Negotiating Access to the Labour Market among Mainland Chinese Master's Students in Hong Kong
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| Title: | Negotiating Access to the Labour Market among Mainland Chinese Master's Students in Hong Kong |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Xiaoshi Li (ORCID |
| Source: | British Journal of Sociology of Education. 2026 47(1):1-17. |
| Availability: | Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 17 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, Graduate Students, Masters Degrees, Education Work Relationship, Labor Market, Occupational Mobility, Cultural Capital, Personality Traits, Individual Characteristics, Parent Influence, Geographic Regions |
| Geographic Terms: | Hong Kong, China |
| DOI: | 10.1080/01425692.2025.2573060 |
| ISSN: | 0142-5692 1465-3346 |
| Abstract: | This paper explores how master's students negotiate access to the labour market in a cross-border context. Utilising a Bourdieusian framework, it examines the university-to-work transition as a complex process structured by opportunity and inequality through the three interrelated concepts of habitus, capital, and field. Twenty-six mainland Chinese students from various master's programmes in Hong Kong participated in semi-structured interviews. The thematic analysis revealed that the dispositions and actions of these students in (re-)entering the labour market were influenced by the interplay of parental habitus, the dysfunction of existing social capital, and the differentiation of cultural capital within the explicit and implicit rules governing the labour market. The findings advance our understanding of the challenges faced by these students during work transitions and how the master's degree is valorised within the social practices of the labour market. The practical implications for various stakeholders involved in graduate employment are discussed. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1500730 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | This paper explores how master's students negotiate access to the labour market in a cross-border context. Utilising a Bourdieusian framework, it examines the university-to-work transition as a complex process structured by opportunity and inequality through the three interrelated concepts of habitus, capital, and field. Twenty-six mainland Chinese students from various master's programmes in Hong Kong participated in semi-structured interviews. The thematic analysis revealed that the dispositions and actions of these students in (re-)entering the labour market were influenced by the interplay of parental habitus, the dysfunction of existing social capital, and the differentiation of cultural capital within the explicit and implicit rules governing the labour market. The findings advance our understanding of the challenges faced by these students during work transitions and how the master's degree is valorised within the social practices of the labour market. The practical implications for various stakeholders involved in graduate employment are discussed. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0142-5692 1465-3346 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/01425692.2025.2573060 |
