketing internship through her school and received an offer. However, she did not take the
offer after doing research about the company online and reading about negative reviews. She was
surprised and said, “it is so ironic that a marketing company is so bad at their own marketing.
People said they would make staff stand on the street and recruit customers. So, I gave up on this
offer at the end. I would have expected the school to do some screening since I found this
company through the school. So far, I do not have any friends who have much success finding
jobs through the school platform. The school does send many emails, like every other day; but it
doesn’t seem to be very effective. I have not joined much of its activities.”
Theme 4: Lack of Access to Relevant Social Capital and Reluctance to Ask for Assistance
Seventy-five percent of the interviewees did not plan to leverage on their family and
friends as resources for job searching. Most of them explained that it was because they did not
have connections that would be useful for the industry or role they were looking for. They
recognized the value of networks, nevertheless. Even if they might not have social capital ready
for them to tap into, some were proactive in building their own network. Helen, for example, had
joined mentorship programs for networking. She also commented on the situation of some of her
more connected friends, “I have a friend who is in Year 1 and managed to get an internship at
Blackstone. I think the father must be a senior guy there. I also have a friend who has worked at
all the Big Fours (global accounting firms) through referrals.”
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David and Sam recommended LinkedIn as a great platform to connect with business
contacts. Two interviewees mentioned their former high schools providing some assistance;
Nelda landed an internship through her high school teacher’s college friend. Gordon said his
high school alumni back in Kazakhstan would help with his internship search but “I don’t like to
depend on people. My former high school offered scholarships. Alumni would also help those
who need help with jobs. They have already helped me enough. I also prefer to work overseas
first to gain work experience, and salary and working conditions are better overseas.”
The interviewees had mixed views about asking for referrals. Ida had an internship before
that was referred by a friend’s friend. She mostly used job posting websites to search for jobs,
but she welcomed referrals. “Personal connections are important. I had an internship before that
was referred by a friend’s friend. Connections can introduce more opportunities. And it is always
helpful to have a personal introduction. However, I use mostly JobsDB (job-searching platform)
to apply for jobs, rather than asking for referrals. I of course do not turn down referrals if they
are offered.” Theodore also planned to leverage family and friends’ network for his job search.
On the other hand, four participants expressed that they did not want to ask for referrals, even
though some knew that their family and friends could help. Lily was worried if she did not
perform well at the job, the employer would tell her contact and it would become awkward. “I
think it is awkward to ask friends. And I do not want to get into a company through referral. If I
do not perform well, they may tell my friends. If my family can help, I will ask but they do not
have connections in the area I am interested in.” Quinn believed that there should be a line
between networking and favoritism. He saw the former as having friends and family introducing
business contacts, while the latter would be friends and family lining up a job for him.
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Personal situation and preferences differed for international students. Gordon would
prefer to gain work experience in Hong Kong, but his personal network was mostly in
Kazakhstan. He believed that he could get a higher salary in Hong Kong. Jack, on the other hand,
said his parents already talked to relatives to help get him an internship before he even arrived in
Hong Kong.

Table 6
Interview Responses on Family and Friends as Social Capital (n = 20)
Pseudonym How can your personal network
(family, friends, church, and other
social organizations) help you with
your job search?
Why?
Adam Not helpful No connections
Brian Not helpful Have connections, but do not want to ask
Catherine Not helpful No connections
David Not helpful No connections
Evelyn Not helpful No connections
Freda Not helpful No connections
Gordon Not helpful No connections in Hong Kong
Helen Not helpful No connections
Ida Friends -
Jack Family -
Katie Not helpful No connections
Lily Not helpful Awkward to ask
Mark Not helpful
Nelda High school connections -
Oliver Business networking -
Patrick Not helpful No connections
Quinn Not helpful Favoritism
Rose Not helpful No connections
Sam Not helpful No connections
Theodore Will use but I am only in year 1 -

