Home-based parental involvement amongst Pakistani families in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

Ethnic minority parents often appear to be less involved in school functions and activities than their culturally dominant counterparts. Their invisibility is usually assumed due to a lack of either interest or parental capacity to oversee their children’s education. However, the simplistic equation between parental involvement in children’s education and their participation in school is largely informed by middle-class cultural norms that ignore diversity. Data drawn from home visits and in-depth, semi-structured interviews amongst Pakistani parents and children in Hong Kong reveals that the involvement of these parents only seems less visible because it is largely based at home rather than in schools. The parental involvement of this ethnic minority is influenced by socio-economic and cultural factors that separate school from home, divide parental responsibilities by gender, and set expectations for children with primary reference to the parents’ own experiences. These research findings on how such characteristics shape the outcomes of parental involvement can inform school practices to build more effective home-school collaboration and enhance children’s academic achievement.     

Creating culturally responsive environments: ethnic minority teachers' constructs of cultural diversity in Hong Kong secondary schools

One of the challenges facing Hong Kong schools is the growing cultural diversity of the student population that is a result of the growing number of ethnic minority students in the schools. This study uses semi-structured interviews with 12 American, Canadian, Indian, Nepalese and Pakistani teachers working in three secondary schools in the public sector to examine how school teachers are handling this challenge. The study uses these interviews to establish a model for the creation of culturally responsive environments that may help to improve the academic performance and promote the personal growth of students in Hong Kong's secondary schools. Five aspects of cultural responsiveness are identified: conceptualising cosmopolitanism, raising sensitivity to “minor acts of racism”, managing the diverse learning needs of students, promoting a deep understanding of cultural values and helping students deal with the challenges of trilingualism. This study argues that ethnic minority teachers are engaged in a continuing cross-cultural process through which they make sense of the cultural diversity of students and re-learn their own beliefs and practices. The implications for the creation of a culturally responsive environment are also presented.     

Homework involvement among Hong Kong primary school students

One component of the curriculum reform in Hong Kong focuses on the use of homework in consolidating learning, deepening understanding and constructing knowledge. This study examines the profile of Hong Kong primary school students' homework involvement, and investigates the relationships between time involvement and academic attributes, namely interest in homework, interest in academic subjects, academic efficacy, and efficacy for self-regulated learning. The sample comprised 2,361 primary school students representing all six grade levels in Hong Kong. Data was collected using questionnaires and homework diaries. Results showed heavy homework involvement among primary school students in Hong Kong, especially at the senior primary level. Differential patterns across levels were observed for the relationship between homework involvement and academic attributes. Specifically, junior primary students' study-related interests and efficacies were found to decline with increasing time involvement, whereas inverted U-shape relationships were observed among senior primary students. There was concern for students with high time involvement as they received more homework and they worked slower. They were less likely to perceive the positive functions of homework, and showed poorer study-related interests and efficacy beliefs. The findings of this study provide crucial information for school personnel and educators in Hong Kong in developing homework strategies and policies that enhance teaching and learning.     

Teacher identity,teaching vision,and Chinese language education for South Asian students in Hong Kong

There is a growing interest in research on language teacher identity as relevant research suggests that language teacher self-identification has an impact on their language teaching. The present paper explores the self-identification and subsequent effects on their actual teaching vision and practice of 16 Chinese language subject teachers teaching Chinese as a second language to South Asians in Hong Kong. Data collected from classroom observations and interviews with the teachers demonstrate that Chinese language subject teachers negotiate with South Asian learners and construct their teaching in ways that enable them to create an environment where they see themselves as linguistic torchbearers and cultural transmitters while acquiring a strong feeling of success professionally. This research implies that teacher identity is a kind of pedagogy through which language teachers can reproduce or counteract hegemonic discourses and ideologies that oppress South Asians as non-native language minorities.     

Mathematics achievement of Mainland immigrant students in Hong Kong

One of the main features of globalization is the increasing mobility of population. As an immigrant society, Hong Kong has witnessed waves of Mainland Chinese arrivals and assimilation into her mainstream, particularly around the change of sovereignty period. School-aged children constitute a substantial fraction of the new population. Given their potential impact on Hong Kong's present and future, how these immigrant youngsters perform in school has always been a concern to the public as well as the government. This study compared Hong Kong 8th-graders' mathematics performance in the four rounds of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study by their immigrant status. The results showed that the first-generation immigrant students' performance had obvious retrogression compared to native students in the past years. Among the natives, non-local-born students with only their father born in Hong Kong had the most similar performance as the first-generation immigrants. The causes for the differences are explored from both internal and external perspectives.     

Goal orientations and achievement among Chinese gifted students in Hong Kong

This study examined four goal orientations and their relationships to achievement among 1041 Chinese gifted students in Hong Kong. These students endorsed learning and social goals over performance‐approach and performance‐avoidance goals. The endorsement of learning goals emerged consistently as the significant predictor predicting achievement in academic, non‐academic, and social/leadership areas. Implications of the findings for coordinating different goal orientations for enhancing achievement in different areas are discussed.     

