Jocelyn
Jocelyn is a fifth-year student majoring in Sociology and minoring in Family Studies.
Her honours thesis explores how middle-class Hong Kong parents who migrated to Vancouver after the 2019 political unrest navigate everyday parenting while balancing the preservation of cultural traditions with fostering children’s autonomy, well-being, and educational opportunities in a new social and institutional context.
When she’s not in school, she enjoys spending time with her friends, trying new restaurants, and travelling.
Reworking Parenting and Family Belonging: Hong Kong Migrant Families in Vancouver After the 2019 Political Crisis
Many Hong Kong parents who migrated after the 2019 political upheaval find that everyday parenting carries both emotional and cultural weight as they navigate stability and identity for their children. While previous literature has explored Hong Kong migration and transnational parenting separately, they rarely examine how political crises reshape parenting ideologies for post-2019 middle-class migrants in Vancouver. This leaves an important gap in understanding how political events affect family life. This study investigates how Hong Kong parents explain their decision to migrate and how they redefine what “good” parenting means in a new institutional and cultural environment.
Using semi-structured interviews with recently arrived parents, the project applies thematic analysis to identify how they describe their shifts in values and practices. Early findings suggest that migration in the midst of political uncertainty makes parenting challenging because parents try to preserve cultural traditions and values while their children adapt to assimilate. This creates tension between the families working to maintain their ethnic identity and helping the children feel included in Canadian society. These findings have implications for designing settlement, education, and family-support programs that help parents preserve cultural identity while reducing conflict with their children.
How did you become interested in this topic? Why did you choose it for your thesis?
My interest in this topic began when I reflected on my parents’ experiences as immigrants from Hong Kong. They moved to Canada before 1997 as they anticipated the political changes that would come when Hong Kong was handed over from British to Chinese rule. Growing up, I noticed how their migration shaped their identity and opportunities. Due to the recent 2019 political unrest in Hong Kong, I started thinking about how newer waves of migrants in Vancouver might navigate similar decisions under very different circumstances.
Can you summarize your project and its main findings for us?
My project focuses on middle-class Hong Kong families who migrated to Canada after the 2019 political unrest. I wanted to explore how parents frame migration as a protective strategy while balancing social and political pressures. Through interviews, I found that parents carefully manage autonomy as it shapes their children’s education, identity, and sense of belonging. Through this, I found that migration wasn’t just a response to the political events that were occurring but was also a deliberate strategy for securing social and emotional well-being. Overall, this study focuses on how everyday parenting practices reflect broader questions of morality, opportunity, and cultural continuity.
What was your favourite part of doing research?
My favourite part was conducting interviews and listening to parents describe their migration experiences. Hearing how families navigated uncertainty by making choices that were best for both them and their children was insightful and sometimes moving. It was exciting to translate personal narratives into research and reflect on parallels with my own family. The process felt like a combination of storytelling and analysis, and it reminded me why I love Sociology. Honestly, learning so much directly from people’s lived experiences was just really eye-opening.
Why did you choose to study Sociology as a major? Why did you decide to apply to the honours program?
I didn’t start off as a Sociology major at UBC but am so happy that I made the switch! I fell in love with Sociology when I took one of its courses as a required Arts elective and it made me realize how much I’d been missing. I decided to apply into the honours program because UBC has so many amazing mentors and resources at my fingertips for me to learn. I thought this was truly a golden opportunity for me to gain valuable research skills and I was excited to get out of my comfort zone.
I had always my sights set on honours, but when it came time to apply to the honours program I felt really wary. I worried that I did not have the analytical or research skills to do the project justice, and I felt insecure about building research around my own lived experience. Ultimately, Professor Greer encouraged me to recognize my potential and gave me confidence to turn my own lived experience into meaningful research. I am infinitely grateful for her influence on my academic career and I will continue to cherish it for many years to come.
What was the most difficult part of this learning journey? What was the most satisfying?
The honours thesis has been extremely rewarding, but also challenging. Balancing the workload alongside other courses and responsibilities was tough, and learning so many new research skills in a short time was sometimes overwhelming. The most satisfying part, however, has been seeing the project take shape and realizing that my research ideas were coming to life on paper. Spending months conducting interviews, analyzing data, and writing a complete thesis really gave me a sense of accomplishment. After eight months of work, having a finished paper to show for it feels incredibly fulfilling!
