Challenges of cultivating critical citizens in Hong Kong

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-27
Author(s):  
Yan Kin Cheung Adrian
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Liberal Studies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Bachelor Of Education ◽  
Pedagogical Principles

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to offer the latest empirical findings of the difficulties and challenges in teaching New Senior Secondary (NSS) Liberal Studies in Hong Kong from the perspective of pre-service teachers.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study is based on Danielewicz’s critical pedagogy framework for identity development. A sample of four pre-service teachers were recruited from the last cohort of final-year bachelor of education students at the University of Hong Kong. They were invited to engage in dialogues of enquiry, through which they recount their teaching encounters during their teaching practices. Emphasis would be put on two relevant pedagogical principles, including deliberation and reflexivity, which are of particular relevance to the case of Liberal Studies.FindingsChallenges revealed the dispositions of conformist learning among the students, manifested in forms of misquoted information and the populist sentiments mirrored from mainstream media, which cost teachers extra efforts to facilitate inquiry-based learning. Adopting deliberation and reflexivity as pedagogical principles, student–teachers responded with attempts to reconnect daily life experiences to teaching, bringing back the social context of knowledge and seeking synergy between traditional and liberatory teaching methods.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is drawn from a relatively small sample of pre-service teachers and may run the risk of over-generalization. Moreover, this study tends to neglect other factors such as classroom dynamics, school culture, colleagues’ rapport and students’ responses.Originality/valueGiven the novelty of Liberal Studies as a compulsory subject under the NSS curriculum and its specificity in Hong Kong education system, the amount of literature devoted to this area has been inadequate; among the available studies, the majority tend either to focus on the macro level, addressing the broader narratives of education policies and curriculum studies (e.g. Fung and Yip, 2010; Cheung and Leung, 1998) or to discuss the topic with exclusive reference to political transition and post-colonialism in the 1980s and 1990s (e.g. Morris and Chan, 1997). Studies on the micro level have generally paid little attention to the dynamics of Liberal Studies teaching, focusing instead on its relationships with other aspects such as private tutoring (Chan and Bray, 2014) and cultural representations of religion in Liberal Studies textbooks (Jackson and Han, 2016); pedagogical studies on the subject remain a minority.

Curriculum reform and the social class achievement gap

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor Tsz-lok Lee ◽  
Stephen Wing-kai Chiu
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Achievement Gap ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Curriculum Change ◽  
Lower Class ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
Liberal Studies ◽  
Public Examination ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Through the study of the Liberal Studies reform in Hong Kong, this paper aims to investigate to what extent the curriculum reform makes a difference in the achievement gap between middle-class and lower-class students. Specifically, it examines the variation of the “class gap” between Liberal Studies and other traditional, core subjects in terms of the public examination results, and the major mediators underlying the class effect on the results. Design/methodology/approach Data from a survey of 1,123 students from 15 schools who studied the new curriculum between 2009-2010 and 2011-2012 in Hong Kong were analyzed using the hierarchical multiple regression models. Findings Students’ class backgrounds, mainly indicated by parental education, continue to make a substantive contribution to the achievement gap. Practical implications Given that Liberal Studies’ examination is compulsory for university entrance, the sensitivity of this reform to existing educational inequalities has a significant impact on students’ chances of entering local universities. Originality/value Sociologists have long observed the class gap in education, and this paper adds an important exogenous source, a curriculum change, to the analysis. The Liberal Studies reform has provided a unique opportunity to examine the potential effect of a curriculum change on the class gap. In addition, in view of the absence of empirical evidence in this topic, this paper is an effort to build the evidence base for understanding the outcomes of the reform.

