State Formation and Education in Hong Kong

Asian Survey ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 728-753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy Lau
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
State Formation ◽  
Educational Practices ◽  
National Education ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Government ◽  
Education In Hong Kong

This article examines the connection between pro-Beijing schools and national education, focusing on the shaping of national education in the history of Hong Kong. The study also illuminates the similarities in national educational practices between the government-approved post-1997 model and the traditions of these pro-Beijing schools.

Searching for an Identity: Debates over Moral and National Education as an Independent Subject in Contemporary Hong Kong

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 88-97
Author(s):  
Zardas Shuk-Man Lee ◽  
Phoebe Y. H. Tang ◽  
Carol C. L. Tsang
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
School Subject ◽  
National Education ◽  
The Public ◽  
Local Schools ◽  
Education Today ◽  
The Government ◽  
Education In Hong Kong

The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region [HKSAR] announced the introduction of Moral and National Education (MNE] as an independent and compulsory school subject in May 2011. The content of MNE's consultation draft and the teaching material produced by government-funded organizations incited about 100,000 people to demonstrate outside the Hong Kong government headquarters for eight consecutive days in early September 2012. Protesters including teachers, parents, students, and concerned members of the public described MNE as 'brainwashing, and demanded the curriculum's withdrawal. This article presents the historical development of national education in Hong Kong, the various challenges the MNE curriculum faced, and the conflicts and negotiations between the government and the public. It first explores the background of national education reform in Hong Kong since 2000. It then examines how the government instructed local schools to teach national identity in subjects of Chinese History and the newly proposed MNE. The next section discusses the declining importance of Chinese History education since 2000. The article concludes by reviewing the voices supporting and opposing MNE, the most recent development in Hong Kong's education today.

A preliminary study on music as a tool of nationalistic education

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-25
Author(s):  
Chi Cheung Leung
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Young Generation ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Ancient China ◽  
Content Type ◽  
National Education ◽  
The Government ◽  
Diverse Cultures ◽  
Education In Hong Kong

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss nationalistic education in Hong Kong from a cultural perspective. It highlights the challenges faced by the Hong Kong Government and the growing antagonism and mistrust between the young generation and the government. The paper reviews the cultural policies adopted by the Western Zhou, Han and Tang dynasties in ancient China. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts a historical approach by reviewing the policies in music and culture in the Chinese history and argues for the adoption of a soft approach to nationalistic education in Hong Kong. Findings Results show that being inclusive toward diverse cultures, trusting and valuing people’s voices and accepting differences of opinion are effective policies that were adopted by the respective dynasties. The results shed light on the possibility of nurturing nationalism through education in music and culture. Research limitations/implications The historical examples mentioned in this paper are only selected periods of the Chinese history. Thus, the survey could not be taken as a comprehensive review. Practical implications This paper reviews the policies concerning music and culture in ancient China and argues for transferring the soft approach of predecessors toward these subjects as part of the nationalistic education of Hong Kong. Social implications The results shown should be considered seriously by the Hong Kong Government as an effective substitute policy for the past stringent approach of implementing national education in Hong Kong. Nationalistic education focusing on music and culture is a common root for all Chinese and should be used in future to build up trust and common values between China and Hong Kong. Originality/value The originality of this research lies in its dealing with nationalism and national education, recommending a soft approach to education viewed through the prisms of music and culture.

Nationalistic education in the Hong Kong and the Macao SARs of China

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 395-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric King-man Chong
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Civic Education ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Content Type ◽  
National Education ◽  
National Identification ◽  
Education In Hong Kong

