This paper investigates the language ideologies held by a group of international students in an English medium instruction (EMI) university in multilingual Hong Kong. The findings indicate that the participants' beliefs about English extend beyond its role as an instructional medium and encompass its use as a lingua franca and as a means of social inclusion. It is also found that the participants hold complex yet sometimes contradictory ideologies about the kinds of English to be used and/or accepted and about the monolingual and multilingual uses of English in the EMI university context. Taken together, the study suggests that the participants' ideologies with respect to the roles of English and the norms of English use in the EMI university context are much more complex than what language policy from above suggests. The findings also reveal the ideological tensions over the norms of English use in the EMI university context and the closely intertwined relationship between the participants' language ideologies and the maintenance of their interests, especially in relation to access to learning opportunities in the classroom. The study calls for attention to broader issues pertaining to social inclusion/exclusion, linguistic advantage/disadvantage and educational equality/inequality in the multilingual EMI university context. Copyright ©2021 Routledge.

Limited research has been conducted on community college (CC) transfer students' (TS) experiences in four-year universities, particularly in Asian contexts. To fill this research gap, in this qualitative study, 124 TS from various disciplines in a Hong Kong university participated in 39 focus groups and seven individual interviews. Unlike their Western counterparts, our TS were relatively better prepared and more academically adaptive. Nevertheless, their social integration was restricted by a lack of time for extra-curricular activities, a sense of inferiority and incompetence, and restricted social circles that did not enable interaction with non-TS. These challenges and their implications are discussed. In particular, this study has highlighted differences between the special education systems for CC transfer in Hong Kong and those in Western CC models. The study has also highlighted the study-induced stress, and poor self-perceptions that TS experience, despite their academic abilities. Copyright ©2021 MDPI.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created substantial challenges across higher education, requiring academic institutes to conduct all teaching, learning, and assessments remotely online. To obtain a stronger understanding of the opinions of teachers and students in Hong Kong during this period, an anonymous online survey was distributed to all teachers and students at a higher education institute. Overall, 48 teachers and 425 students responded to the survey. This paper specifically analyzes the responses to open-ended questions from the survey to identify key topics and concepts. Open coding was used to obtain key terms, which were further grouped into categories. Results indicated that higher education teachers and students had similar issues (e.g., access to digital devices and software) and benefits (e.g., flexible scheduling and time arrangements) regarding online education. However, some categories were reported as both issues and benefits by teachers and students (e.g., communication/interaction), demonstrating that individual circumstances, abilities, preferences, and experiences, may influence satisfaction levels. Furthermore, results indicated that the delivery of quality online education enforced during a pandemic requires a multi-factorial and tailored approach. The information presented in this study will help higher education institutes to develop, redefine, and re-conceptualize online learning initiatives. Copyright © 2021 The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Education

Purpose: A new academic structure for senior secondary and higher education was introduced to Hong Kong in 2009/2010. This paper aims to: (1) compare the cohort from the old academic structure (Cohort 2010) and the cohort from the new academic structure (Cohort 2015) on the 14 categories of generic competencies; and (2) compare these attributes among students from different divisions in a tertiary institution in Hong Kong.Design/methodology/approach: Self-Assessment of All-Round Development (SAARD) questionnaires were distributed to students who took the two-year sub-degree programmes offered by the College of Professional and Continuing Education, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2010 and 2015 on a self-administered basis. A total of 4,424 students have returned the questionnaires. Data were analyzed with t-test to compare between the two cohorts.Findings: When comparing Cohort 2015 with Cohort 2010, significantly higher scores were observed on five areas such as global outlook and healthy lifestyle (p<0.05). Significantly lower scores were observed on the other five areas such as problem solving, critical thinking and leadership (p<0.05). Students from all divisions unanimously showed higher perceived rating on social and national responsibility but lower perceived rating on leadership (p<0.05).Originality/Value: The elimination of one public examination, the newly included components such as Other Learning Experiences (OLE) and the compulsory Liberal Studies were believed to contribute partially to the diverse responses of the two cohorts. The dramatic change of the curriculum has not changed the examination culture in Hong Kong which may hinder the development of generic skills among students. Copyright © 2021 Emerald Group Publishing Limited

The purpose of this study is to investigate the organizational changes in higher education institutions across different regional contexts, with a special focus on the trends towards marketization in South Korea and Hong Kong. The study employs a qualitative case study approach to understand the organizational responses to the marketization from the selected research sites. Using data collected through semi-structured interviews with participants from each case, the study applies cross-case synthesis to evaluate similarities and differences related to organizational changes and management practices at universities in these two contexts in Asia. The findings underscore two principal themes: market influences and trends towards marketization, and organizational and management changes on campuses. The findings suggest that both South Korea and Hong Kong represent excellent cases through which to explore organizational responses to the marketization of higher education institutions and to highlight the reshaping of higher education in Asia. Copyright © 2021 Taylor and Francis.