Moving between wage work and retirement – the commitment to wage work in later life in Hong Kong

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-80
Author(s):  
Yeuk Mui May Tam ◽  
Kam Wah Chan ◽  
Ka Man Lo
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Filial Piety ◽  
Pension System ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Public Pension ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wage Work ◽  
Retirement Transition

Purpose Relatively few studies about retirement transition examine economies, where a public pension system is absent. This paper aims to fill this gap in the literature. Design/methodology/approach The present study draws on the stratification and risk society approach, as well as results from unstructured interviews with 12 Chinese in Hong Kong. Findings The analyses show that the retirement transition involves moving between different forms of wage work and non-work status. These moves were undertaken because of not only financial needs but also a strong desire to be a financially self-reliant and intrinsic commitment to employment. The authors argue that the desire and commitment to employment are shaped by the underdeveloped pension system, practical orientation towards traditional Chinese filial piety norms and personal work history. Research limitations/implications The current research covers only a very small sample and uses retrospective interviewing instead of a larger and/or representative sample using prospective panel interview. Nevertheless, the research carries theoretical and policy implications of the study on retirement transition and protection. Originality/value Few local studies track retirement transitions in the way similar to the current studies. Existing studies are mostly about advanced Anglo-Saxon economies with a long history of public pension, albeit reformed in recent year, in place. The current study adds to the general literature on retirement studies.

Despair and hope: cinematic identity in Hong Kong of the 2000s

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Tse-Hei Lee
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Communal Relationship ◽  
Authoritarian State ◽  
Political Cinema ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Film Market

Purpose The goal of this article is to examine the current trends of political cinema in postcolonial Hong Kong. Many leaders of the Hong Kong mainstream cinema have accepted the Chinese authoritarian rule as a precondition for expanding into the ever-expanding Mainland film market, but a handful of conscientious filmmakers choose to make political cinema under the shadow of a wealthy and descendant industry, expressing their desire for democracy and justice and critiquing the unequal power relations between Hong Kong and China. Design/methodology/approach This paper consults relevant documentary materials and cinematic texts to contextualize the latest development of political cinema in Hong Kong. It presents an in-depth analysis of the works of two local independent filmmakers Herman Yau and Vincent Chui. Findings This study reveals a glimpse of hope in the current films of Herman Yau and Vincent Chui, which suggests that a reconfiguration of local identity and communal relationship may turn around the collective despair caused by the oppressive measures of the Chinese authoritarian state and the end of the Umbrella Movement in late 2014. Research limitations/implications Despite the small sample size, this paper highlights the rise of cinematic localism through a closer look at the works of Hong Kong independent filmmakers. Practical implications This study reveals an ambivalent mentality in the Hong Kong film industry where critical filmmakers strive to assert their creativity and agency against the externally imposed Chinese hegemonic power. Originality/value This investigation is an original scholarly study of film and politics in postcolonial Hong Kong.

The Use of Pedagogical Support Strategies in an Online Teacher Education Course

2019 ◽  
pp. 192-215
Author(s):  
Micheal M. van Wyk ◽  
Patience Kelebogile Mudau
Keyword(s):  
Student Teachers ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Teaching Methodology ◽  
Constructive Feedback ◽  
Support Strategies ◽  
Support Tools ◽  
Bachelor Of Education

This chapter reported student teachers' experiences of using pedagogical support strategies in the Teaching Methodology of Economics course at an open distance learning university. An exploratory mixed methods design and purposive sampling of Bachelor of Education and Postgraduate Certificate in Education students were selected. An online survey and e-digital support tools were used. Results showed that students viewed academic student support as an important part for their success ranging from availability, promptness, approachability, sympathy, clear instructions for the module, and constructive feedback in the course. Several challenges ranging from lacking necessary digital literacy skills to frequent interruption of connectivity of e-digital support tools emerged. Only a small sample was selected for this study, but further research might compare other modules within the postgraduate and undergraduate qualifications respectively, which may yield different results.

Conceptualising and enacting the critical imagination through a critical writing pedagogy