75

Theme 5: Inadequate Government Resources
The interviewees said that the Hong Kong government offered resources – internships,
jobs, or scholarships – but not enough. Some believed that the program offerings were skewed.
Catherine highlighted that more resources for the start-up space were needed, and she and David
believed that the government currently only provided resources for certain traditional industries
such as finance and the social sector. Mark learnt about a program for young people interested in
the asset and wealth management industry. “They have some vacancies for students. The
government subsidizes I think HK$7,000 a month. But I heard they will only do it for one more
year, but I do not know why it would be ending in 2023. It is a good program,” he said. Helen
also shared, “I know that there is a STEM program, in which the government subsidizes 100% to
sponsor companies to hire graduates. It was great that the salary is like HK$10,000 or so a
month. But it is a bit silly because they do not have a good definition for STEM. The corporates
in the program are not all STEM-related. So, it is good that the corporates are getting subsidies
and the students are getting hired, but the criteria for the corporates to be included in this
program were so loose that it did not help with promoting STEM industries in Hong Kong.”
Katie appreciated any work experience at the government departments because it would
add credibility to her profile. Adam and Freda suggested more collaboration with corporates and
pointed out that the opportunities made available now were mostly short-term internships than
permanent jobs. Brian, Evelyn, and Katie talked about the GBA potential. David believed that
his school offered a program there, but he had to pay to join, so he did not participate. Helen also
realistically expressed that she could not afford 21 days of COVID quarantine for a short-term
summer job. Theodore believed that the government offered some scholarships if he took on an
internship outside of Hong Kong.
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Communication and information flow seemed to be an issue in some cases. Lily did not
have much information about any government programs and thought that it would not be helpful
if students did not know about them. Nelda said, “maybe the government can start a page to
introduce the GBA. I have no idea what it means. It seems to be close to Shenzhen, but I am not
sure. The concept seems to be attractive in terms of returns. The government can promote it
more, because now it just seems to me that it is going back to the Mainland.” The reality though
is the government does have a website introducing the GBA and it is listed on search engines.
Additional Findings
The interviewees touched upon the many different ways that COVID has impacted their
lives and career planning. David and Gordon felt that COVID has impacted how much they
could leverage the school resources because they were barely in school in person since they
arrived in Hong Kong as international students. Even local students were impacted by the
suspension of on-campus learning. Nelda, for example, had difficulties building her network at
university and had to leverage her high school connections to land an internship.
Evelyn thought that with the Hong Kong-Mainland travel restrictions still in place due to
COVID, working in the Mainland would be too challenging. Helen echoed that as well and noted
it would be especially hard for a short-term internship. Meanwhile, Patrick’s view of
entrepreneurship was partially influenced by the economic downturn in recent years. He thought
that COVID has shown how hard it could be to maintain and manage a start-up business. Katie
also missed the application deadlines for government internships because she was scheduled to
go on a study tour to the United Kingdom, which was eventually cancelled due to COVID.
Moreover, Hong Kong is traditionally recognized as a global financial hub. Some
interviewees talked about why they chose to study in Hong Kong, and some also shared their
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thoughts on the role of Hong Kong in their career planning. David chose to study in Hong Kong
for the business program he got admitted to and the potential to work in Hong Kong after
graduation, even with another institution in Thailand offering him full scholarship. Originally
from the Mainland, Evelyn decided to choose Hong Kong over Australia since she had relatives
in Hong Kong and it would be easier to commute between Hong Kong and the Mainland once
COVID restrictions were eased. Gordon and Quinn liked Hong Kong since there were
scholarships and a large community from Kazakhstan.
Ida and Mark picked business major because Hong Kong was a business city. Catherine
thought that Hong Kong was too conservative with innovations and if people would like to start a
business and build connections, then they should target the GBA. Jack, however, thought he
would prefer the regulatory system in Hong Kong and he felt he had more freedom in Hong
Kong.
Conclusion
Interviewees in this study saw more opportunities for this generation compared to
previous generations and they were optimistic about their future. As current students though,
they were realistic that they would need to take a job to gain work experience before they
planned their next steps. Most of them used the school career center as a source of information
and some have used it for preparation for their job search. The majority expressed that they saw a
lack of networks and connections in their field of interest – business – while a few suggested that
they were not comfortable asking for assistance through this type of social capital. The
government have launched some internship programs but there did not seem to be much help
with full-time job search or program specifically targeting to help lower SES students. Some
interviewees also discussed the GBA, but they were either discouraged by the border control in
78

place due to COVID or not sure about the potential and future of this development initiative. The
COVID pandemic has affected the educational and professional opportunities of these
interviewees, from their regular classes to networking to their use of career center resources. It
also affected their perception of potentially working over the border in Mainland China.
Chapter Five: Discussion and Recommendations for Practice
This study explores the opportunities available to lower SES business-major college
students in Hong Kong in career planning and searching. Amid the backdrop of deteriorating
wealth inequality in Hong Kong, the study aims to explore how we may break the
intergeneration cycle of inequalities. The literature overview in Chapter Two looks into the
current social trends in Hong Kong and the unequal access to educational resources, that have led
to gaps in learning outcomes. This chapter connects our findings from the pre-screening survey
and interviews with the business-major college students in Hong Kong to the following four
recommendations to potentially help address the issues lower SES students struggle with:
1. Incentivize working professionals to register for career programs at higher education
institutions to help college students in exchange for tax credits
2. Incentivize corporations to hire graduates on financial aid as part of their corporate
social responsibility programs
3. Increase supply of jobs in Hong Kong and the GBA to facilitate upward social
mobility
4. Increase support to the start-up community
There is also an evaluation plan proposed for each of these recommendations to help
assess effectiveness and monitor progress. The chapter ends with discussions on limitations and
delimitations of this study and suggestions for future research.
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Discussion of Findings
The findings of this study responded to the research questions:
1. In what ways do college students from lower SES families in Hong Kong leverage
resources at the UGC-funded universities to enhance their career planning?
2. What social programs and networks outside of the education system do college
students from lower SES families utilize to enhance their career planning?
In particular, this section discusses the connection between the findings and the research
questions, through the lens of the social cognitive development theory and the social capital
theory. As detailed in Chapter Four, five themes were identified from the 20 interviews with
business-major college students in Hong Kong: 1) Motivated by more opportunities available
today than previous generations; 2) Optimistic but realistic with their career launch; 3) School as
an information platform; 4) Lack of access to relevant social capital and reluctant to ask for
assistance; and 5) Inadequate government resources.
Relating to the Social Cognitive Development Theory
The first two findings shed lights to the social cognitive career development of the
participants of the study. In particular, the research findings showed that the participants were
generally positive about the future: they saw more opportunities available compared to the
previous generations. They believed that the advance of technology, the increased global
mobility, and the wider university access have helped to open more doors and create more
options for this generation of young people in Hong Kong.
The participants were also optimistic about their career launch, and they recognized that
they needed to have a strategic plan such as gaining some work experience before marching on
an entrepreneurial journey. They had all put in some thoughts in planning their career and
80

