來自社會經濟地位家庭的學生有較高的機率進入這些大學，然而私立技職類大學畢業後的收入、職位取得都顯著低於其他類型的大學。許多私立技職類大學提供的文憑不再像過去的職業教育一般，明確對應至勞動力市場中特定職位的取得資格。但是在後工業化的經濟背景下，除了繼續升學，難以找到其他途徑面對學校教育與工作之間的模糊關係。
透過民族誌的方法，觀察一間私立技職類大學機械系三年級學生校園生活的實踐，並輔以半結構式訪談，本研究發現：由於許多學生父母過往並非依靠在學術教育上積累立足於社會，而這些學生在義務教育過程中又沒有展現於學術型教育上的競爭優勢（考試分數），因此面臨教育篩選環節時，依其家庭背景對自身教育與未來工作取得做出「實際取向」的機會成本評估，進而形成「不愛讀書」與「求一技之長」兩相結合的文化認同，並以此為個人教育取得的準則。私立技職類大學在招生宣傳時強調能為這些學生提供工作媒合的機會以及職場所需技能教育，然而實際上，學校教育與工作取得之間的不確定性並未消減，這些師生在學校的教學互動中試圖找到「夠實際」的課程安排及課堂進行方式，然而許多學生仍不確定學校學習與未來工作取得的關係；老師則不確定如何有效教學。在不確定性高與資源稀少的困境之中，私立技職大學／生，難以於進階學術教育或實用技能教育上有良好的投入與發展，持續面臨勞動力市場上的劣勢處境。
論文外文摘要：
Higher education in Taiwan had expanded rapidly from 1994 to 2010. The expansion is ascribed to a massive growth of private technological universities and colleges that were once vocational schools. These schools were first founded as vocational high schools or "junior colleges" to suffice the demand for elementary laborers in the planned economy back from 1950' to 1970' and "reformed" as 4-year colleges after 1994. In recent years, students in these schools make up 40% of the population of college students.
Youth from lower SES families have higher chances of studying in these private technological colleges. However, graduates of these schools' income and occupational status are significantly lower than graduates of other college types. The credential carries less specific occupational qualifications than vocational schools in the past. However, the change of educational structure is accompanied by a post-industrializing economy, leading to an ambiguous relation between school, work, and class. Many of them still hang in because they are aware that there is no alternative to obtaining a credential of some sort.
By examining students' practices in these schools, we found that a large number of these students formed a compound cultural identity of "not good at studying" and "need a skill" in the educational process when estimating their chances in education and work. Private technological colleges assert to fulfill their needs for job-matching skills, but the ambiguity of school-work relation remains. Teachers and students have tried hard to figure out a "pragmatic" solution, but by far, it seems failed in both advanced academic and technical education.