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare and analyse the role and implementation of nationalistic education in Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions (SARs) since their respective handover of sovereignty to China in the late 1990s. Both SARs face the educational need to cultivate a Chinese national identification among the students after the sovereignty changes. While Macau SAR has enjoyed a relatively smooth implementation of nationalistic education towards which Macau’s schools and students are largely receptive to nationalistic programmes since its handover in 1999, Hong Kong SAR Government’s nationalistic education was met by reservation from some parents, students and civil society’s groups under allegations of “political indoctrination” and “brain-washing”. The Hong Kong civil society’s resistance to National Education culminated in the anti-Moral and National Education protest in Summer 2012 and then Hong Kong schools and society. This paper attempts to provide an overview and analysis on the development of nationalistic education in both Hong Kong and Macao SARs, and to give some possible explanations on the factors that lead to differences of perceiving and responding to the nationalistic education between both places. Design/methodology/approach After conducting a literature review, this study utilises different sources of data such as curriculum guidelines, previous studies and other scholarly findings in examining the development of civic education and national education policy in both SAR societies, as well as in discussing the possible developments of nationalistic education in both SARs by making references to previous studies of citizenship and nationalistic education. Findings This study found out that different relationships between the two SAR Governments and their respective civil society, the extent of established socio-political linkages with China, as well as the introduction of a core subject of Liberal Studies in Hong Kong secondary schools, which emphasises on multiple perspectives and critical thinking skills, are some plausible factors that explain different stories and developments of implementing nationalistic education in Hong Kong and Macao SARs. Research limitations/implications For giving suggestions for a nationalistic education in both Chinese SARs, first, there should be an exploration of multiple citizenship identities. This will allow people to choose their identities and thus facilitate their belongingness in terms of local, national and global dimensions. In addition, there should be an exploration of a Chinese national identification with different emphases such as knowledge orientation and critical thinking so as to cater for youth values. Promoting the idea of an informed and reasonable-in-thinking patriot could also be a way to ease the concern that building a national identity negates a person’s freedom of thinking. Originality/value This paper attempts to compare and analyse the different responses to the same policy of enhancing nationalistic education development in both Hong Kong and Macao SARs of China. Some plausible explanations were given based on political, social and educational factors, as well as youth value oritentations. This paper would be an attempt to show that a top-down single-minded orientated nationalistic education may not work well a society such as Hong Kong, where civil society and youth values are quite different than that can be found in China.

Don’t Ask, Do(n’t) Tell: Homeschooling in Hong Kong

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-319
Author(s):  
Esther ERLINGS
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Home Education ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
Legal Certainty ◽  
Compulsory Schooling ◽  
History Of ◽  
1997 Handover ◽  
The Government

AbstractHong Kong’s history of compulsory schooling (as opposed to education) commenced under colonial rule and has been maintained by the local government following the 1997 Handover. Beyond the exception of “reasonable cause,” homeschooling, or elective home education, is in principle prohibited under the laws of Hong Kong. However, there is evidence of a growing homeschooling community in Hong Kong that relies on loopholes in the law and an apparent de facto government policy to operate. This article sets out the background, legal framework, and homeschooling practice in Hong Kong. It criticizes the current situation from the perspectives of legal certainty and children’s rights. The author suggests that the government should take action to devise clear laws and public policy in relation to elective home education.

Building Houses by the Rootless People: Youth, Identities, and Education in Hong Kong

2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 282-294
Author(s):  
CHUNG-HIN KEVIN HO ◽  
HEI-HANG HAYES TANG
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
History Education ◽  
Civic Identity ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Reflective Dialogue ◽  
History Curriculum ◽  
Ethnic And Cultural Identity ◽  
The Government ◽  
The City ◽  
Education In Hong Kong

In this essay, Chung-Hin Kevin Ho, a history education university student in Hong Kong, narrates his search for civic identity. Composed through a process of critical and reflective dialogue with Hayes Tang, the essay describes the tension between Chung-Hin’s Chinese ethnic and cultural identity and the democratic values held by Hong Kongers. As a student, he and his peers had to navigate these competing conceptions of identity in their coursework and examinations. The youth of Hong Kong, including Chung-Hin, have protested against the Chinese government, and have fought to protect the values of Hong Kong. As a future educator, Chung-Hin has advice for the government administrations of both Hong Kong and China: work with Hong Kongers to help them “build their own house.” Chung-Hin argues that if Hong Kong is to become closer to China, it cannot be done through force or propaganda. Further, Chung-Hin contends that education initiatives that change the history curriculum of Hong Kong schools is not enough to bring the youth of the city to heel. Chung-Hin’s experiences, and his own understanding of history education in Hong Kong, have helped him see that the values of Hong Kongers need to be respected if there is any hope of gaining their trust and acceptance. In this timely essay, Chung-Hin highlights how government policies and historical legacies have shaped his personal experience and educational trajectory in Hong Kong, as well as the other students who are a part of the largest youth protest movement in recent memory.

scholarly journals Education and State Formation Revisited

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy Green
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
State Formation ◽  
Educational Development ◽  
History Of Education ◽  
Canadian History ◽  
Education Systems ◽  
National Education ◽  
National Education Systems ◽  
History Of

The origins of national education systems have constituted one of the chief preoccupations of educational historiography during the last twenty years and, latterly, state formation has offered one of the major explanatory paradigms. Versions of this approach have been developed in a number of studies of educational development in Australia, Canada, Sweden, Prussia, Britain, and elsewhere (Miller, 1986; Curtis, 1988; Melton, 1988; Boh, 1989; Green, 1990; Davey and Miller, 1990). Most of these originated in research begun in the early and mid-1980s, some ten years ago. The 1993 conference plenary of the Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian History of Education Societies thus offered an appropriate time and place to re-assess current directions of research in this field. 

