The marketisation of non-local higher education provision as part of the response to the massification of higher education in Hong Kong has given rise to unintended problems around issues of educational quality, which are addressed through a specific regulatory framework. The central argument of this study is that the nature of this 'mandatory registration versus incentive accreditation' regulatory framework is not adequate for ensuring the quality and responsiveness of cross-border education provision in Hong Kong. This decentralisation of the quality assurance function, which leaves the provider country responsible for programme quality, may potentially jeopardise students' chances of success in their career development. This research uses survey and focus group methods to examine students' views on the relative importance of quality indicators as they pursue their cross-border educational studies in Hong Kong. This is the first time this issue has been examined from the students' perspective, thus allowing their problems to emerge and their voices to be heard. The research findings reveal that students on these courses are least satisfied with a number of quality issues, particularly the time and attention they receive from teaching staff, and the lack of effective feedback channels for programme improvement. The most important finding is that students have been confused about the status of local accreditation of non-local programmes in relation to the perception of employer recognition. The dissertation ends with a series of recommendations about how these issues may be ameliorated.

The Hong Kong higher education sector has undergone significant transformations since the turn of the century when its government decided to enable 60% of the secondary school leavers to receive tertiary education by 2010. The sudden expansion has brought along issues concerning the quality of students and escalating costs in the higher education sector. In light of these local concerns and global influences, the University Grants Committee (UGC) in Hong Kong sought to take measures with the objectives to achieve quality assurance, cost-efficiency and public accountability. Applying the concepts of outcomes-based teaching and learning at all local universities has been considered a tool in helping the committee to meet these targets. Recently, the learning outcomes approach has trickled down into the sub-degree sector in Hong Kong. Whilst the implementation progress of the learning outcomes approach at the university level was monitored through the UGC, little attention has been paid to its application in the sub-degree sector. This dissertation sets out to understand how a Learning Outcomes Policy is implemented within a sub-degree institution in Hong Kong. Using the policy as an entry point into the investigation, this study not only hopes to reveal the micro-political process that has taken place within the institution, but also to demonstrate how they might come to influence the interpretations of policy actors and inform the production and practice of policy. Through developing a dynamic 'study through' approach to policy analysis, it is hope that this model can illustrate various forms of power relations and policy messiness within and between policy spaces in order to gain a more heuristic and holistic understanding on policy movement through time and space. By using this approach to analyse the policy in our case study, the findings have suggested that due to the different cultural settings of policy spaces in addition to the multiple interpretations and translations by policy actors, the claim benefits of learning outcomes has been overstated and the policy itself has become symbolic and remained at the level of rhetoric. Reflecting upon the methodological framework used in this investigation has revealed the movement of policy is indeed highly complex whilst it can be affected by factors such as power, culture, knowledge and resources. This analysis is significant for local policy workers by providing useful information for the future development of the sub-degree sector, particularly in the area of policy implementation. In addition, by adopting a new methodological approach to policy analysis, the present study is also relevant for readers of the policy and higher education community by offering us new perspectives to view the world of policy.

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The thesis is about quality in higher education; what it means, how it is measured, and how it can be improved. It attempts to analyse ways of thinking about higher education and quality, consider their relevance to the measurement of performance of universities, and explore their implications for the selection of criteria, approaches and methods for the assessment of quality in higher education. Forming the basis for the empirical investigation of the thesis is the approach of assessing quality of university education using data collected from individual students about their subjective experiences during the university years and their perceptions of the value of the educational experience. The intention is to investigate the numerous aspects of the student experience in higher education to contribute to the knowledge of quality learning and the necessary conditions in institutions that are required to promote quality learning in students. The setting for the thesis was Lingnan University in Hong Kong, a small, government-funded liberal arts university. Data were collected from two samples of students on two occasions with eight months apart. Data collection was by way of a questionnaire for a wide range of variables about the students' background, university experience and learning outcomes. Findings of the research identified that the change reported by students was related to their educational experience and the effect of different university environments on students' growth and development. Results were reported with implications to provide university administrators, teachers, and students with feedback on how well they have been performing and what conditions are conducive to quality learning and teaching in university. Further, implications were drawn for quality assessment of higher education in Hong Kong by presenting an alternative approach that takes into account the effects of the university experience and students' involvement in it as indicators of university success.