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belinda Mendelowitz
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Writing Pedagogy ◽  
Gender Issues ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Critical Writing ◽  
Critical Imagination ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Imagination in critical literacy research is usually referred to as a taken for granted concept that is seldom theorised, leaving the assumptions unchecked that everyone has a shared understanding of imagination. This paper aims to challenge critical literacy researchers to rethink the relationship between criticality and imagination and its implication for a critical writing pedagogy. It aims to synthesise the imagination and criticality in the context of critical literacy, both theoretically and empirically and in doing so to illustrate what form a critical writing pedagogy that foregrounds the critical imagination might take. Design/methodology/approach This argument is illustrated through analysing two sets of data that contain embodied enactments of contested gender issues across different modes and genres. Data from student teachers’ embodied enactments of contested gender issues and from their writing on these issues were analysed thematically. Findings A crucial aspect of the critical imagination entails creating pedagogical spaces that mobilise affect and empathy alongside criticality. Embodied literacy work across different modes and genres can play a significant role in facilitating the critical imagination by enabling students to enact, perform and immerse themselves in different discourses, ultimately generating new insights and ways of seeing. Research limitations/implications Data was drawn from a relatively small sample of 30 assignments in the context of teacher education in South Africa. More empirical research needs to be conducted across a wider range of contexts. Practical implications The paper provides a theoretical framework and practical ideas for implementing a critical writing pedagogy that foregrounds the critical imagination and thus could be used in both teacher education contexts and school literacy classrooms. Originality/value This paper challenges critical literacy researchers to rethink the relationship between criticality and imagination and its implication for a critical writing pedagogy.

scholarly journals Through the wall of literacy

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 569-583
Author(s):  
Howard Eric Scott
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Mobile Learning ◽  
Mode Of Delivery ◽  
Compulsory Education ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Small Contribution ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explain how peripheral participants contributed to and became more central members of a community of practice based in a social network that was used to support mobile learning approaches among post-compulsory education students. The notion was that in inducing participation through pedagogical strategies, individualised online presence could be increased that would support studentship, confidence and literacy improvements in participants who are normally apprehensive about online and formal learning contexts. Design/methodology/approach The network was used by four separate groups of 16-19 aged students and 19+ aged adults, with a constant comparison made of their activity and communication. A content analysis was made of students’ posts to the network, with the codes sorted thematically to examine how students used the network to support themselves and each other. Interviews were held with students across the two years to explore perceptions of the network and the community. Findings Peripheral participants navigate through ontological thresholds online to develop individual identity presence online. Increased communicated actions (“posts”) improves participation overall and the interaction of members in terms of developing a community of practice online. The results of communicated actions posted in visible online spaces improved the literacy control and willingness to publish content created by those peripheral participants. Research limitations/implications The study is taken from a small sample (approx. 100 students) in a case study comparing results across four different groups in an English Further Education college. Most of the positive results in terms of an impact being made on their literacy capability was found among adult students, as opposed to students in two 16-19 aged groups. Research implications identify hypothetical stages of identity presence online for reluctant and peripheral participants. This shows the potential of students to be induced to openly participate in visible contexts that can support further identity development. Practical implications The implications show that blended learning is necessary to improve the opportunity for mobile learning to happen. Blended learning in itself is dependent on and simultaneously improves group cohesion of learners in online communities. When students develop a momentum of engagement (and residence within) networks they exploit further technological features and functions and become more co-operative as a group, potentially reducing teacher presence. Learning activities need to support the peripheral participants in discrete and purposeful ways, usually achieved through personalised supported learning tasks. The notion and attention paid to the difficulties in bringing peripheral participants online has implications for the prescription of online learning as a form of delivery, especially among FE students. Social implications This paper problematizes the notion of peripheral participants and suggests they are overlooked in consideration of learning delivery, design and environments. Peripheral participants may be considered to be students who are at risk of not being involved in social organisations, such as communities, and vulnerable to diminished support, for instance through the withdrawal of face-to-face learning opportunities at the expense of online learning. Originality/value This paper makes a small contribution to theories surrounding communities of practice and online learning. By deliberately focusing on a population marginalised in current educational debate, it problematizes the growing prescription of online learning as a mode of delivery by taking the perspectives and experiences of peripheral participants on board.

scholarly journals Interpretation of female images in advertising among Chinese adolescents

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-234
Author(s):  
Yu Leung Ng ◽  
Kara Chan
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Focus Group Study ◽  
Female Images ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Female Image ◽  
Hong Kong Adolescents ◽  
The One

