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British degrees made in Hong Kong: an enquiry into the role of space and place in transnational education

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Abstract

The fundamental logic of transnational education programmes is a one-to-one transfer of institutional capital across space and an unimportance of place. This article interrogates these presumptions and argues that space and place play an important role in transnational education. Drawing on research that examines the experiences of students and graduates of British degree programmes offered in Hong Kong, we conclude that institutional capital does not always travel wholly and smoothly due to a combination of policy-related, social, cultural and economic factors. Our findings also underline the importance of place in students’ experiences, which are not sufficiently recognised by the providers. This, in turn, affects the ability of students to cultivate institutional and other forms of social capital, with implications for subsequent employment opportunities and social mobility.

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Notes

  1. Students who have completed Associate Degrees, Higher Diploma or other equivalent courses in Hong Kong may study on a top-up degree programme to gain a full ordinary or honours Bachelor degree.

  2. TNE courses are generally more expensive than local subsidised undergraduate programs, with fees for the latter set at HK$42,000 (with more to offer in terms of campus facilities, services and experiences), whilst TNE courses typically range from HK$46,000 to HK$119,000 (British Council 2011, p. 7).

  3. For a more detailed analysis regarding institutional social capital based on our fieldwork findings, see Waters and Leung (2013a).

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all interviewees who shared with us their opinions and experiences, Yutin Ki for his excellent work and the British Council for its support. This paper is based on research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (UK) and the Research Grants Council (Hong Kong) (RES-000-22-3000). An earlier draft of this paper was presented at the ARI-GUISM Joint Conference on Education Mobilities in East Asia held at the National University of Singapore in May 2012.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Maggi W. H. Leung

  2. The University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Johanna L. Waters

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  1. Maggi W. H. Leung
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  2. Johanna L. Waters
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Correspondence to Maggi W. H. Leung.

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Leung, M.W.H., Waters, J.L. British degrees made in Hong Kong: an enquiry into the role of space and place in transnational education. Asia Pacific Educ. Rev. 14, 43–53 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-013-9250-4

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