Nationalistic education as the focus for civics and citizenship education : The case of Hong Kong

Civic education has been assigned the mission of preparing critical thinking, responsible, participating, multidimensional citizens and is also used to serve the function of instilling a sense of national identity, loyalty to the nation state and patriotism In 1996, before the return of sovereignty of Hong Kong to China, the Hong Kong Education Department published theGuidelines in Civic Education for School (1996), which includes education for democracy, human rights education, global education and nationalistic education This survey adopted an amalgamate framework of five types of nationalistic education to study the understanding of nationalistic education of civic educators in secondary schools in Hong Kong The initial findings showed that the civic educators were basically strongly eclectic in terms of education for cosmopolitan, civic, and cultural nationalism and moderately eclectic in terms of anti colonial nationalism but rejected education for totalitarian nationalism This eclectic understanding can be said to be heading towards a more liberal, rational, open and inclusive type of nationalistic education, which is compatible with a cosmopolitan and pluralistic society such as Hong Kong     

Teacher self-efficacy in cultivating students to become ‘good citizens’: a Hong Kong case

Civic education is a contested subject in Hong Kong, and there is no agreement in society on what form civic education should take, which leaves each school to choose its own approach. Under these circumstances, each teacher needs greater capability and self-efficacy to develop school-based civic education. This study examined the factors that influenced Hong Kong primary school teacher confidence in teaching citizenship education with the ultimate goal of nurturing students to become ‘good citizens.’ The results of this study indicated that teacher self-efficacy was influenced by beliefs about the subject (Moral, Civic and National Education) and beliefs about teachers’ roles in the curriculum but not beliefs about teaching. Teachers felt more confident teaching social topics than political topics. While this study was conducted in the Hong Kong context, the findings could be valuable for policy makers and educators elsewhere who seek to strengthen teacher self-efficacy.     

香港中小学公民教育的发展与对策

本文剖析了香港于回归前后公民教育的发展.因受前殖民地教育的影响,回归初期,香港中小学生的建构新国民身份教育进展不大;近年特区政府逐步加强推行公民教育.作为一个国际城市,在全球化的情境中,香港学校要以全球、国家和本土等三个层次向学生推行公民教育,以应对学生的需要.     

Constructions of civic education: Hong Kong teachers’ perceptions of moral,civic and national education*

Various terms have been used to define civic education (CE) in Hong Kong since the colonial era. This has been particularly true since 2011, when CE has been given many names, causing confusion among educators. Mixed methods were employed to examine teachers’ perceptions of different conceptions of CE expressed as moral, civic and national education. The findings indicate that some teachers might not be able to differentiate among moral education, CE and national education. Most teachers contended that national education should be included in CE, while others believed the opposite. Teachers perceived that moral and civic education was more successful than moral and national education in cultivating students to become ‘good citizens’. Teachers’ comprehension of these terms has policy and pedagogical implications. While the study is set within the context of Hong Kong, the findings are valuable to policymakers and educators in other countries seeking to improve CE.     

Relations of blood? Racialization of civic identity in twenty-first century Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

This paper explores how notions of race, ethnicity, and blood are mobilized in educational texts in Hong Kong. It elaborates how civic identity is racialized as part of a nationalist education operating beneath the surface of expressed commitments to global citizenship, human rights, etc., in curriculum and textbooks. Many have commented on how cultural and ethnic ties are prioritized over political principles as bases for civic education in Asian societies. These cultural/ethnic bases should be critically examined, however, as they imply racial/ethnic exclusions. Examining how race, ethnicity, and blood are used to justify cultural framings of civic identity leads to questions about how education can be used to unify some, while alienating others from a sense of belonging and community. I argue that racialization of Hong Kong civic identity is not a happy solution for all members of society, and for more inclusive visions of identity in education.     

Moral education in Hong Kong: Confucian‐parental,Christian‐religious and liberal‐civic influences

A brief review of the social and educational context of Hong Kong shows that the publication of the General guidelines on moral education in schools in 1981, by the Hong Kong Education Department, marked a milestone in the development of moral education. The Guidelines explicitly asserted moral education as one function of schooling, whilst also formally recognizing the home and the community as two main influences. This paper narrates how three moral sources of influence – namely Confucian‐parental, Christian‐religious and liberal‐civic – have shaped the development of moral education in Hong Kong from 1973 to 2003. It then examines in more detail: parental influence at home – the Confucian moral source in Chinese family; schooling influenced by religious sources – taking Christian schools as an example; and the Independent Commission Against Corruption as an official agency for moral education – a liberal source calling for civic morality. In conclusion, the post‐colonial emergence of nationalistic influence in the recently constituted Chinese Special Administrative Region, advocating national identity as the new core value, is traced and the implications for future moral education in Hong Kong are considered.     

