Hong Kong's Chinese History Curriculum from 1945: Politics and Identity investigates the ways in which Chinese history has evolved as a subject in Hong Kong secondary schools since 1945, and the various social, political and economic factors that have shaped the curriculum, through an examination of a wide range of primary and secondary source materials and interviews. This book examines how the aims, content, teaching, learning and assessment of the Chinese history curriculum have evolved since 1945. It describes how Chinese history became an independent subject in secondary schools in Hong Kong despite the political sensitivity of the subject, how it consolidated its status during the colonial period, and how it has faced threats to its independence since the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997. An important element of the book is its in-depth analysis of the major socio-political and socio-economic forces that have been involved in the development of Chinese history. This book will be of interest to all who are interested in history education and curriculum development, and readers who are concerned with history education.
History Education is a politically contested subject. It can be used to both promote xenophobia and to develop critical thinking, multiple perspectives, and tolerance. Accordingly, this book critically examines complex issues and constructivist approaches that make history relevant to students’ understanding of the modern world. As such, it has global appeal especially in North and South America, Canada, Europe and Asia. The book’s authors address the major challenges that History Education faces in an era of globalisation, digital revolution and international terror, nationalism and sectarian and religious conflict and warfare. Central to this volume are controversial issues, trauma, and questions of personal and national identity from a wide range of international settings and perspectives. The research in this book was undertaken by leading history educators from every continent. Their interdisciplinary research represents an important contribution to the teaching of social sciences, social psychology, civic education programmes, history and history education in schools, colleges and universities. The book offers new approaches to history educators at all levels. In addition, the chapters offer potential as required reading for students to both develop an international perspective and to compare and contrast their own situations with those that the book covers. Section I considers issues related to identity; how can history education promote social coherence in multicultural societies, in societies divided by sectarianism, or countries adapting to regime changes, whether Communist or Fascist, including, for example, South Africa, previously Communist countries of Eastern Europe, and previous dictatorships in South America and Western Europe. It discusses such questions as: How important is it that students learn the content of history through the processes of historical enquiry? What should that content be and who should decide it, educators or politicians? What is the role of textbooks and who should write and select them? Should history be taught as a discrete discipline or as part of a citizenship or social sciences curriculum? Sections II and III explore ways in which memory of sensitive issues related to the past, to war, or to massacres may be addressed. Are there new methodologies or approaches which make this possible? How can students understand situations involving intolerance and injustice?
"Hong Kong is a fascinating place for the study of curriculum. Its schooling system is influenced by the legacies of a Chinese tradition and British colonialism and was developed at a time when, around the world, that state was taking more responsibility for the education of young people and educational policies were increasingly influenced by the impact of globalization. To this we can add the complexities of Hong Kong as a society--one that has witnessed major political and economic changes over the past 150 years or so, and particularly since the late 1970s. The dynamics produce an intricate interplay of innovation and conservatism, globalization and localization, liberalism and authoritarianism, devolution and centralization, and many other tensions. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to curriculum as a field of study in a way which highlights its inherent dilemmas and complexities by illustrating the diverse ways in which a curriculum can be developed and analyzed. It also presents a specific analysis of the Hong Kong school curriculum and highlights the ways in which the curriculum both reflects and changes in response to broader socio-political shifts."--Publisher's website.
China’s transformation from a poor and underdeveloped country into a global market power has profoundly altered its socioeconomic power relations with the other countries in the Greater China region, namely, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Indeed, this economic shift has resulted in the massive flow of capital and people from Taiwan as well as Hong Kong to China, to seek business opportunities and new lifestyles. These flows have in turn completely transformed longstanding borderlines in the region. This book examines the transformation of Taiwan and Hong Kong’s socioeconomic relationships with China as their economies have become more deeply integrated into Greater China. Across three key sections, it explores the impact of increasing social interaction and the shrinking of existing borderlines to ask whether these changes will bring about a convergence of identity among the people involved. "Production" examines how investments from Taiwan and Hong Kong to China have transformed production networks; "Community" explores the impact of cross-boundary mobility and the integration of migrants into Chinese communities; and finally, "Identity" engages with what is one of the most important issues in contemporary Taiwanese society. Border Crossing in Greater China contributes not only to theoretical debates on border crossing issues, but also provides valuable insights on the practical concerns regarding social and political integration and tensions in the region. As such, it will be of great interest to students and scholars of Taiwan studies, Chinese studies, Chinese society and Chinese economics.
