Social Segregation in Hong Kong’s Schools: 2000–2012

Abstract:

This article examines the distribution of students from various socioeconomic backgrounds across secondary schools in Hong Kong. Using data from the Program for International Student Assessment over the past decade, we computed axionomical indices of social segregation for 15-year-old students. The degree of social segregation in Hong Kong is compared with three other Chinese societies: Macau, Taiwan, and Shanghai. We found that social segregation steadily increased during 2000–2012. Hong Kong has the highest level of social segregation in schools among the four regions. The degree of segregation remains relatively stable among the top and bottom student socioeconomic status (SES) groups while substantially spread out among middle SES groups. Two factors were found to drive social segregation: gentrification of elite private schools, and the creation of semi-private schools for the upper middle class. Our findings suggest increasingly dividing education experiences among Hong Kong’s youth.

Acknowledgements

The feedback from two anonymous reviewers and the editor are highly appreciated. Tianji and Yisu share equal contribution to this article.

About the Authors

Yisu Zhou is an assistant professor of educational policy at the University of Macau. His research focus is on teacher quality and teacher labor market. His expertise is in large-scale assessment and education development in China. His interests in education policy span across various topics, including educational finance, teacher education, economics of education, and social stratification and mobility. He is the co-author of the 2006 book The Journey to Yellow Sheep River, which discusses teachers’ life in rural schools in China.

Tianji Cai is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Macau. His research focuses on quantitative research methods, especially the issues of sampling weights in multilevel and longitudinal models. In addition, he is also interested in integrating genetics and sociology in the studies of social and health behaviors.

Dan Wang is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong. She has expertise in the sociology of education with a special interest in education in China. Her current research focuses on issues of educational inequality and teachers’ work in China. Her recently publications include The Demoralization of Teachers: Crisis in a Rural School in China (Lexington Books) and journal articles in Journal of Contemporary China, Teaching and Teacher Education, and International Journal of Chinese Education.

Notes

For details, see OECD (2014b).

The original social economic index is constructed in such a way that makes comparing across the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) cycles not meaningful. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD’s) recommendation, using the common items that existed in all three waves of PISA data in 2006, 2009, and 2012, we rescale the student socioeconomic status (SES) variable to make it comparable across cycles. For details, see OECD (2014a, 258).