scholarly journals Context and curriculum in two global cities: A study of discourses of citizenship in Hong Kong and Singapore

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa Alviar-Martin ◽  
Mark Baildon
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Civic Education ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Global Citizenship ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Global Cities ◽  
National Economic ◽  
Alternative Discourses

This qualitative, comparative case study examined global civic education (GCE) in the Asian global cities of Hong Kong and Singapore. Guided by theories that position curriculum at the intersection of discourse, context, and personal meaning-making, we sought to describe the ways in which intentions for GCE reflect broader societal discourses of citizenship and how curricula allow students to tackle tensions surrounding national and global citizenship. We found that Singapore and Hong Kong have adopted depoliticized forms of citizenship as a means of inoculation against global ills. These types of citizenship are more nationalistic than global in nature; moral rather than political; and focused mainly on utilitarian goals to produce adaptable workers able to support national economic projects in the global economy. Although critical, transnational, and other emergent civic perspectives are apparent in both cities, the data yielded little evidence of curricular opportunities for students to become exposed to alternative discourses and reconcile discursive contradictions. The findings inform current literature by illuminating the nexus of local and global discursive practices, implicating the ability of curricula to accommodate both novel and established civic identities, and forwarding suggestions to bridge disconnections between theoretical and local curricular definitions of global citizenship. 

Chinese civic education being globalised

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yudan Shi ◽  
Eric King Man Chong ◽  
Baihe Li
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Civic Education ◽  
Global Citizenship ◽  
Multiple Identities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World ◽  
National Citizenship ◽  
Chinese Societies ◽  
Curriculum Guidelines ◽  
Multiple Levels

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare the curriculum developments of civic education in three emerging Chinese societies: China and two Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao, which are increasingly under the impacts of globalisation in this information world. Design/methodology/approach The analytical method is used and the following are identified: active and global civic education-related learning units and key themes and main contents in official curriculum guidelines and updated textbooks related to civic education. Findings A major finding is that elements of both active and global citizenship, such as participation in the community and understanding about the world and thus forming multiple identities, can be found alongside their emphasis on enhancing national citizenship. Thus, ideas of global citizenship and multiple levels of citizenship from local, national to global start to develop in these three Chinese societies. Social implications The implications of such findings of both active and global citizenship, as well as multiple identities, found in these three Chinese societies could be huge for informing civic literature and sociological point of views, in particular, pointing to the next generations receiving a broadened and transcended notion of multiple levels of citizenship, apart from local and national citizenship. Originality/value The significance of this paper is that it argues that ideas of active citizenship in terms of community participation and global citizenship have been found in China, Hong Kong and Macao civic education curriculum and textbooks because of the expectations placed on students to compete in a globalized world, though national citizenship and patriotic concerns have been primary concerns. Globalisation makes the world society by impacting on these three Chinese societies for active and global citizenship, though they still retain their particular curricular focusses.

scholarly journals Media Use and Protest Mobilization: A Case Study of Umbrella Movement Within Hong Kong Schools

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 205630511876335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna SC Chu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Civic Education ◽  
Student Leaders ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
Opinion Expression ◽  
Communication Practices ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Education In Hong Kong

This study aims to examine the roles of social media in protest mobilization through the case of Umbrella Movement. Instead of focusing in the occupied sites, the study chose to look at mobilization efforts and confrontations within Hong Kong secondary schools. In-depth interviews were conducted with 14 students, teachers and principals from four schools, with an aim to identify how members in schools used different media for information sharing, opinion expression and mobilization. It also reconstructed what actually occurred in the tactful negotiations between school authorities and student leaders during the movement. The findings of this study suggest that how different communication practices are mediated in particular social and cultural contexts remain to be relevant and important, as the stress on “harmony” in local education settings illustrate in this case study. The strong adherence to political neutrality and professionalism suggest that schools could hardly provide the kind of idealistic civic education stated in curriculum documents. The findings prompted for a critical reading of how apolitical civic education in Hong Kong schools constrained a social movement that was supposedly led by the youth.

Nation-state global city tensions in social policy: the case of Mexico City's rising social city-zenship

2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Hudson ◽  
Anahely Medrano
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Global City ◽  
Global Cities ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Welfare Systems ◽  
Key Issues

Comparative analyses of welfare systems have largely proceeded on the basis that coherent nation-states exist. This assumption was always problematic – as many theorists have acknowledged – but globalisation processes have added a further dimension to this debate, not least because of the increasing power of global cities that act as coordinating hubs for the global economy. Although residing in nation-states, these cities have a special status flowing from their central role in the global economy with often rather different economic, demographic and social contexts. While there is growing literature on global cities, what the rise of these cities means for social policy and for welfare states remains an underexplored issue. Here we outline some key issues the rise of global cities presents for welfare states before proceeding to illustrate both theoretical and practical issues we highlight through a case study of Mexico City.

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