Multiculturalism in Chinese history in Hong Kong: constructing Chinese identity

ABSTRACT

Teaching young people to understand and appreciate diversity is crucial in Hong Kong efforts for a just and inclusive multicultural society. History is the main place where the cultural identity and values of Hong Kong society have been reflected on, questioned, and problematized in the curriculum, as changes to this curriculum interface with larger social and political changes of the society. Although diversity is emphasized in Hong Kong history curricula, representations of ethnic minorities provided in education may not always be effective toward multicultural aims. This research explores how multicultural content is expressed in Hong Kong Chinese history textbooks. In particular, we focus on how relationships between Han and minority cultures are represented in the texts, using qualitative content analysis. Based on the analysis, we elaborate three main descriptive codes and themes: (1) only majority perspectives are provided, (2) cultural superiority of the dominant group (the Han), and (3) plural monoculturalism, where minority views are treated as threatened and/or as threatening in relation to the society as a whole. We argue that these codes are in contrast with a multicultural stance that aims to enhance social justice and equity in relation to diversity, through providing balanced perspectives, including positive ethnic minority recognition and support for just forms of pluralistic integration.

KEYWORDS:

• Multiculturalism
• history education
• textbooks
• Hong Kong
• Han
• ethnic minorities

Disclosure statement

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 (both with Liz Jackson) are From Shared Fate to Shared Fates: An Approach for Civic Education (Studies in Philosophy and Education), and Politics in History Education in Hong Kong: Towards Critical Political Education (Educational Studies in Japan). 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 which will be published with Cambridge University Press and is entitled Against Virtue: The Politics of Educating Emotions. She has also edited the books From 'Aggressive Masculinity' to 'Rape Culture': An Educational Philosophy and Theory Reader and Feminist Theory in Diverse Productive Practices (both with Michael A. Peters).