crafting how they could achieve their dreams. They knew what they were looking for in a job
such as compensation and corporate mission.
These two themes pointed to the inner feelings and emotions of the participants, and
connected to the social cognitive career development theory, which suggests that career choice is
shaped by one’s own expectations and career interests (Lent et al., 1994; Tang et al., 2008). Self-
efficacy is the core of this theory. It is people’s self-belief about their capabilities to achieve a
certain level of performance and that affects how they make choices. Positive self-efficacy and
outcome expectations encourage enduring interest and efforts, while the opposite may lead one
to avoid certain career paths (Lent & Brown, 1996). The participants’ optimism about the future
and their belief that there are more opportunities today than previous generations incentivize and
motivate them to work on their career exploration. The research findings also connected to the
research questions on the role of resources and networks in career planning for low-SES
students. The findings supported the idea that low SES students might see their career planning
influenced by their family situation. A number of participants mentioned that considering their
limited financial resources, it would be hard for them to pursue an entrepreneurial path, at least
not right after graduation.
The finding that the interviewees saw more opportunities today, however, did not align
with some research such as Mok (2016), who argued that massification of higher education has
not necessarily led to more occupational opportunities for youth or opportunities for upward
social movement, but rather created more intensified competition in society. However, this might
be a difference between perception and reality. Also, education level was just one of the many
drivers for reaching new opportunities. Other drivers such as technology and transport
advancements were cited by the interviewees.
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Responding to Research Question 1
The third finding was how the higher education institutions served as an information
platform for the participants. A majority of the participant group have used their school’s career
center services and reported their experience was positive. The career center helped the
participants with information access such as career talks and job postings, connecting them to
alumni, and offering other assistance such as resume editing and mock interviews. This directly
responded to the research question on how college students from lower SES families in Hong
Kong leveraged resources at universities to enhance their career planning.
Most participants saw a lack of access to relevant business networks to assist with their
career exploration, explaining that their family and friends were not in the business world, which
they would like to get in upon graduation. Despite the lack of readily available resources, some
of the participants chose to use networking to grow their business network of contacts. On the
other hand, some participants were concerned about the consequences of getting employment
through referrals and did not want to benefit from favoritism.
Responding to Research Question 2
The last theme identified was on government resources, which related to the research
question on social programs and networks outside of the education system that college students
utilized to enhance their career planning. The government has provided internships and job
opportunities to business-major college students, but many of the interviewees believed that
more should be done. There seemed to be misaligned goals for the government programs, which
in some cases led to misuse of resources. More and clearer communications on the resources
available and the opportunities getting created by various government policies were needed.

