PurposeDeveloping a sense of belonging among immigrant youth in multicultural contexts has attracted significant attention from scholars during the last few decades. Studies have already underscored how various educational factors hinder or facilitate students' sense of belonging to the school or the larger society. Although most students in Hong Kong schools are ethnic Chinese, a significant number of non-Chinese children make students diversity an essential aspect of schooling. The study investigated how schools can develop a sense of belonging among ethnic minority youth in Hong Kong.Design/methodology/approachAs the education system in Hong Kong lacks a multicultural education policy, how can schools help develop a sense of belonging to the school and the larger society among young ethnic minority people? To answer this question, this paper consolidates the two sets of data originally gathered for two research projects. The data was collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews with nine secondary school teachers (Chinese and non-Chinese) and 15 students (non-Chinese) and analysed thematically.FindingsThe thematic analysis of the qualitative data identified several challenges and opportunities for developing ethnic minority students' sense of belonging in Hong Kong.Research limitations/implicationsResearchers in comparative education can further explore how multicultural education and inclusive education approach together can help ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all and cater to students' diverse learning needs across the education systems.Practical implicationsGiven that the aims of multicultural education and inclusive education resonate with each other, schools can focus on the Whole School Approach to developing a sense of belonging among ethnic minority youth in Hong Kong. However, policymakers and practitioners may need to adopt a multifaceted perspective on inclusive education that strives to ensure equitable quality education

This study examines the influence of religious beliefs on the perceptions on bullying and cheating among students in Hong Kong. 727 secondary school students (age 16 to 18) were involved as participants. Data collection utilized validated measures of religious beliefs, bullying, and cheating. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the data and investigate the proposed relationships. Results suggested students who demonstrated high religious faith seemed to have negative attitude towards academic cheating, but religious faith did not seem to have any significant influence on students' academic cheating behaviors and other unethical behaviors, such as bullying. These findings underscore the importance of religious education in schools as it is still beneficial for students to have high religious faith so that they may feel repulsive to adherent behaviors in order not to develop positive attitude towards cheating and bullying. Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

All public-funded Hong Kong universities have explicit practices to promote integrity and prevent students’ academic dishonesty. Using the Behaviour Change Wheel as a conceptual framework, three common practices were analysed in the present study, namely, enforcement of policies to penalize dishonest acts, use of plagiarism detection software, and mandatory attendance at academic honesty workshops. Qualitative data were collected from 50 students (in 14 focus groups) and individual interviews with 18 faculty members from eight publicly-funded universities in Hong Kong. Content analyses reveal that, although the students and faculty staff endorsed punishment as an effective intervention to reduce motivation to cheat, they also believed it would not enhance motivation for honest behaviours. Plagiarism detection software might reduce opportunities to plagiarize, but students with dishonest motivations will only turn to harder-to-trace means to cheat. While demonstrating good concepts of academic honesty, a sign that academic honesty education was working, the students attributed dishonest motivation to insufficient capability to perform academic tasks, which they described as a common problem. Both students and staff opined that the solution lies in more responsive learning support and pedagogical enhancement, but that it is constrained by university policies. Copyright © 2022 National Institute of Education, Singapore.

Unprecedented developments in communication and technology have resulted in numerous opportunities for personal and professional contact. The emerging trend of actual and virtual spaces for professional engagement demands that younger generations be equipped with values and skills that govern their everyday interactions with people from diverse backgrounds. Although determining the role of education in preparing future generations should be straightforward, devising inclusive education and supporting students with diverse educational needs in schools is demanding. This chapter investigates the intersection of inclusive education, soft skills and hard values and situates the discussion in the educational context of Hong Kong. It identifies the issues and challenges of inclusion in Hong Kong’s education system and underscores the lack of focus on soft skills and values in education. It then proposes ways to cultivate soft skills and values among students and teachers to promote inclusive education in the city. In addition, this chapter highlights possible ways that schools can prepare students with special educational needs for a competitive working environment and offer equal learning opportunities for all students. Copyright © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Kerry J. Kennedy, Margarita Pavlova and John Chi-Kin Lee; individual chapters, the contributors.

This article examines nine secondary school teachers’ narratives and perspectives about the determinants of their ethnic minority students’ sense of belonging in Hong Kong. The thematic analysis of their in-depth interviews reveals three sets of determinants of belonging, including demographic, personal, and intercultural factors. The study findings underscore the importance of students’ socialisation contexts and the critical role of the Chinese language curriculum and the social reception towards non-European immigrants in Hong Kong. The paper discusses the potential avenues of educational policy and practice interventions for developing a stronger sense of belonging among young people with immigrant and ethnic minority backgrounds in the multicultural societies of settlement. Copyright © 2022 Informa UK Limited.

This edited book is uniquely set in the context of Chinese societies. It deals with the issues of inclusive education in a Chinese context and examines inclusion from the experience of Hong Kong schools.Like other countries, in Hong Kong, inclusive education has been promoted through Integrated Education (IE) and the Whole-School Approach (WSA). Recently, the government has introduced the induction of Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) in each Hong Kong school to help diverse students, especially students with special educational needs (SEN) and to develop inclusive teaching and learning practices. This book is one of the first to examine the influence of contextual and Chinese cultural factors in the field of inclusive education, in regard to how schools support students with diverse learning needs and SEN. It also offers an account of context-specific measures towards promoting inclusive education.This book will help scholars and school practitioners in Asia in particular and in the West, in general, develop a comprehensive understanding of context-specific inclusive practices in education for students with diverse learning needs. Copyright © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Ming-Tak Hue and Shahid Karim; individual chapters, the contributors.

Why do students plagiarise and how can we tackle the problem? An accurate understanding of reasons for student plagiarism is a crucial step to successful formulation of effective solutions to the problem. To this end, a focus group study was conducted to collect information from an “insider” view on why Hong Kong university students might engage themselves in acts of academic dishonesty. A survey questionnaire was eventually developed and then self-administered by a sample of Hong Kong university students. Based on the students’ self-report, among other forms of academic dishonesty, plagiarism is the most common type of academic misconduct. In addition, plagiarism seems to be a “gateway behaviour” that might signify a “syndrome” of other academically dishonest behaviours. Regarding reasons for student plagiarism, a majority of students participating in the focus group study attributed this to its “convenience” and to inadequate learning support from teachers. Survey data reveal that plagiaristic behaviours are better explained by interactions between personal and contextual factors. Further, students in the focus group study generally opined that the plagiarism detection software currently adopted did not yield accurate detection and could be deceived. Taken together, our data tell us that the problem of student plagiarism should be treated as a challenge to teaching and learning rather than merely an issue of discipline violation. For its solution, emphasis should be placed on education instead of punishment. Copyright © 2021 European Conference on Education.