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Seeking meaning and purpose in the university-to-work transition: the experience of mainland Chinese master's students in Hong Kong.

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Title: Seeking meaning and purpose in the university-to-work transition: the experience of mainland Chinese master's students in Hong Kong.
Authors: Li, Xiaoshi (AUTHOR)
Source: Studies in Higher Education. Feb2026, Vol. 51 Issue 2, p357-370. 14p.
Subjects: School-to-work transition, Employability, Work values, Narrative inquiry (Research method), Qualitative research, Employee motivation, Chinese-speaking students, Self-actualization (Psychology)
Geographic Terms: Hong Kong (China)
Abstract: The article explores how students perceive the meaning of work and how they seek purpose in work during the challenging transition from university to work. Two rounds of interviews were conducted to observe the evolving nature of students' work transitions. Twenty-six mainland Chinese students from various master's programmes in Hong Kong participated in the first round of interviews; one year later, 12 of them participated in the second round of interviews. Based on the qualitative content analysis, I first identified four types to illustrate how the students perceived the meaning of work: survive, thrive, (dis)connect, and contribute. In addition, using the analytical framework of self-formation and narrative analysis, I expounded two pathways to purposeful work: inward self-formation by cultivating capabilities and outward self-formation by cultivating moral qualities. The findings also revealed the tensions between individual agency and environmental forces in students' early search for meaning and purpose at work. The article contributes to current discussions on graduate employability and university-to-work transition, with a particular focus on the ongoing construction of meaning and purpose at work. Theoretical and practical implications for a wide range of stakeholders involved in graduate employment were also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Studies in Higher Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Seeking meaning and purpose in the university-to-work transition: the experience of mainland Chinese master's students in Hong Kong.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Li%2C+Xiaoshi%22">Li, Xiaoshi</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Studies+in+Higher+Education%22">Studies in Higher Education</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 51 Issue 2, p357-370. 14p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School-to-work+transition%22">School-to-work transition</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Employability%22">Employability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Work+values%22">Work values</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Narrative+inquiry+%28Research+method%29%22">Narrative inquiry (Research method)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Qualitative+research%22">Qualitative research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Employee+motivation%22">Employee motivation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Chinese-speaking+students%22">Chinese-speaking students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self-actualization+%28Psychology%29%22">Self-actualization (Psychology)</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hong+Kong+%28China%29%22">Hong Kong (China)</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: The article explores how students perceive the meaning of work and how they seek purpose in work during the challenging transition from university to work. Two rounds of interviews were conducted to observe the evolving nature of students' work transitions. Twenty-six mainland Chinese students from various master's programmes in Hong Kong participated in the first round of interviews; one year later, 12 of them participated in the second round of interviews. Based on the qualitative content analysis, I first identified four types to illustrate how the students perceived the meaning of work: survive, thrive, (dis)connect, and contribute. In addition, using the analytical framework of self-formation and narrative analysis, I expounded two pathways to purposeful work: inward self-formation by cultivating capabilities and outward self-formation by cultivating moral qualities. The findings also revealed the tensions between individual agency and environmental forces in students' early search for meaning and purpose at work. The article contributes to current discussions on graduate employability and university-to-work transition, with a particular focus on the ongoing construction of meaning and purpose at work. Theoretical and practical implications for a wide range of stakeholders involved in graduate employment were also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Studies in Higher Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/03075079.2025.2468311
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 14
        StartPage: 357
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: School-to-work transition
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Employability
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Work values
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Narrative inquiry (Research method)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Qualitative research
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Employee motivation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Chinese-speaking students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Self-actualization (Psychology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Hong Kong (China)
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      – TitleFull: Seeking meaning and purpose in the university-to-work transition: the experience of mainland Chinese master's students in Hong Kong.
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            – D: 01
              M: 02
              Text: Feb2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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            – TitleFull: Studies in Higher Education
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