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Relating to the Social Capital Theory
These last three themes were related to social capital, which refers to how capital, such as
knowledge, information, or resources, is transferred through networks and relationships (Park,
2012). In particular, Finding 4 supported the idea that lower SES students and families might not
have access to the same information flow and the same ties as higher SES students and families.
Research has found that social capital in different forms can be transmitted intergenerationally,
for example, how parental education and economic resources might shape the size, density, and
structure of students’ social networks (Brooks et al., 2011). The interviewees from lower SES
tended not to have relevant contacts in the business world and this affected not only how they
explored their career paths, but also the long-term development of their career. This aligned with
the research by the Hong Kong Institute of Education, the Roundtable Community, and
Powersoft Consultancy Limited that found almost 75% of those surveyed said that those with
parents who were businesspeople or professionals had a competitive advantage in terms of career
opportunities (Mok, 2016).
It was not a lost battle, nevertheless. The participants also acknowledged their
disadvantaged situation and some tried to use networking to fight the inequities. Also, the
schools’ career centers provided information for the interviewees and support through the
various career resources and assistance programs. The career center has become a community
that strengthens networking for all students. It also connects current students to the school’s
alumni network, which is another community that provides support and networking opportunities
that can lead to helpful contacts in a range of career paths. This aligned with Arnold (2014), who
suggested that career exploration improves career development outcomes among college and
university students, through self-efficacy and increased information flow, and stressed the
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importance of career support at schools. It also aligned with existing research that the
institutional social capital built through schools could have a direct impact on career
development (Hall, 2011; Lee & Brinton, 1996; Waters, 2009; Waters & Leung, 2013).
The last theme on government resources also related to information flow and social
capital. There appeared to be mixed feedback and different level of understandings in terms of
the government’s programs, resources, and future development plan, which could influence
career planning decisions. The Ho et al. (2018) found that CEEA could enhance CESC despite
socioeconomic background. The seemingly ineffectiveness of such government programs in
Hong Kong therefore did not confirm or invalidate the suggestion by the Ho et al. (2018) that
government policies and programs could help to alleviate the education and career inequalities
caused by skewed wealth distribution.
Recommendations for Practice
Four recommendations are proposed to build on the optimism college students in Hong
Kong have about their future as well as to increase access to business knowledge and networks to
help with their career launch and development.
Recommendation 1: Incentivize Working Professionals to Register for Career
Programs at Higher Education Institutions to Help College Students in Exchange for Tax
Credits
The research data showed that lower SES students have limited access to relevant
connections that they could leverage on in their career search. The UGC in Hong Kong can take
the initiative to coordinate with the leading eight public universities in Hong Kong to pitch a
proposal to Hong Kong’s tax authority. There is already a non-government organization in Hong
Kong encouraging working professionals to donate their time to meet with young people in
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groups. This can be used as a reference for higher education institutions to design their career
programs. Hong Kong’s tax authority may be unwilling, but this should be like the current
system for tax credits on charitable donations. Official donation receipts issued by qualified
charities are required as support documents. To get buy-in, the UGC needs to gain support from
the Education Bureau and the Youth Development Commission. It should also try to get relevant
committee and groups which can benefit from a stronger workforce onboard, such as the
Innovation and Technology Commission. This program can also further be expanded to private
universities and other higher education institutions in Hong Kong, to benefit those young people
who could not make it to the rigorous UGC-funded universities.
This essentially offers solutions and hope for young people from different SES
backgrounds. It should reinforce the positive outlook that business-major college students in
Hong Kong maintain, as this study found. Existing research shows that perceived barriers can
deter one from choosing a certain career path, despite positive self-efficacy and positive outcome
expectations (Lent & Brown, 1996; Lindley, 2005), which can however be balanced off by
support systems provided by family, community, or government. The connections that college
students can make with professionals in the business world will also create social capital and
enhance information flow. As a result, this can correct the legacy and deteriorating inequalities in
Hong Kong.
The UGC can serve as a gatekeeper to approve career programs and activities at the
institutions that are qualified for tax credits, alleviating the workload of the tax authority, and
controlling the risk of working professionals misusing the system. The committee can also
implement a vetting process as the working professionals register and ensuring that the coaching
meeting is in a group format. The direct cost of implementing these programs will be the staff
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costs at the higher education institutions, which can be partially offset by funding and grants that
are linked to the job placement results at each institution. Through the tax credit, the government
is essentially bearing the cost of recruiting qualified working professionals as career consultants
to the university students.
In terms of timeframe, this should be designed to launch at the beginning of the academic
year with marketing and communication materials to students to ensure the resources will be
fully utilized. As such, a 3–6 month application cycle should be planned before the academic
year for the UGC to recruit and vet professionals to join this tax credit program. For the tax
credit, the UGC and the tax authority will have to discuss to agree on how to account for the
misalignment of the academic year and the March year-end of the tax year in Hong Kong.
Accurate reporting of employment results at each institution is key to the sustainability of
this program. The government should be supportive of such programs that can train a more
competitive workforce for Hong Kong. The higher education institutions are incentivized to
invest in the extra headcount and program design efforts, which can boost their graduate
employment results, and their higher staff costs can be partially offset by a larger government
budget.
Recommendation 2: Incentivize Corporations to Hire Graduates on Financial Aid as
Part of Their Corporate Social Responsibility Programs
The research data showed that lower SES students leveraged mostly their schools as an
information platform for their career search, and they valued corporate missions. Just as the
Hong Kong Stock Exchange requires that listed companies report their ESG status and progress,
the government can encourage all companies to hire recent graduates, and in particular those on
financial aid as part of their corporate social responsibility. It can offer an award and recognition
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system to honor these corporations for being good citizens. The government can also consider
offering more concrete incentives such as tax credits and collaborate with utility companies to
offer discounts to water and electricity, so the corporates are financially incentivized.
The promotion of ESG should be in line with this study’s finding that many young people
in Hong Kong values corporate mission. It is an important criterion for the interviewees in
deciding to take a job offer. The government’s proactive role in connecting social resources can
also address the feedback on weak coordination and communication in policies.
This program will require the government to monitor and track the engagement of the
corporations. The workload nevertheless can be managed through some additional questions at
the mandatory provident fund (MPF) reporting system in Hong Kong. All employees and
employers in Hong Kong are required to make monthly MPF contributions to ensure that the
workforce in Hong Kong has a solid retirement system. As such, the system can incorporate
some questions and verification mechanism, so the government can monitor how many recent
graduates are hired at each company. It can be linked to the Student Finance Office of the
Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency in Hong Kong to check if any of
these new hires were previously on student financial aid. A well-designed, automated system
therefore can save some work in the longer term.
This recommendation can be launched in phases. It can start as a voluntary reporting
system for the corporates to gain public awareness and government recognition. This program
can then evolve to include corporate tax credits and utility discounts, which will require
considerable amount of discussion and coordination and will likely take 6–12 months. Designing
and building an automated system may add another 6 months to the timetable.
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The trial version of the program can be based on an honor system. However, once
concrete financial incentives are rolled out, a verification mechanism needs to be in place to
avoid the system being misused. The full version of this program which is linked to the student
financial aid database should put checks and balances in place and ensure that the goal of helping
the lower SES students with career search is achieved.
Data from this research showed that lower SES students believed that their connections
were in the business world and were therefore not relevant in their career search. A more
advanced version of this program can be envisioned as a group of corporations working together
to help break through the access to relevant social networks. While students from different
backgrounds have connections and contacts in different fields, the corporations in various
industries can work together to encourage their staff from all levels and all departments to make
employee referrals. Staff should be properly awarded and incentivized like the typical employee
referral programs. Collaboration at the leadership level across industries can help to broaden the
resources available to students and encourage engagement with their family and friends.
Recommendation 3: Increase Supply of Jobs in Hong Kong and the GBA to
Facilitate Upward Social Mobility
The interviewees said that they would need better communications and more support
from the government. The Hong Kong government can work closer with corporations to increase
communication and promotion of the opportunities and potential of a career in the GBA. It can
offer financial incentives to businesses to invest in the GBA and create jobs. It can also continue
to work with the Guangdong provincial government and the Central government in Beijing to
introduce programs that can further integrate the two systems on daily necessities such as social
