Suchergebnisse

Hong Kong society became the site of active self-mobilization when there was a virus outbreak in early 2020. Hong Kong residents quickly adopted voluntary protective measures such as minimizing social contacts and buying personal protective equipment. After the presence of a new Coronavirus was confirmed, medical and health care workers went on strike in early February, clamouring for the Hong Kong SAR government to close border crossings with China. They feared the medical and health care system would not be able to bear the rising numbers of infection. The government responded with a pronouncement that the strike was endangering lives, and that a complete closure of border checkpoints was unfeasible. Generally, Hong Kong residents exercised self-protection and self-restraint, voluntarily choosing to stay home except to go to work or buy daily necessities. As a result, Hong Kong did not adopt a citywide lockdown. More people began to leave their homes when infection rates slowed, but this led to further waves of infection. The Hong Kong experience raises a number of questions about society that are relevant to education and citizenship. What are individuals' responsibilities during a pandemic? Does a state of pandemic make it acceptable to limit freedom of movement and freedom of expression, and if so, how can this principle be applied in relation to the right to strike for the purpose of compelling the government to take stronger public health measures? Specific to education, how can young people be taught to follow safety advice amid the temptation to go outdoors for exercise under restrictive measures? There is a need for engaging students in social compassion and dialogues to face a persistent pandemic.

PurposeThe 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/approachThe 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.FindingsA 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 implicationsThe 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/valueThe 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.

Abstract
This article demonstrates how a Hong Kong primary school enlists students (aged 6 to 12 years) in school governance by having a student council and by creating a supportive learning context, including building a supportive ethos and offering training for student leaders. The significance of this study lies in its reporting of a successful case of a student council in a primary school and the impacts on the civic qualities of the students involved. This is an attempt at investigating: the educational impacts of a student council in a primary school setting in a Chinese context; and the collaboration between schools, teachers and a service provider in nurturing a school ethos and context favourable for student engagement. This study argues that although primary school students are young, they are able to speak up and act as office bearers in a student council in an effective way. They can contribute towards school governance by conveying informed views on school matters. A supportive school context consisting of favourable attitudes taken up by school parties, namely the school governing board, principal, teachers and students, is crucial. Hopefully, the study can shed light to the international communities on the nurturing of citizens through active participation in school community at an early age to have the competence to know, think, act, reflect and care in a new political environment marked by uncertainty and increasing political polarization.

Abstract

Experiential learning has an important role to play in education; the typologies of experiential learning for civic education was employed to examine two case studies. One case study involves a teacher guiding Hong Kong students in experiential learning, which took place at a national level in mainland China. His approaches aligned with justice oriented and charity oriented. The second case study concerns a teacher who personally undertook experiential learning at a global level in Africa. Her approaches aligned with these typologies of experiential learning (personal development and justice oriented). Their journeys illustrated that different types of experiential learning have various influences on the perceived civic learning outcomes of learners. We suggest adding facilitating and hindering factors into the typologies of experiential learning, which would provide a more comprehensive conceptual framework to guide educators and researchers in organizing and conducting experiential learning activities and studies.

Abstract
The purpose of this article is to explore mainland Chinese students' attitudes towards democracy and equality and the influence of Chinese national identity on their attitudes towards democracy. The development of Chinese students' political values is an important topic to the academic community and world because of the rise of China. Although democracy is a universal value and widely promoted, it is a sensitive topic in an authoritarian regime such as China. As more is learnt about the internal workings of the country, especially in relation to citizenship education, the clearer it is that Western constructs alone do not always help in understanding the attitudes of Chinese citizens. Recent work has shown that traditional values characteristic of Asian societies can help to shed light on attitudes to democracy. Research has also has shown that young people in mainland China are very aware of the constraints of their civic environment and they shape their attitudes accordingly. Despite a constrained environment, there is little doubt that young people in Mainland China have very strong views about their country and their citizenship. By adopting mixed methods research, this article explores Chinese secondary school students' attitudes towards democracy and equality and how their national attitudes affect their attitudes towards democracy. The results indicated that Chinese students were supportive of aspects of democracy and they had a healthy attitude to equality even though they live in contexts quite different from Western-type democratic societies. These findings not only help to develop a better understanding of China itself but also provide insights into the attitudes of students living in an authoritarian regime. It also provide for further comparisons between Eastern and Western societies and democratic and authoritarian regimes.