Transformation of Civic Education in Hong Kong: Repoliticization and Ideological Control from Liberal Studies to CSD
Main Article Content
Abstract
ABSTRACT
This study examines the transformation of Hong Kong’s citizenship curriculum from Liberal Studies to Citizenship and Social Development (CSD) as a case of deliberate educational repoliticization. Using a qualitative literature-based approach that analyzes curriculum documents and scholarly sources, the research identifies how CSD replaces critical, inquiry-based learning with state-directed instruction emphasizing national loyalty and a simplified national narrative. Unlike previous studies that primarily describe policy shifts, this research contributes a theoretical perspective by framing curriculum change as an ideological state apparatus that narrows reflective and participatory spaces in semi-authoritarian contexts. The findings reveal that, despite these constraints, students still exercise symbolic agency subtle forms of resistance or reinterpretation of official narratives within the classroom. This highlights the dual nature of civic education as both a tool of state control and a site of contested meaning. The study recommends safeguarding academic freedom, integrating critical thinking and dialogue into the curriculum, and empowering teachers with greater pedagogical autonomy to ensure that civic education nurtures informed, critically engaged citizens.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Althusser, L. (1971). Lenin and Philosophy. In Monthly Review Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203983171-10
Banks, J. A. (2017). Failed Citizenship and Transformative Civic Education. Educational Researcher, 46(7), 366–377. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X17726741
Bowen, G. A. (2009). Qualitative Research Journals. In The Qualitative Report. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/1992.2039
Bray, M., & Koo, R. (2005). Education and Society in Hong Kong and Macao. In Education and Society in Hong Kong and Macao. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4449-6_3
Chan, C. K., & Tang, G. (2019). Contested citizenship in global city: Global citizenship, national identities and local identity in post-handover Hong Kong. Social Transformations in Chinese Societies, 15(2), 129–144. https://doi.org/10.1108/stics-01-2019-0001
Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education. In AAKAR BOOKS. The Macmillan Company. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00368029
Evagorou, M., Vrikki, M., & Papanastasiou, E. (2023). Students’ and teachers’ voice on the outcomes of a citizenship education curriculum. Citizenship, Social and Economics Education, 22(2), 100–117. https://doi.org/10.1177/14788047231193917
Fairbrother, G. P., & Kennedy, K. J. (2011). Civic education curriculum reform in Hong Kong: What should be the direction under Chinese sovereignty? Cambridge Journal of Education, 41(4), 425–443. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2011.625000
Fok, S. C. (1997). Political change in Hong Kong and its implications for civic education. Journal of Moral Education, 26(1), 85–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305724970260106
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. In The Continuum Internastional Publishing Group Inc. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003060635-5
Fung, D., & Liang, T. (2018). The legitimacy of curriculum development in post-colonial Hong Kong: insights from the case of Liberal Studies. Oxford Review of Education, 44(3), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2017.1379382
Fung, D., & Su, A. (2016). The influence of liberal studies on students’ participation in socio-political activities: the case of the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong. Oxford Review of Education, 42(1), 89–107. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2016.1140635
Giroux, H. A. (2020). On Critical Pedagogy 2nd edition. In Sustainability (Switzerland) (2nd ed., Vol. 11, Issue 1). Bloomsbury Publishing. http://scioteca.caf.com/bitstream/handle/123456789/1091/RED2017-Eng-8ene.pdf?sequence=12&isAllowed=y%0Ahttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2008.06.005%0Ahttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/305320484_SISTEM_PEMBETUNGAN_TERPUSAT_STRATEGI_MELESTARI
Goodman, J. F., Hoagland, J., Nadel, P. T., Rodriguez, C., & Sanabria, C. (2011). Working the crevices: Granting students authority in authoritarian schools. American Journal of Education, 117(3), 375–398. https://doi.org/10.1086/659212
Government of the HKSAR Education Bureau. (2021). Basic Education Curriculum Guide - To Sustain, Deepen and Focus on Learning to Learn. 443.
Grossman, D. L., Lee, W. O., & Kennedy, K. J. (2008). Citizenship curriculum in Asia and the Pacific. In Sustainability (Switzerland) (Vol. 11, Issue 1). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8745-5
Huttunen, H. (2025). Education for deliberative democracy through the long-term view. Theory and Research in Education, 23(1), 77–97. https://doi.org/10.1177/14778785241264497
Kerr, D. (1999). Citizenship Education: An International Comparison. In National Foundation for Educational Research-NFER (Issue April, pp. 1–31). https://www.seameo.org/img/Programmes_Projects/Competition/SEAMEOJapanESD_Award/2013_SEAMEOJapanESD_Award/pub/citizenship_no_intro.pdf
Koon, B. (2022). Understanding liberal studies in Hong Kong: Vehicle for civic education and its controversies. Journal of Social Science Education, 21(4), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.11576/jsse-5410
Li, H. (2021). The relationship between regime “type” and civic education: The cases of three Chinese societies. https://doi.org/ISBN 978-981-16-5232-5 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5233-2 ©
Lo, T. W., Chan, G. H., Lee, G. K. W., Guan, X., & Kwok, S. I. (2023). Young people’s perceptions of the challenges and opportunities during the Mainland China–Hong Kong convergence. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01755-2
Mahdi, I., Syamsuddin, M., & Sunarso. (2025). Comparison of civic education in Hong Kong and Indonesia in the context of history and educational curriculum. Edunity: Social and Educational Studies Journal, 4(5), 199–212. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.57096/edunity.v4i5.393
Manning, K. D. (2023). Citizenship and Education in Hong Kong: A Review of Contemporary Academic Literature. Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, 52(3), 542–559. https://doi.org/10.1177/18681026221145406
Mok, K. H. (2005). Education reform and education policy in East Asia. In Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203027912
Morris, P., & Vickers, E. (2015). Schooling, politics and the construction of identity in Hong Kong: the 2012 ‘Moral and National Education’ crisis in historical context. Comparative Education, 51(3), 305–326. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2015.1033169
Ng, S. H., & Lai, J. C. L. (2011). Bicultural self, multiple social identities, and dual patriotisms among ethnic Chinese in Hong Kong. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 42(1), 89–103. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022110361715
Tammi, T. (2013). Democratic deliberations in the Finnish elementary classroom: The dilemmas of deliberations and the teacher’s role in an action research project. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 8(1), 73–86. https://doi.org/10.1177/1746197913475764
Westheimer, J., & Kahne, J. (2004). What kind of citizen? The politics of educating for democracy. American Educational Research Journal, 41(2), 237–269. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312041002237
Zhao, Z., Kennedy, K. J., & Wang, X. (2024). Teaching national identity in post-handover Hong Kong: Pedagogical discourse and re-contextualization in the curriculum. Citizenship Teaching and Learning, 19(2), 173–190. https://doi.org/10.1386/ctl_00156_1