security, home ownership, etc to facilitate the labor movement. This should create a virtuous
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cycle. More investments across the border can create more job opportunities in the GBA, and
faster development of the GBA can then create more upward mobility for all.
This is notably not an easy and quick task, but it is a long-term sustainable solution. It
should also benefit all cities in the GBA. Strong coordination and collaboration across local
governments can increase the size of the overall market and facilitate economic, social, and
technological developments. Accelerated developments can not only directly create more
opportunities, but also further strength the optimism young people in Hong Kong have as our
interviews showed.
The governments on both sides of the border have already been working very closely to
drive the GBA development. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has derailed some of these
initiatives, especially the quarantine measures. Student exchange and business travel across the
border have been substantially impacted in recent years. As such, more marketing campaigns
will be needed as the pandemic slowly fades away. This should involve more headcounts for
coordination and lobbying work. The Hong Kong government and the higher education
institutions can work together to launch new exchange programs and encourage students to go
for site visits, rejuvenating the momentum for the GBA development. As quarantine measures
are slowly shortening on the Mainland side for visitors from Hong Kong at the moment, it is
recommended to start planning the programs for a strong launch for the academic year of
2023/24.
Data on the number of job opportunities created by businesses on both sides of the border
and the demographics of their payroll will provide useful data for authorities on both sides to
continue to track the development of the GBA. Regular assessments followed by enhancements
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and refinements of the programs are required to keep this development initiative sustainable and
attractive to young people on both sides.
Recommendation 4: Increase Support to the Start-Up Community
This study has found that some students from lower SES background believed that their
families’ limited financial resources discouraged them from pursuing an entrepreneurial path.
Higher education institutions can invest more in their entrepreneurship curriculum and resources.
Data from this study shows that there is appetite for an entrepreneurial career path among lower
SES college students in Hong Kong. However, the lack of start-up capital was a major barrier to
them. Therefore, it is recommended that the Hong Kong government, through the UGC and the
Youth Development Commission, design more programs to address the appetite of lower SES
college students for entrepreneurship in the context of the real need of basic income to sustain a
living in Hong Kong. A larger and more inclusive community would drive innovation in Hong
Kong, and potentially resolve the intergenerational inequities that continue to grow.
Launched in 2002, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP)
was funded by the government with a vision to create an innovation and technology ecosystem to
deliver social and economic benefits to Hong Kong and the region (Hong Kong Science and
Technology Parks Corporation, 2022). It also aims to build a future with innovation
opportunities for the younger generations. To this point, the Hong Kong government should
increase its support through this vehicle, the Youth Development Commission, and other
government-related entities and NGOs, so that younger generations from lower SES are not
barred from these innovation opportunities. This can be built on top of existing infrastructure as
additional programs offered. The Youth Development Commission, for example, already offers
the Youth Development Fund to support young entrepreneurs (Youth Development Commission,
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2022). Therefore, the incremental investments may just be more targeted programs to help level
the playing field for lower SES students. The support can come in the form of monthly subsidies
and special grants for founding teams with a majority of founders who were on college financial
aid. Additional headcounts will be needed to run these programs, verify backgrounds, and
approve the applications and funding. Some of these screening procedures, nevertheless, can be
absorbed at the higher education institutions. This can be rolled out in the next academic year if
one of the existing entities, for example, the Youth Development Commission, can commit
manpower to work with the higher education institutions and the Student Finance Office.
The government can monitor the number of new start-ups launched under this funding
program specifically offered to lower SES students. Surveys, similar to the one used in this
study, can be used to track the appetite for entrepreneurship among lower SES students and the
reasons for not pursuing such.
Evaluation Plan
Below is an outline of the evaluation plan for the four recommendations proposed. Based
on the Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2006) framework, the process of evaluation is categorized
into four levels: (1) reaction, (2) learning, (3) behavior/transfer, and (4) results/impact.
Recommendation 1: Incentivize Working Professionals to Register for Career Programs at
Higher Education Institutions to Help College Students in Exchange for Tax Credits
The reaction of this recommendation can be tracked based on the data of new applicants
and the return rate of students. The learning should be new strategies and skills in career
searching, as well as better understanding and more confidence in their selected career paths.
Applying the learning, there should be a higher number of graduates attributing their career
results to these programs and mentoring time with working professionals during college. The
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impact of this recommendation should be demonstrated by evidence of students gaining more
knowledge and connections with professionals in the business world and more information flow.
Recommendation 2: Incentivize Corporations to Hire Graduates on Financial Aid as Part
of Their Corporate Social Responsibility Programs
The overall impact of this recommendation should encourage corporations to be more
aware of what young people in Hong Kong think is important in a job. Being a good corporate
citizen can bring commercial value to an organization through the attraction of top talent. More
incentives can be built in for those who hire graduates on financial aid. The initial reaction from
the corporate world should be demonstrated through their active participation. The progress and
learning can be traced through analysis on the level and type of incentives that can drive
corporations to boost campus recruitment. These data can further be used to apply on other social
goods that the government may want to push such as green efforts and elderly support.
Recommendation 3: Increase Supply of Jobs in Hong Kong and the GBA to Facilitate
Upward Social Mobility
This is a long-term multi-year development that aims to create a sustainable solution for
cities in the GBA. The synergies created from coordination and collaboration across local
governments can increase the size of the overall market and facilitate economic, social, and
technological developments. Accelerated developments can not only directly create more
opportunities, but also further strength the optimism young people hold on their future.
Each city’s willingness to working with each other is key to the success of this GBA
development plan. Each local government’s budget and annual plans can shed light on the latest
trends. The employment, social, and economic metrics demonstrate how each is progressing
along. The cities should continue to pivot to find the best positioning in the GBA, which can
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leverage on its strengths and local resources. The results of this initiative can be transferred to
other clusters of cities in the mainland.
Recommendation 4: Increase Support to the Start-Up Community
Regular surveys can help to track the reaction and feedback of founders and investors to
gauge the strengths and weaknesses of the start-up community and ecosystem in Hong Kong.
The learning should be acted upon. For example, this study found that there was appetite for an
entrepreneurial career path among lower SES college students in Hong Kong, but the lack of
start-up capital was a major barrier to them. Therefore, it is recommended that the Hong Kong
government, through the UGC and the Youth Development Commission, design more programs
to address the appetite of lower SES college students for entrepreneurship in the context of the
real need of basic income to sustain a living. As a result, a larger and more inclusive community
should drive innovation in Hong Kong, and potentially resolve the intergenerational inequities.
Innovation can drive economic development and create more jobs.
Limitations and Delimitations
This study focused on business-major college students at the UGC-funded universities,
which held high admissions standards that could help to direct the research to other factors that
affect how students of similar caliber approach their career planning options. By focusing only
on the UGC-funded universities, the research results hence were limited to academically
prepared, low-income students. The conclusions of this study might not be applicable to students
at private tertiary institutions in Hong Kong.
It should be noted that this also delimits the research applicability to only students and
families who reach the university level. The study did not include households that might not be
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able to support their children financially to reach the college level, as well as those who were not
academically prepared to get into more selective institutions.
The research was designed to focus on students on need-based scholarships, which
indicated lower SES, and majoring in business. This assumed SES played a role in career
searching approach and the successful launch of career among business-college students. The
assessment of social capital and the students’ social cognitive development have helped to
validify this assumption. The research design also assumed that school selection and subsequent
major selection at these UGC-funded universities were not influenced by SES. If students have
decided to not apply to the UGC-funded universities in the first place or not take on a business
career path due to their SES, research results might be biased.
The limitations of this study also lie on the representativeness of the participant pool. The
pre-screening survey results were based on 65 participants who confirmed that they were both
full-time students in Hong Kong and were on financial aid. They came from five of the seven
UGC universities targeted. The EdUHK, which does not offer a BBA program, was not a target.
There were 20 interviewees, and they came from four of the five institutions. Therefore, the
research participant pool may only be limitedly representative of the lower SES business-college
students in Hong Kong.
Moreover, out of the 20 interviewees, only 14 were local students in Hong Kong, one was
originally from Mainland China, and five (20%) were international students. In school year
2021/22, local students account for 80% of the student body at UGC universities in Hong Kong,
followed by 15% from Mainland China, and 5% from the rest of the world (UGC, 2022). As
such, the interview participant pool was skewed toward international students.

