https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6971-0375
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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.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Cong Lin
Cong Lin is a Ph.D. candidate at the Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong. His research interests include civic and citizenship education, philosophy of education, multiculturalism, multicultural education, and identity. His latest published articles (with Liz Jackson) are From Shared Fate to Shared Fates: An Approach for Civic Education (Studies in Philosophy and Education), Politics in History Education in Hong Kong: Towards Critical Political Education (Educational Studies in Japan), and Multiculturalism in Chinese History in Hong Kong: Constructing Chinese Identity (Asia Pacific Journal of Education). He is currently working on projects exploring multiculturalism and identity formation in Hong Kong and Mainland China.
Liz Jackson
Liz Jackson is Associate Professor and Director of the Comparative Education Research Centre at the Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong. She is also the President of the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia. She is the author of Muslims and Islam In US Education: Reconsidering Multiculturalism and Questioning Allegiance: Resituating Civic Education (both with Routledge). She is currently working on a third book Against Virtue: The Politics of Educating Emotions.