中国西南地区少数民族大学生民族认同心理研究

In China, ethnic identity refers to both one’s own ethnic identity and the identity of the Chinese nation. It is of great significance not only to individuals’ mental health and full play of psychological functions but also to ethnic solidarity and regional and national stability. On the whole, ethnic minority college students in the Southwestern regions have positive national identity and behavior tendency. Universities and colleges should further uplift students’ national identity and improve their behavior through education. __________ Translated from Minzu Jiaoyu Yanjiu 民族教育研究(Journal of Research on Education for Ethnic Minorities), 2007, 18(2): 32–36     

计算机辅助语言教学在少数民族学生英语教学中的应用研究

计算机辅助语言教学已成为英语教学手段中必不可少的一部分,本文从计算机辅助语言教学的本身出发,旨在为如何在少数民族班英语教学中运用计算机辅助语言教学模式提出建议,以此更好地指导教师英语教学,提高少数民族学生英语水平。     

Youth in a global world: attitudes towards globalization and global citizenship among university students in Hong Kong

Despite the wealth of theoretical literature on globalization and global citizenship, empirical studies on the topic are lacking, especially in the context of pedagogical needs in relation to global citizenship education. In order to address this gap, a study was conducted in Hong Kong to investigate the attitudes of university students towards various dimensions of globalization and global citizenship. The initial results indicate that Hong Kong university students are generally quite aware of globalization's impact on the economy and personal consumption choices and that while there is considerable apathy towards international affairs, there is also a great interest in cross-cultural service learning opportunities that is not being met by the available programmes. Moreover, this study finds almost no association between age, gender, and religion and any of the measured dependent variables on attitudes towards globalization and global citizenship, the only exception being the factor of past intercultural experiences, where a significant difference in measured attitudes was found between respondents who had and respondents who had not participated in such experiences before. Explanations of the findings and the implications of findings for policy and future research are discussed.     

Cultural identity in teaching across borders: mainland Chinese pre-service teachers in Hong Kong

This study explores transformations in the cultural identities of a group of pre-service teachers from mainland China during their educational experiences in Hong Kong, and how these transformations subsequently impact their professional identity. Individual and focus group interviews were conducted with 16 cross-border pre-service teachers from a teacher education institution. Findings demonstrate that 1) the participants recast their extant ideologies and cultural beliefs in response to multiple influences in their new context, enabling them to move beyond pre-established teaching values to re-construct their teaching identity; and 2) some participants constructed a bicultural and multilingual identity to gain legitimacy in the host context. The findings indicate that a more supportive context that provides more room for cultural awareness should be co-constructed by local and non-local pre-service teachers, institutions and policy makers. The study extends understanding of the interconnected relations between teacher identity and historical and social discourses.     

Decolonization,Nationalism, and local identity: rethinking cosmopolitanism in educational practice in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

Cosmopolitanism and its application for education in western societies has been well examined. Yet cosmopolitanism in society and in education has not been systematically explored in many Asian societies. Facing a large number of people from diverse backgrounds, the society and its education system in Hong Kong are troubled by issues similar to those found in western postindustrial societies, related to cultural and national belonging and identity. Prejudice and racism towards ethnic minorities – particularly those from South Asia and Africa, is quite common. Additionally, animosity and hostility to mainland Chinese newcomers has increased and intensified in the context of Hong Kong’s “repoliticization” after its 1997 handover. This article aims to explore how cosmopolitanism is understood, valued, and approached in Hong Kong education. We start by exploring the role of decolonization and nationalization in political education in Hong Kong. We then discuss cosmopolitanism, and consider how it impacts particular social and educational issues in Hong Kong. We also provide an analysis of discourses on cosmopolitanism taken from Hong Kong General Studies and History textbooks, to identify challenges faced in facilitating cosmopolitan values, a balance of identities, and global citizenship in Hong Kong education.     

香港青年国家认同的现实危机与破解路径

香港青年国家认同是影响粤港澳大湾区建设进程的焦点问题。新时代香港青年理应积极投身粤港澳大湾区建设事业,但现实中的“非理性行为”却令人瞠目结舌。基于香港青年国家认同历史演进的动态追踪,把握其“前世今生”以重塑当代价值,立足新时代香港青年国家认同的现实困境,透视并深刻捕捉外在表征,据此可构建瞄准危机的系统破解路径。     

Negotiating global citizenship,protecting privilege: western expatriates choosing local schools in Hong Kong

We examine school choices made by western expatriate parents in post-colonial Hong Kong in order to understand the essence of imagined global citizenship and its implications for existing ethnic and class inequalities in the education system. Responding to changes in the global job market, a small but increasingly visible group of parents are seeking to challenge what they see as the constraints of expatriate life by developing global opportunities for their children through Cantonese language acquisition in the local education system. Drawing on the sociological literature on school choice and middle-class identity, we argue that these parents are negotiating for themselves a global imaginary in which cultures can easily be traversed and social class is levelled. But such global desires, we suggest, can also replicate colonial privilege in a way that marginalises poorer schools and other ethnic minorities in the education system.     