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine how Chinese adolescent girls and boys interpret female images in gendered advertisements based on Tobin et al.’s (2010) gender self-socialization model (GSSM). Design/methodology/approach – In total, 48 Hong Kong adolescents studying in high schools or university year one participated in a focus group study. Four advertisements with different types of female images were presented. Interviewees were asked to discuss the appearance, the personality and the work and family life of the female characters in the advertisements. Interviewers then asked them to select the one most closely representing their ideal female image. Findings – Most of the interviewees chose an urban sophisticate as the character closest to their ideal female image. Female interviewees identified with the urban sophisticate and aspired to the cultured nurturer image. However, they rejected the strong woman and the “flower vase” female images. Research limitations/implications – The generalizability of the findings was limited because of the small sample size and non-probability sampling. Practical implications – When targeting adolescents, advertisers should consider using female images displaying a personality that is neither too strong nor too weak. Originality/value – This is the first study to investigate how Hong Kong adolescents interpret female images from gendered advertisements. This study also clarifies the gender concepts to explain how adolescents perceive gendered advertisements.

scholarly journals Criminology in a controlled climate: reflections on learning and teaching in Hong Kong

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-43
Author(s):  
Alistair Fraser
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Criminal Justice Practitioners

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on some of the ways in which I sought to engage in public criminology in this controlled climate. Design/methodology/approach In what follows, I introduce some of the work that I supervised and draw out some principles that might be helpful to others, grouped under the headings of teaching, coordination and supervision. Originality/value In contributing to the critical pedagogy of the Master of Social Sciences in the Criminology programme “which has for thirty years sought to cultivate critical, independent scholarship among criminal justice practitioners in Hong Kong”, I had the opportunity to contribute, in a small way, to the growth of a grounded Hong Kong criminology.

Crisis and opportunity in teacher preparation in the pandemic: exploring the “adjacent possible”

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 237-245
Author(s):  
Amy B.M. Tsui ◽  
Carol K.K. Chan ◽  
Gary Harfitt ◽  
Promail Leung
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teacher Preparation Program ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Teaching Resources ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Online Platform

PurposeThis paper draws on Kauffman's theory of the “adjacent possible” to make sense of the practices which have emerged in response to school and university closures in Hong Kong and reflects on what opportunities exist in this current global crisis.Design/methodology/approachThis paper drew on qualitative data from two emergent practices – the e-practicum and co-teaching on an online platform – in a teacher preparation program at the University of Hong Kong. The data set included online teaching resources produced by student teachers (STs), reflections from STs, feedback from mentors and university tutors, interactions on an online platform and interviews with co-teaching team members.FindingsThe authors found “emergent practices” were developed in response to the pandemic by pushing the boundaries of existing practices and exploring the opportunities hovering at the edges of the possible. These practices were still evolving, but they contained elements that can morph into innovative practices in teacher preparation.Originality/valueThis paper provides a perspective on where opportunity in a crisis can be found and what innovation means in an educational context.

The impact of new working practices on employee productivity

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayantha Wadu Mesthrige ◽  
Yat Hung Chiang
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Real Estate ◽  
Employee Performance ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Employee Productivity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consultancy Firm ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to analyse the impact on employee productivity of adopting the activity-based working (ABW) a form of new work practices (NWPs). A study of this nature has never been made in Asia. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methods design was used, which combined a comprehensive literature review, three interviews with senior professionals and a questionnaire survey with 37 office occupiers all from one international real estate consultancy firm in Hong Kong, as a case study, to analyse the impact of ABW on employee productivity. Findings Findings suggest that ABW influences employee productivity to a certain degree. Though both physical and behavioural working environmental factors influence employee productivity in general, the latter factors were relatively more influential. Interestingly, though space-per-employee has been reduced under the ABW, this has not affected employee performance negatively. However, findings indicate that distraction elements (e.g. interruptions, overcrowding and noise) do have a negative influence on employee performance. Research limitations/implications The scope of this exploratory study is limited to Hong Kong and to a small sample of respondents representing one international real estate firm. However, the results could be interpreted for critical learning in other similarly expensive real estate rental markets. Originality/value The study highlighted the impact of not only physical but also behavioural working environment factors on employee productivity. The maximum benefits of NWPs can only be accomplished by striking a balance between aspects of physical and behavioural working environments.

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