In shaping Hong Kong into an international education hub and in offering hope to youth and the promise of social mobility, talent development is a major priority of the Hong Kong Government. Since the 2000s, associate degrees (ADs) have been mandated to fulfill this promise through increasing higher education access - that is, to raise the post-secondary education participation rate to 60% or above. Given the mandate and insufficient genuine governmental support, this thesis argues that AD students of the self-financed sector experience precarity beyond education, underpinned by higher education marketization and chronopolitics. Drawing upon geography of precarity and life course studies, and using a mixed method of data collection including interviews, group discussions, diary studies, social media and participant observation, and grounded theory, the research explores the AD youth cohort's multidimensional everyday life precarity. This thesis builds a 'precarity over the life course' conceptual framework that can contribute to the geographies of higher education and wider research fields such as eldercare.

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published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

Liberal Studies has become a core subject of senior form students in the new education system in Hong Kong since 2009. One purpose of the subject is to develop students as life-long learners. To enhance teaching effectiveness and achieve this goal, learning environment is an important element. This study investigated the effects of co-operative learning on Form Four (Grade 10) and Form Five (Grade 11) students’ metacognition and self-motivation towards Liberal Studies. Participants were 245 students from Form Four and Form Five in a local band two secondary school located in Tin Shui Wai. 68 of them were taught by the author with co-operative learning and 177 of them were taught by other teachers with other teaching methods. Data collection was conducted using questionnaires and group interviews to assess students’ motivation and abilities of self-directed learning in Liberal Studies among different teaching groups. Results of the study showed that co-operative learning is more likely to enhance students’ motivation and self-regulatory skills in their learning than other teaching methods. However, with limitations, results of this study were not precise enough. It is suggested that further research should be conducted to find a more concrete effects of co-operative learning on students’ metacognition and self-motivation towards Liberal Studies. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education