从"浮城"到"生根"——回归后香港特区政府实施国民教育策略与创新机制研究

香港回归祖国怀抱后,特区政府逐步摆脱了殖民教育的困扰,国民教育成功转型,港人的国民身份认同逐步提高,这都得益于特区政府有效实施的国民教育策略.针对当前我国大陆地区大德育格局下国民教育面临的困境,应积极借鉴香港特区政府实施国民教育的成功经验,以政府为主导,进行顶层设计,并注重教育的衔接性,通过教材、课堂、生活、情感等潜移默化的多元渗透方式,重点培养学生对他人、家庭、社会、国家的责任感与自愿精神,让国民教育从形式化的"浮城""扎根"于学生的心田,学生的民族意识、民族精神与爱国情怀便会情不自禁油然而生.     

对目前公民教育问题及公民精神人格构建的思考

公民教育是帮助人们了解公民属性与权利责任的教育。目前我国公民教育中存在的主要问题是,公民教育观念相当薄弱,公民教育的内容比较狭窄,公民教育的效能远不能令人满意。要有力改变公民教育与公民素质的落后,关键是要在重视公民教育的前提下,选择好公民教育的科学思路,在调整好公民教育内容的同时,结合国民教育的人格培养来一体性地构建好公民的精神人格,以健全的公民精神人格来产生健全的公民精神。公民精神人格的构建,包括培养公民的理性能力、公民的理想及价值观与道德准则、公民的情感意志、公民的知识视野等四个方面的主要教育价值要点。     

Political education and civic education—The British perspective and the Hong Kong perspective

The decolonisation of Hong Kong takes the form of reversing the sovereignty to the mother country (China) rather than the creation of an independent state. This is unique in the history of global decolonisation. At this juncture, there are widespread social demands for strengthening civic education. The government has responded by promulgating Guidelines on Civic Education in Schools. The present paper compares and contrasts the conceptualisation of political education in England, as represented by the Programme for Political Education, with civic education in Hong Kong.     

赖际熙与早期香港中文教育的发展

1912年9月香港大学成立,作为香港地区的最高学府,如何承担起发展中文教育的重任就成了摆在有识之士面前的严峻问题。恰当此时,身为前清进士的赖际熙受聘担任港大中文讲师,协助创办中文教学单位,并担任负责人直至1932年底退休。赖际熙任教20年间对港大及香港的中文教育发展作出了重要贡献。港大中文教学单位从无到有,由小组升格为学系,直至得到港商捐助兴建中文图书馆和教学办公大楼,师资队伍逐渐增强,都与赖氏的努力有直接的关系。许地山加盟港大后确定的港大中文系文、史、哲、翻译四大教学板块的结构,也是赖际熙主政期间创立的由文、史、哲、经学、翻译所组成的课程的进一步发展。赖际熙所推动的中文教育,尽管存在着偏重文言文和轻视新文化等种种不足,但开拓性贡献应予充分肯定。     

我国学校公民教育研究的现状和存在的问题

1979至2010年间,我国以“学校公民教育”为题的专题研究论文,从总体情况来看,数量在逐渐增多,研究内容也逐渐丰富,不但涉及到我国内地学校公民教育,也涉及到西方国家和我国香港地区学校公民教育.但相对于公民教育整体研究日趋繁荣的现状而言,我国学校公民教育研究仍然存在诸多问题,如研究滞后,研究规模太小,本土研究匮乏,研究...     

公民道德能力与公民道德教育

公民道德能力是现代型社会公民应该具有的一种理性地参与公共政治活动,合理地规划自己生活的能力。公民道德教育应该以培养公民道德能力为重要内容,关心道德生活、道德实践,塑造好公民。     

Nationalistic Education in a Post-colonial Age: the Impact of Study Trips to China and the Development of Hong Kong Students' National Identity

With the return of its sovereignty to the People's Republic of China (PRC) on 1 July 1997, Hong Kong attained a new political status as a Special Administrative Region. Hong Kong students, under British rule, had long been receiving de-politicised education, and a sense of belonging to China was limited to the cognitive domain of Chinese history. The ideal of promoting national identity, underpinned in the current civic education curriculum, is proving to be a difficult task. While much literature has documented how curriculumbased educational practices fail to instil students with such an identity, little study has been undertaken to suggest effective alternatives and to examine how they work. This paper reports a study investigating the impact of study trips on developing students' national identity. Through observation and interviews, it takes an in-depth look into students' experience, into how they identify with a Chinese identity. Results indicate that though the study trips help to nurture the cognitive and affective dimensions of national identity, there are limits and possibilities involved. This paper concludes with reminders which teachers should have taken into account when thinking of using co-curricular activities to address the legitimate need of fostering nationalistic education.     