香港青年国家认同提升路径探析

近年来,香港青年“人心回归”议题再次引起中央与香港各界的强烈关注。“人心回归”议题的背后是国家认同问题,香港青年走低的国家认同存在多方面的原因,但其本质上是发展问题,是香港青年在发展境遇中的自我危机,是个体自我意义感的丧失。为此,应构建和培育以面向未来的认同理念为内核的国家认同提升路径,促进香港青年国家认同提升。     

香港儿童青少年阅读研究与推广

进入21世纪以来,香港儿童青少年阅读能力大幅度提高,在两项重要的国际性教育评价项目PIRLS和PISA中均有突出表现,充分显示了香港在青少年阅读研究与推广方面的实绩与成就。本文从香港特殊的历史文化背景出发,对香港儿童青少年阅读的研究与推广进行考察和分析。     

The history curriculum and its personal connection to students from minority ethnic backgrounds

Whereas history is seen by some as crucial in developing a sense of identity and fostering social cohesion, it is however, often based around narrowly nationalistic views of the past, and yet little is known about how students relate to the past they are taught. Thus, this paper focuses on the history curriculum and the ways in which students aged 12–14, from different ethnic backgrounds, relate to it. Moreover, the small-scale study which enabled this paper, focused, in particular, on whether students enjoyed and valued history and whether they felt any sense of personal connection to the topics studied. Drawing on survey data collected from 102 students and focus group discussions with 42 students, from two high schools, the findings indicate that although many students enjoy history, they fail to fully understand its value. Additionally most students, especially those from minority ethnic backgrounds, feel a lack of personal connection to the past, as they do not see themselves in the history they are taught.     

早期教育的文化:来自香港幼稚园的观察研究

随着对“幼儿是如何学习的”这一问题认识的不断深入,世界范围内的幼儿教育从知识传授向知识建构教育范式转变。本文对当前香港主流的幼稚园教育实践以及影响香港幼儿教育的社会文化因素作了探讨。系统观察研究的结果显示,香港幼稚园普遍采用直接教学和探究式教学相结合的教学方式。在语言教学中,逐渐接受早期读写萌发教学的观念;在数学教育中,从传统的以讲授和练习为主的教学转向以活动为基础的教学。关于幼儿社会化的文化观念反映在教学实践以及与幼儿的互动过程中。虽然关于幼儿怎样才能更好地进行学习的理念在当前幼儿教育实践中得到了较好的体现,但是中国传统文化中的相关观念仍然在课堂情境中占据主导地位,二者彼此交织和融合在教学实践中。     

Gender differences in instrumental learning among secondary school students in Hong Kong

This paper examines the extent of gender differences, and discusses the role of gender in musical instrument learning. It focuses on the collective instrumental experiences of 1493 Chinese students (774 boys and 719 girls attending grades 7–13) within Western and non‐Western musical traditions in Hong Kong. The discussion draws attention to gender differences in the learning of Chinese and Western musical instruments, in musical interest and instrumental learning, and in the reasons why students learn or do not learn musical instruments. The paper argues that, while female and male students exhibit different attitudes towards the types of instruments learnt, significant correlations exist between their interest in music and parental support for their instrumental learning. Gender is brought to the fore by the pedagogical actions of the teacher, the mass media and by parental efforts to reduce gender bias and stereotypes through school, public and family education.     

Perspectives on same-sex sexualities and self-harm amongst service providers and teachers in Hong Kong

This study investigates the perspectives of service providers working with Chinese lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) young people in Hong Kong secondary schools and maps the relationships between same-sex sexualities, religion, education and self-harm. Sixteen service providers, including secondary school teachers, social workers based on and off school sites, and lesbian/transgender activists working in non-governmental organisations serving the LGB and transgender communities, participated in in-depth qualitative interviews. In addition, extensive participant observation was carried out. A grounded theory approach was adopted to code the data, as themes emerged with each successive round of coding. Study findings highlight four main themes: barriers to discussing sexuality at school, the effects of personal disinclination and religion, lesbian and gay youth being perceived as especially susceptible to self-harm, and the similarities in professionals' perceptions of self-harmers and LGB youth. Findings suggest that conservative religious beliefs at both the personal and structural levels act as deterrents to providing counselling and mental health services supportive of LGB youth in Hong Kong.     

香港的印度人及其对两地经贸的影响

印度人到香港的历史由来已久,19世纪中期,印度人随着英国的商人和军队来到了香港;他们有的经商,但大多数为英国人服务。他们虽然人数不多,但为香港的发展作出了贡献。如今30000名左右的在港印度人更是香港多元社会不可分割的一部分,他们的宗教、教育、社团等活动丰富了香港的多元文化生活;他们大多是第二或第三代印度人,能讲汉语,但不懂汉字。他们大多活跃在商业领域,从事印港贸易。印港之间的贸易与印度人到香港一样历史悠久,印港贸易更是每年都大幅增长。此外,印度和香港政府还致力于科技合作,以充分发挥印度在科技领域的优势以及香港在亚太乃至世界的区位优势。