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Recommendations for Future Research
Some interviewees have expressed that their current school was not their top choice, and
some also acknowledged that they picked certain schools simply due to the scholarships offered.
As such, it should be helpful for future research to study the impact of wealth inequality in
influencing college decisions and the role of scholarships. This study has found that schools in
general were an important source of social capital, and it served as a platform for information
and connections. Future research can also perform more in-depth studies on the potentially
different type and amount of resources at higher- and lower-ranked higher education institutions
in Hong Kong. Moreover, it can study how achievement gaps and private tutoring in K-12, as
discussed in Chapter Two, lead to a divide in educational resources in higher education and
therefore college students’ access to career search resources.
As the COVID-19 pandemic further fades out, the GBA should slowly open up. Future
research can study the results of the GBA initiatives and the social and economic development in
Hong Kong and Macau, as well as the Mainland cities, with a focus on youth and upward social
movement. This can be case studies, showcasing how the GBA initiatives affect cities at various
income levels and stages of socioeconomic development.
Conclusion
This dissertation studied the problem of how SES affects career planning options among
college students studying business in Hong Kong. Chapter Two provided an overview of the
literature covering the historical development and the roots of inequities in Hong Kong, how this
has led to inequities in access to educational resources and learning outcomes, and how it has
affected career planning which supported the continuity of inequities. As such, this study sought
potential solutions to break the cycle of intergenerational inequities and promote social mobility
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for the younger generation in Hong Kong, in particular, through the lens of the social cognitive
development theory and the social capital theory. Guided by the research questions of how low-
SES students leverage resources at their universities for career planning, and what networks and
resources are helpful to these students as they launch their career, this research performed
surveys and interviews with business-college students on financial aid.
The research findings led to five themes involving motivation, prospects, and the
different types of resources leveraged for career searching. The interviewees were generally
motivated, and they saw increasingly more opportunities available to them compared to the last
generation thanks to advancement in technologies. They were also optimistic about their future
career development in Hong Kong, with some interested in entrepreneurship. They were positive
about utilizing their school as an information platform and as a networking community. Some
interviewees found it challenging to leverage family and friends as contacts for their career
search since they were not in the business field. The government has had some success in
providing internships and job opportunities, but the potential of the GBA development and the
opportunities offered were limited by the COVID-19 border restrictions.
In light of these, four recommendations were proposed, including incentivizing working
professionals to give back, incentivizing corporations to hire fresh graduates especially those
from lower SES background, accelerating collaboration of Hong Kong and the other GBA cities
to increase the supply of jobs for all, and supporting the development of the start-up community.
These recommendations are realistic and achievable in phases. They aim to engage stakeholders
in society from students and families to business corporations and government to work together.
Accessing resources for career development is an important step to revert the wealth inequality
trend in Hong Kong. This can also help to unite the community and instil positive energy after
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the social chaos in Hong Kong in 2019 and the global pandemic in the recent years. The
recommendations can help to increase the number of job opportunities available to business
school graduates, and particularly those from lower SES background by levelling the access of
resources and by providing corporate incentives. All business school students can also benefit
from a wider network of job opportunities and more options for them to select the best offer at
graduation. The business schools, the business sector, and the city can benefit from a stronger
workforce. This will help attract top-caliber talent to the schools and corporations, and together
Hong Kong will become a more competitive city.