scholarly journals Recovery of tropical marine benthos after a trawl ban demonstrates linkage between abiotic and biotic changes

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhi Wang ◽  
Kenneth M. Y. Leung ◽  
Yik-Hei Sung ◽  
David Dudgeon ◽  
Jian-Wen Qiu
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Suspended Solid ◽  
Habitat Destruction ◽  
Ecosystem Responses ◽  
Effective Measure ◽  
Fisheries Resources ◽  
Commercial Species ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Government ◽  
Benthic Ecosystems

AbstractBottom trawling, which is highly detrimental to seabed habitats, has been banned in some jurisdictions to mitigate the problems of habitat destruction and overfishing. However, most reports of ecosystem responses to trawling impacts originate from temperate latitudes, focusing on commercial species, and recovery of invertebrate macrobenthos from trawl ban has hardly ever been studied in the tropics. In Hong Kong (lat. 22.4°N), a history of intensive trawling with various types of gears has long degraded coastal ecosystems. To facilitate the recovery of fisheries resources and associated benthic ecosystems, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region implemented a territory-wide trawl ban on December 31, 2012. Comparison of surveys conducted in June 2012 (before the trawl ban) and June 2015 (2.5 years after the ban) revealed higher organic contents in sediment and lower suspended-solid loads in water column, as well as a significant increase in site-based abundance, species richness, functional diversity and among-site similarity of macrobenthos after the trawl ban. Our results suggest that the imposition of a trawl ban can be an effective measure for biodiversity conservation in tropical coastal waters.

scholarly journals An Exploration of the History of Vocational Education in Hong Kong

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leung Yung ◽  
Y. Liang ◽  
TSE Wai-chi ◽  
Vivian
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Vocational Education ◽  
History Of ◽  
Education In Hong Kong

scholarly journals Alexander II’s Educational Innovations: the Implementation of the Great Reforms

2021 ◽  
pp. 7-17
Author(s):  
С.Д. Половецкий ◽  
А.В. Овчинников ◽  
К.Ю. Милованов
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
Educational Innovations ◽  
National Education ◽  
Teaching Community ◽  
National Education System ◽  
Retrospective View ◽  
Education Theory ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Government ◽  
Great Reforms

В статье исследуется проблема изучения идеологии и практики реформационной деятельности в системе народного просвещения в 60–70-х годах XIX столетия. Цель исследования — выявить ведущие стратегии образовательной политики, формы и виды модернизационной активности, персоналии, находящиеся в центре принятия судьбоносных решений для отечественного образования в период Великих реформ. Определено, что данная эпоха — это значимая историческая веха в контексте модернизации отечественного образования, время поступательного, достаточно интенсивного развития национальной системы образования, когда просвещение народа ставится в ряд приоритетных задач общегосударственной важности. В период правления императора Александра II в результате объединенных усилий власти и педагогического сообщества начала складываться единая национальная педагогическая школа, многообразная и весьма плодотворная по существу разрабатываемых проблем и решению их на практике. Представлена ретроспектива нормативно-правовой и законодательной базы в области народного образования. Выявлено, что идеи и постулаты, изложенные в трудах ученых, педагогов и общественных деятелей дореволюционного времени, существенно расширяют наши представления о мировоззренческих взглядах на просвещение населения России, национальных и общечеловеческих ценностях, необходимости их гармонизации в практической деятельности по обучению и воспитанию граждан своей страны. Охарактеризована реформа военного образования как неотъемлемая часть общей модернизации системы народного просвещения. Результаты исследования могут быть использованы при подготовке общих курсов по истории России, истории педагогики и образования, чтении лекций и спецкурсов по теории и истории модернизации. The article focuses on the investigation of the ideology of educational innovations and their implementation in the 1860s-1870s. The aim of the research is to single out major strategies of educational policy, to investigate types and kinds of innovations, to study people responsible for fateful decisions related to Russian education in the era of the Great Reforms. The article highlights that the analyzed epoch marks a milestone of Russian educational reforms. It is an epoch of continuous and intensive development of the national education system prioritizing public education as a task of national importance. During Alexander II’s reign, the government and teaching community collaborated to create a national pedagogical school capable of efficiently coping with diverse education-related problems. The article presents a retrospective view of a legal basis for public education. The article states that the analysis of ideas and views expressed in prerevolutionary scholars’, educators’, and statesmen’s works broadens our understanding of pubic education in Russia and our appreciation of national and universally human values, and enables us to better assess their implementation in Russian citizens’ education. The article characterizes military education reforms as an integral part of public education innovation. The results of the research can be used in courses of Russian history, history of pedagogy and education, theory and history of modernization.

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