The rapid trend towards globalization has led to the expansion of English as Medium of Instruction (EMI) in tertiary education. The academic challenges faced by non-native speakers have been broadly discussed in Anglophone countries, whilst those learning through EMI in the Chinese context are still underexplored. To examine Chinese EMI university students' perceived language challenges in learning, as well as their language-related learning strategies, this study investigated 73 students studying at EMI universities in Hong Kong, taking account of their gender, EMI experience in higher education, and English exposure prior to tertiary education. Participants completed a survey to provide self-evaluations of their academic situation and their perceptions of their disciplinary learning. The study found that students perceived a relatively low level of language and learning challenges, and they showed a preference for using their second language (L2)-related learning strategies over strategies related to their first language. Specifically, male students tended to be more actively engaged in communication with their peers than females, and were more likely to search for additional learning support in English. In addition, first-year undergraduates perceived a greater degree of challenges in knowledge application and relied more on L2-related learning strategies than their senior counterparts. Although the importance of English exposure prior to higher education has been highlighted in many existing studies, this study found that prior exposure to English was neither connected with students' perceived challenges nor their learning strategies. Copyright © 2021 Public Library of Science.

• COVID-19 pandemic significantly decreased international student mobility. • Mainland China and Hong Kong university students lack interests in overseas study. • East Asia countries and regions become popular studying abroad destinations. • Health and safety become students' primary concerns for studying abroad. • Post-pandemic management becomes a key factor in attracting international students. The study critically examines how students in Mainland China and Hong Kong conceive overseas studies plans against the COVID-19 crisis. Amongst the 2739 respondents, 84 % showed no interest to study abroad after the pandemic. For those respondents who will continue to pursue further degrees abroad, Asian regions and countries, specifically Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan, are listed in the top five, apart from the US and the UK. The pandemic has not only significantly decreased international student mobility but is also shifting the mobility flow of international students. This article also discusses the policy implications, particularly reflecting on how the current global health crisis would intensify social and economic inequalities across different higher education systems. Copyright © 2021 Elsevier.

• The review essay discusses Wing-Wah Law's Politics, Managerialism and University Governance: Lessons from Hong Kong under China's rule since 1997. • The book recounts the rise of managerialism and performativity in Hong Kong's high quality universities, and their enfolding in demands for democratic reforms. • The One Country Two Systems formula,cannot manage a cleavage over national identity and loyalty. • The differences between China and Hong Kong go to the distinction between neo-coloniality and decoloniality and the fundamentals of political culture. • A wholly Western-style university is no longer fully viable in Hong Kong and ways need to be found to develop a more hybrid approach. The review essay introduces and discusses Wing-Wah Law's 2019 book Politics, Managerialism and University Governance: Lessons from Hong Kong under China's rule since 1997, in the context of the position of Hong Kong as a formerly colonised Western enclave within a Sinic political culture, and expands on the associated issues. The book recounts on one hand the rise of managerialism and performativity in Hong Kong's high quality universities, and on the other their enfolding in demands within the Special Autonomous Region for democratic reforms, tending towards independence from mainland China. Issues of corporatism and issues of political stability and control have coincided in disputes over the role and character of the governing councils, over senior appointments, and in relation to the freedoms of faculty and student activists. The One Country Two Systems formula, while broadly implemented, is not infinitely elastic and cannot manage a cleavage over national identity and loyalty. The differences between China and Hong Kong are more deep-seated than a tally of democratic activism and party-state repression would suggest. They go to the distinction between neo-coloniality and decoloniality and the fundamentals of political culture. The review argues that a wholly Western-style university

This Special Issue was conceived and developed following a series of international conferences held in Asia, with a particular focus on critically reflecting upon higher education development in the region from broader social and political economy perspectives. Some of the papers in this Special Issue were selected from presentations in the East Asia Social Policy (EASP) Research Network Conference successfully held in Taiwan in 2018, while others were chosen from international events held at Lingnan University in Hong Kong presenting critical reviews and reflections on internationalization, marketization and graduate employment of higher education in Asia. This introductory article puts the discussions of the selected papers in this issue in context, with critical reflections on the key issues being examined in these papers. The Special Issue is published when the world is still confronting the unprecedented global health crisis resulted from the outbreak of the COVID‐19 pandemic. This article discusses the higher education development trends in Asia through the massification, diversification and internationalisation processes in transforming the higher education system and examines how these development trends are affected by the COVID‐19 crisis. Copyright © 2021 Wiley.