The Effects of Political Education and Critical Thinking on Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese University Students' National Attitudes

In a context of patriotic education in Mainland China and depoliticised civic education in colonial Hong Kong, this article inquires into the nature of student resistance to state hegemonic political socialisation and examines the effects of critical thinking, as a form of resistance, on students' patriotism and nationalism. With data from questionnaires completed by 535 Hong Kong and Mainland university students, analyses of relationships among perceptions of political socialisation, critical thinking dispositions, and national attitudes reveal that critical thinking mediates the state-intended effects of schooling on political attitudes. The article concludes with a reconceptualisation of the concept of resistance.     

高校开展大学生公民教育的策略思考

对大学生进行公民教育,是适应社会发展和大学生成长特点的需要。为此,高校要高度重视和认真研究大学生公民教育,提高公民教育的科学性;要以人为本,突出公民教育的主体性和针对性;要搭建丰富多彩的公民教育载体,力求公民教育形式的多样性;要打造素质过硬的教师队伍,提高公民教育的实效性,把我国大学生培养成符合国家需要和社会发展的好公民。     

熊子容公民教育思想探析

我国近代教育学家熊子容,对公民教育有着独到的思考与认知:公民教育的意义不仅是培养具有良好品质的个人,更是培养良好的公民以促进社会的发展;公民教育在原则上应注重"社会心理"、"道德训练"、"社会估值"、"社会团体"、"公民性质评价"、"民主主义"六大问题;公民教育实施方法包含有公民课程形式、公民课程设计、公民教学方法;民国时期的公民教育是以三民主义为指导,充实人民生活,谋求社会生存,发展人民生计,延续民族生命,以期实现民族独立、民权普遍、民生发展,促进世界大同。熊子容公民教育思想对现代思想政治教育仍具重要的启示和借鉴意义。     

Nexus between massification of tertiary education and community college students’ learning experiences in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

The concept of the associate degree is new to the Hong Kong tertiary education system. Public discussion and research have focused much on the policy and operational aspects of this tier, but empirical efforts to examine associate degree students’ learning experiences and how it relates to the policy are relatively sparse. The present study characterised Hong Kong associate degree students’ learning experiences in this new tier of tertiary education from the light of human capital theory using qualitative methods. Thirty-five students forming 11 focus groups participated in the study. The focus group interview was exploratory and semi-structured, inviting the students to discuss their transition experiences. Three themes were grounded on the data: 1) Inferior identity; 2) Dual purposes of associate degree; and 3) Intense competition and stress. The present finding regarding associate degree students’ learning experience yields implications on policy-making; specifically on the provision of financial support to minimise the cost incurred and broadening of admission in order to make this tier an integral part of the tertiary education system in Hong Kong to promote public perception of economic gain.     

Exploring inclusive pedagogical practices in Hong Kong primary EFL classrooms

Social diversity is now commonplace in many communities in today’s globalised world. This diversity can be seen in any classroom of learners, and international studies have shown the complex ways in which disabilities, race, ethnicity, gender and social class can determine a child’s opportunity to succeed or fail in the education system. In Hong Kong, like in many educational contexts around the world, teachers are grappling with increasing diversity amongst their students, including teaching students with special educational needs (SEN) and non-Chinese speaking students (NCS) living in Hong Kong. This paper examines how three primary TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teachers are constructing identities as inclusive practitioners as they grapple with enacting the inclusive education policy recently introduced into Hong Kong schools. The data are drawn from a small-scale collaborative reflective inquiry for teacher professional development. Drawing upon a sociocultural and critical framing of identity theory, we trace the three teachers’ identity construction as EFL teachers and inclusive education practitioners. We view the role of discourse, self-positioning and social context as key processes in teacher identity formation. Implications for furthering the development of inclusive education in EFL classrooms are offered.     

Education,Civic Participation and Identity: Continuity and change in Hong Kong

This paper firstly identifies the major legacies inherited by the post-colonial government in Hong Kong, with reference to the key features of access, control and curriculum. Subsequently we examine the state's attempts to reconcile the tension between its quest for legitimacy and for stability. Two dimensions of education, namely the process of educational policy making and the nature of citizenship promoted through the school curriculum, are analysed in terms of the conceptions of civic participation and identity promoted and implemented by the state. In conclusion we point to the shift in the policy making process and the strengthening of policy actions designed to promote the state's conception of civic identity.     

Citizenship education in Turkey: inclusive or exclusive

This paper scrutinises citizenship education in Turkey from the foundation of the Turkish Republic (1923) to the present and explores the extent to which it encourages inclusive or exclusive concepts of national identity and citizenship. In Turkey, where there are citizens belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, civic education plays a prominent role for promoting tolerance among citizens. Using framing questions from phase one of the International Association for the Educational Achievement’s (IEA) research of Civic Education Across Countries, the civic education textbooks of Turkey are examined to determine the extent to which they promote democracy and human rights, make positive references to ethnic and religious minorities, and promote social cohesion. As Turkey was not included in phase one of the IEA study, the paper provides original information for comparative studies, reconsideration of citizenship education in multicultural societies and promoting an active national citizenry in Turkey.