The value of work-based experiential learning and the benefits from internship participation have received a lot of recognition and confirmation for the past few decades. A closer examination of the existing literature, however, it shows there is a lack of empirical studies to address if application of classroom learned knowledge and skills by student interns exist in their internship. This research inquiry aims to address this lacuna. This is a descriptive-qualitative study using a multiple case study method with a phenomenological focus (Stake 2010) based on theories of knowledge and skills application of Seltzer and Bentley (1999) and the five knowledge skills classifications of Floyd and Gordon (1998). The researcher uses purposeful sampling in this research inquiry and a total of 12 student interns and 5 on-site supervisors were invited for a face-to-face interview. The findings from the perspectives of student interns and their on-site supervisors through the in-depth interviews showed that there was a significant relationship between the aims of student interns joining the internship and learned knowledge and skills application. The findings also revealed that a well-structured internship programme, the role of on-site mentors and the nature of assigned tasks were of equal significant to the transfer of knowledge and skills during internship. This research provides valuable insights into the nature of work -based experiential learning to remedy the gap to enhance internship programme contexts and structure; and hence its effectiveness. The findings from this study will be useful for education institutes to strengthen their course curriculum, for sponsoring companies to well prepare and organize a project-based internship, and for student interns to prepare themselves and understand the objective before joining the internship.

This research investigated Hong Kong Chinese undergraduate students’ conceptions and experiences of academics’ care and examined its pedagogical implications within a higher education context. Three purposes framed this study: 1) To explore the conceptions of academics’ care amongst Hong Kong Chinese undergraduate students; 2) To investigate Hong Kong Chinese undergraduate students’ perceived attributes of academics’ care and the perceived effects of academics’ care on learning and development in Hong Kong; and 3) To draw the implications of caring pedagogy for Hong Kong Chinese undergraduate students’ learning and academic development in Hong Kong. The empirical data were collected from final-year students in the naturalistic setting of a Hong Kong university. By applying a qualitative research design, purposive sampling was used to select students who had experienced academics’ care during their university study. Data sources included in-depth interviews, write-up accounts and researcher’s notes. Thematic analysis was used to identify the themes emerged from the informants’ narrative accounts of academics’ care. Data quality procedures, included triangulation, member checks and audit trail, were followed to ensure research rigour. Results indicated that academics’ care was conceptualized as a continuum of care, moving along the continuum from “Pedagogical Care” to “Holistic Care” and then to “Sustainable Care”. This continuum featured a deepening of mutuality, responsiveness and reciprocity. A dual overarching theme of “Safety Net” and “Sustainable Bonding” were identified in conceptualizing academics’ care in a university context. This thesis thus proposed a model of caring in higher education rested on three overlapping domains of the relational zone, attachment behaviour and the socio-cultural context. This thesis has contributed to an under-researched area of caring pedagogy in a university context. The significant role of academics’ care in students’ learning, development and well-being has been discerned as a key construct of the socio-culture of care within the Chinese context. Implications were thus offered for future research on caring pedagogy, and for policymakers, university administrators and teachers in further exploring the opportunities presented by integrating care into teaching practices.

This study has examined, within the context of a post-secondary education institute in Hong Kong, the practice of Service-Learning as an educational initiative. A qualitative case study method was employed to explore the experiences of both the student participants and the staff members involved in the Service-Learning process. Data collection took place in the form of semi-structured individual interviews, focus group and student reflective journal. Eleven students from different academic programmes and at different HKQF levels are selected as the informants. In addition, three staff members of the organization were selected for interviews. In this study, benefits of Service-Learning for students are identified: (1) citizenship behaviors; (2) interpersonal development; (3) personal development and (4) intellectual development. The service experiences allow students to explore and experience different social situations and scenarios that they have never met in their classroom learning. The process will help students to develop their self confidence and social skills in relating to others. More importantly, Service-Learning will enhance students' competences and so with their employability after graduation. In searching for relevant service opportunities for the' student participants, the consideration of 'student ownership' is found to be very important. 'Student Ownership', on the basis of my findings, is enhanced by three factors: (1) freedom of choice in selecting service opportunities: (2) pre-service training and (3) students' autonomy in planning and designing the service projects. Moreover, student and staff informants indicate that support from the senior management of the College is a 'must' for any success in service projects. Service coordinators/ mentors have to create an appropriate learning environment for students. To create such environment, service coordinators/ mentors not only play roles such as advisor, coordinator, leader, trainer, information provider, project manager, but also play the 'change agent' role to review and change the formal curriculum and the policy and structure of the College. The present study provides a foundation for further research on Service-Learning in post-secondary education. A dynamic model for Service-Learning has been developed. In the model, the student participants, the service experience, the service coordinators/ mentors and the organization (contextual factors) need to be considered.