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112

Appendix A: Dissertation Protocols
Survey:
Screening tool Goal Survey Item (includes
question/prompt AND response
options)
Household income To confirm low SES Would you consider your family
low, middle, or high income?
Household size To confirm low SES How many members do you have
in your household?
Parents’ jobs To support social capital analysis What do your parents do for a
living?
Parents’ education To support social capital analysis What is the highest education
level of your parents
respectively?
Number of Siblings To support social capital analysis How many siblings do you have?
Age of Siblings To support social capital analysis How old are your siblings?
Grandparents To support social capital analysis How many of your parents born in
Hong Kong? How many of
your grandparents were born in
Hong Kong?
Age To triangulate with graduating
year
How old are you as of Jan 1,
2022?
Major To screen out business majors What is your major or
concentration?
Institution To compare data across schools Which university are you
attending?
Year To assess urgency in job
searching
When are you expected to
graduate?
Post-graduation plans To assess expectations and
interests
Are you planning to work after
graduation or pursue further
studies? If others, please
specify.
Post-graduation plans To assess social capital Would you consider working
outside of Hong Kong? If yes,
where would you like to move
to?
Participation To confirm interest Would you be willing to
participate in a 30- to 45-minute
interview for my research on
how socioeconomic status
influences career planning
choices among business-major
college students in Hong Kong?

113

Interview:
Theory Goal Interview Question
Social capital To assess social capital 1. How did you pick this
school?
Social capital To assess social capital 2. How did you pick this major?
Social cognitive
development
To assess expectations 3. What do you think about the
potential and opportunities
available to you compared to
your parents’ and their
generation?
Social capital To assess social capital 4. Would you consider being an
entrepreneur and why?
Social cognitive
development
To assess self-efficacy 5. What would be your dream
career path?
Social cognitive
development
To assess expectations and
interests
6. What would be the top three
factors you consider when
you decide on a job offer?
Social capital To design recommendations 7. To what extent does the
school help you achieve your
career goals (career center
services, faculty, alumni
connections, etc)?
Social capital To design recommendations 8. How can your personal
network (family, friends,
church, and other social
organizations) help you with
your job search?
Social capital To design recommendations 9. How can the government and
other non-government
organizations (NGOs) help
you with your job search?

