Community Colleges as Pathways to Social Mobility? Lessons From Abroad

• In Event: Global Higher Education and Visions of Social Justice

Abstract

Community colleges are a common institution in the American public, but are relatively new fixtures in Hong Kong higher education. In 2001 the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region announced that associate degree institutions will increase by 30,000 in the next 10 years, with community colleges serving as the primary source of this growth (Yung, 2002). While many Hong Kong community colleges were modeled after North American institutions, their features and implementation may yield different outcomes than other regions of the world. Using existing literature and interviews from Hong Kong educational leaders, this paper investigates the social outcomes that result from the Hong Kong community college structure. From this analysis, implications for Hong Kong are discussed.

Author

• Constance Iloh, University of Southern California