Linking two defining narratives of the twentieth century, Sutton’s comparative study of Hong Kong and Cyprus – where two of the empire’s most effective communist parties operated – examines how British colonial policy-makers took to cultural and ideological battlegrounds to fight the anti-colonial imperialism of their communist enemies in the Cold War. The structure and intentional nature of the British colonial system grants unprecedented access to British perceptions and strategies, which sought to balance constructive socio-political investments with regressive and self-defeating repression, neither of which Britain could afford in the Cold War conflict of empires.
This edited collection explores absence, presence and remembrance in British political culture and memory studies. Comprehensive in its scope, it covers the entire modern period, bringing together the 19th and 20th centuries as well as Britain, Ireland and the Atlantic World. As the first comparative and in-depth study to explore the central and contested place of memory and the invention of tradition in modern British politics, chapters include memorialisation, statue-mania, anniversaries and on the wider impact and invoking of 'dead generations'. In doing so, this book provides a new, exciting and accessible way of engaging with the history of British political culture.
This comprehensive handbook is the ultimate reference work, providing authoritative and international overviews of all aspects of schools and schooling in Asia. Split into 19 sections it covers curriculum, learning and assessment, private supplementary tutoring, special education, gender issues, ethnic minority education and LGBTQI students in Asian schools. The volume displays the current state of the scholarship for schools and schooling in Asia including emerging, controversial and cutting-edge contributions using a thematic approach. The content offers a broad sweep of the region with a focus on theoretical, cultural and political issues as well as identifying educational issues and priorities, such as curriculum, assessment, teacher education, school leadership, etc., all of which impact students and learning in multiple ways. The Routledge International Handbook of Schools and Schooling in Asia brings together experts in each area to contribute their knowledge, providing a multidimensional and rich view of the issues confronting the region’s school and education systems. Chapters 34, 35, 36, 37, and 38 of this book are freely available as downloadable Open Access PDFs at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.
This book makes a timely contribution to understanding perceptions on national identity and National Education, with both of them have become controversial topics in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China. In a so-called globalization era, national identity and National Education, with the latter having an aim of fostering a Chinese national identity in education, have been significantly pushed ahead by the Hong Kong SAR government since the early 2000s as a response to the return of sovereignty to China in 1997. Teacher perception matters to what they select and how they teach in the schools. By incorporating fieldworks of teacher interviews, observation and documentary analysis, this book argues for a multi-layered conception of identity, different aims, contents and diversified methods of National Education should be recognized. This book is likely to become a useful account of teacher perception on national identity and National Education in citizenship education literature, and it will be relevant to policymakers, teachers, trainers and researchers. Chapters include, 1. Different meanings of national identity of teachers and aims, contents and methods of National Education 2. From Citizenship Education to National Education in a Chinese society 3. Implications for understanding National Education in a globalization era: mixed identification, multi-layered identities, knowledge transmission, and ‘global identity’
This book offers a fresh and comparative approach in questioning what education is being used for and what the effects of the politicisation of education are on Asian societies in the era of globalisation. Education has been used as a political tool throughout the ages and across the whole world to define national identity and underlie the political rationale of regimes. In the contemporary, globalising world there are particularly interesting examples of this throughout Asia, ranging from the new definition of Indian national identity as a Hindu identity (to contrast with Pakistan's Islamic identity), to particular versions of nationalism in China, Japan, Singapore and Vietnam. In Asia education systems have their origins in processes of state formation aimed either at bolstering 'self-strengthening' resistance to the encroachments of Western and/or Asian imperialism, or at furthering projects of post-colonial nation-building. State elites have sought to popularise powerful visions of nationhood, to equip these visions with a historical 'back-story', and to endow them with the maximum sentimental charge. This book explores all of these developments, emphasising that education is seen by nations across Asia, as elsewhere, as more than simply a tool for economic development, and that issues of national identity and the tolerance - or lack of it - of ethnic, cultural or religious diversity can be at least as important as issues of literacy and access. Interdisciplinary and unique in its analysis, this book will be of interest to scholars of political science, research in education and Asian Studies.
In 1997 the British state relinquished control of Hong Kong. From that point an established prosperous community was faced with reordering its sense of itself and its links with the wider world around the authority of Beijing. This book traces the political relationship between Hong Kong and China, and sketches a number of possible future scenarios ranging from successful mutual understanding, through to breakdown and the imposition of rule from Beijing. Having lived and worked in East Asia, Peter Preston brings a sympathetic outsider’s eye to the problems of Hong Kong and Beijing relations. He pursues four main issues: the manner of embedding a new political settlement, the business of governing the territory, the issue of democracy, and the likely future of the extant form of life. Students and scholars specialising in comparative politics, and international relations of East Asia will find this book to be of interest. It will also be of use to those addressing political conflict in that part of the world.