114

Appendix B: Information Sheet
University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education
Waite Phillips Hall
3470 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, CA 90089

INFORMATION SHEET FOR EXEMPT RESEARCH

STUDY TITLE: How Socioeconomic Status (SES) Influences Career Planning for College
Business Majors in Hong Kong

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Mariana Kou

FACULTY ADVISOR: Tracy Poon Tambascia, EdD

You are invited to participate in a research study. Your participation is voluntary. This document
explains information about this study. You should ask questions about anything that is unclear to
you.

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study is to examine how socioeconomic status (SES) affects career planning
choices among business-major college students in Hong Kong. The study will focus on students
on need-based scholarships and how they explore resources available for their career planning.
We hope to learn about how education institutions, the Hong Kong government, and other
networks can help to enhance students’ career planning. You are invited as a possible participant
because you are a business-major student on financial aid.

PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT
If you decide to take part, you will be asked to fill out a survey which asks about demographic
and other basic information. The survey should take less than two minutes.

The second stage of this process is by invitation. If you are selected and you agree to participate,
you will be asked to join a 30- to 45-minute interview. The interview may be in person if
COVID conditions permit but may also take place online using a web-based video platform such
as Zoom. There will be audio-recording during the interview, and the recording will be solely
used for data confirmation for this research study. You may decline to be recorded before or
during the interview. You may also terminate the interview at any time.

PAYMENT/COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATION
Survey participants will be entered into a drawing for a raffle, if they wish, for ParknShop gift
coupons worth of HK$1,000 (US$129). The drawing will be held at the end of the study and the
winner notified via email.

115

You will receive ParknShop gift coupons worth of HK$400 (US$51) for those participants
selected for the second stage of the study – the interview.

CONFIDENTIALITY
The members of the research team and the University of Southern California Institutional
Review Board (IRB) may access the data. The IRB reviews and monitors research studies to
protect the rights and welfare of research subjects.

A transcript application Otter will be used to process the audio-recording of the interview. The
transcript recording will be safely secured offline in a local drive and backed up on Google
Cloud. You shall be entitled to the right to review and edit the audio-recording or transcript. The
audio-recordings will be erased approximately in five years. When the results of the research are
published or discussed in conferences, no identifiable information will be used. Pseudonyms will
be used when we discuss the findings in the research study and personal identities will be
disguised.

INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions about this study, please contact the investigator Mariana Kou at
marianak@usc.edu or +852 6220 6635 and faculty advisor Tracy Poon Tambascia at
tpoon@rossier.usc.edu or (213) 740-9747.

IRB CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact the
University of Southern California Institutional Review Board at (323) 442-0114 or email
irb@usc.edu.

116

Appendix C: Recruitment Email
Dear (Name),

I hope this email finds you well. I am currently a doctoral candidate at the Rossier School of
Education at the University of Southern California and I am currently working on my
dissertation. My research focuses on how socioeconomic status (SES) affects career planning
choices for college business majors in Hong Kong.

You are cordially invited to participate in the study. If you agree, first you are invited to
complete an online survey which asks about demographic and other basic information. The
online survey should take less than two minutes to complete. Survey participants will be entered
into a drawing for a raffle, if they wish, for ParknShop gift coupons worth of HK$1,000
(US$129). The drawing will be held at the end of the study and the winner notified via email.

Survey: https://usc.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0Pdo3MLpTVuRjTM

Following the completion of the survey, you may be invited to be interviewed in person if
COVID conditions permit or otherwise on Zoom. You will be contacted at a later time to
schedule a date and time for your individual interview, which should take 30-45 minutes and
may be audio-recorded. You will receive ParknShop gift coupons worth of HK$400 (US$51) for
those participants selected for the second stage of the study – the interview.

Participation in this study is completely voluntary. Your identity as a participant will remain
confidential at all times during and after the study.

If you have questions, please contact me at marianak@usc.edu.

Thank you,

Mariana Kou

Doctoral Student - Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
Email: marianak@usc.edu

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Asset Metadata

Creator Kou, Mariana (author)

Core Title How socioeconomic status influences career planning for college business majors in Hong Kong

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Global Executive

Degree Conferral Date 2023-05

Publication Date 04/03/2023

Defense Date 01/11/2023

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag business networks,career planning,career resources,Hong Kong,OAI-PMH Harvest,wealth inequities

Format theses (aat)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Tambascia, Tracy Poon (committee chair), Krop, Cathy (committee member), Seli, Helena (committee member)

Creator Email mariana.kou@gmail.com,marianak@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC112922126

Unique identifier UC112922126

Identifier etd-KouMariana-11554.pdf (filename)

Legacy Identifier etd-KouMariana-11554

Document Type Dissertation

Format theses (aat)

Rights Kou, Mariana

Internet Media Type application/pdf

Type texts

Source 20230404-usctheses-batch-1015 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given.

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu