The Construction of Politics in School Education 23 Years after the Handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China

Authors

  • Wai-Chung Ho Hong Kong Baptist University

Keywords:

political culture, construction of identity, censorship of school education, politicization of school curriculums, Hong Kong

Abstract

This article examines how politics has shaped Hong Kong’s education system and the curriculum 23 years after the British handover of Hong Kong to China. Particularly, the article examines how the concept of nationalism is being shaped through the education system. The article is intended to provide international readers with a perspective of the political and socio-educational dynamics at play in Hong Kong. The central question at issues is how has political culture and identity been promoted in school education under the framework of “One Country, Two Systems” after the transfer of Hong Kong sovereignty from Britain to China? Two areas—the censorship of curriculum materials and the politicization of nationalism—particularly reflect the influence of power relationships, and the historical and societal pressures on the formation of students’ identity in school education.

Author Biography

  • Wai-Chung Ho, Hong Kong Baptist University

    Wai-Chung Ho is a professor in the Department of Music at Hong Kong Baptist University. Her substantive research interests include the sociology of music, sociology of education, China’s music education, and the comparative study of East Asian music education. Her research has focused on interlinked areas of social and political development, education policy, and reform in school education, as well as on values in education across school curricula in Chinese contexts, including Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.  In particular, her research focuses on education and development, with an emphasis on the impact of the interplay between globalization, nationalization and localization on education and development in various areas. It cuts across cultural development and music education, education policy and reform, China's education, and music education.

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Published

2020-12-16

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 2 (2020)

Section

General Refereed Papers

License

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