The term "internationalization of higher education" in Hong Kong, usually calls to mind the number or percentage of "non-local" students studying in universities and institutions. With the HKSAR Government's initiatives of turning Hong Kong into a "regional education hub" and the relaxation of "non-local" student quota of up to 20% of the annual undergraduate intake since 2007, local higher education institutions need to work even harder in formulating strategies for internationalization. Statistically, the number of "non-local" as well as exchange students has been on a rising trend year after year; however, not much research has been conducted on the key stakeholders' (students, faculty members and administrators) perspectives, attitudes, and perhaps, struggles and difficulties, when they are faced with the implementation of internationalization strategies in the day-to-day campus / classroom / working environment. This qualitative study was conducted at a local university with a focus on undergraduate programs. Undergraduate students, faculty members and administrators from the local context and outside Hong Kong were interviewed to find out how they defined "internationalization of higher education", evaluated the effectiveness of related strategies, as well as how the strategies have influenced their role in learning, teaching, and administration. By analyzing findings from interviews and reviewing relevant literature from Hong Kong, U.K., U.S. and Australia, this study investigates the implementation of internationalization strategies at a local university, with an aim to find out whether there is any "missing link" between "ideals" formulated by decision makers and "realities" faced by key stakeholders. Central themes emerging from the findings contribute to further studies in this field and serve as a reflection for decision makers in future strategies formulation and/or evaluation.

China resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong on I July, 1997. After being a British colony for more than 150 years, Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of China following the "one country, two systems" policy. This dissertation is concerned with the examination of the market changes in Hong Kong's university distance education in the transition period. Information about respondents' demographics, evaluation and intention to pursue further study through distance education programmes was collected by sending questionnaires to two types of subject: current students using distance education programmes and potential adult students in Hong Kong. A total of five groups were identified as representing the first type of subject: students of the Henley Management College/Brunel University (UK) - MBA programme, the Curtin University of Technology - Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Accounting programme (Australia), and the Open University of Hong Kong - Bachelor of Business Administration and MBA programmes. The second type of subject comprised Hong Kong adults who were interested in studying via distance education programmes. One group of subjects were visitors to the Hong Kong Education Expo 1996, and they were classified as potential students who wished to study in distance education programmes in Hong Kong. All the data were processed using the Statistical Package for Social Science software programme. The research questions were tackled by the resultant data and analysis. The important findings obtained from the subjects are: a) The need for higher-degree-level programmes is very great among Hong Kong's distance learners. The decision to undertake further study to distance Master degree level after completing a distance Bachelor degree aptly demonstrates this situation. Consideration should, therefore, be given to developing distance Master degree programmes for students currently studying distance Bachelor degree programmes, and distance Doctorate degree programmes for students currently studying distance Master degree programmes. The majority of distance students, particularly at the higher-degree-level, tend to be in the higher-income bracket. b) Hong Kong adults who are interested in distance education programmes come from different occupation segments. Their choice of further study varies according to their needs and occupations. Consideration should be given to repositioning the current distance education programmes, particularly at Bachelor's degree or Diploma level. In addition, a segment comprising housewives has been identified as potential students for Bachelor's degree programmes by this study. In the further discussion about Hong Kong during the transition period, Fägerlind and Saha's Dialectical Model is used to examine the development of Hong Kong's higher education system with three important dimensions: political, economic and social forces. Finally, this analysis provides three possible alternatives of development for the integration of Hong Kong's and China's higher education systems in the post-transition period: "One Country, One System", "One Country, Two Systems", and "One Country, Many Systems".