Given substantial school autonomy in Hong Kong, different school leadership practices can yield different school environments for teachers, different degrees of teacher empowerment, and different civic teaching approaches. Principals can influence their school environment in civic learning and allocate resources to support civic education. Considerable attention has been given to the concept of ‘leading for learning’ (Goker, 2006) but there has been little attention given to civic learning in schools and how it might be facilitated by principals (Xu and Law, 2015). Given the volatile and uncertain external environment that students as future citizens face, civic learning must now be considered a priority. Kennedy, Li and Chan (2015) and Kennedy and Li (2017) have shown that school level factors can influence students’ civic learning, although the results are somewhat mixed, clearly this requires further investigation. This study extends this line of research by examining how principals create school civic teaching environments and how these influence teachers in their roles as civic educators. The results showed that the complex historical-cultural and socio-political contexts of Hong Kong have influenced school leadership when it comes to teaching civics, and the researcher has highlighted three main patterns of school leadership needed for civics teaching. When school leadership lacked a clear vision of citizenship education (pattern 1), most teachers were compliant and avoided dis-cussing sensitive political topics with their students. When school leadership mediated the diverse needs of students and balanced the different expectations of school stakeholders (pattern 2), there were both compliant and critical teachers. When school leadership had a clear vison of the school’s civic mission (pattern 3), the results differed across schools. These findings implied that principals have to significantly shift their understanding of the purposes of citizenship education

Most research concerned with students' civic learning has focused on what has been learnt as a result of their school experiences. While some attention has been paid to the influence of parents, peers and out-of-school experiences, in general these influences have been regarded as marginal to those provided by the official curriculum. While we do not underestimate the importance of these latter experiences, our focus in this chapter is on informal learning and its impact on the development of student's civic knowledge. Student samples from Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan were drawn from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2016. Informal learning was defined in the study reported here as “traditional media,” “social media” and “interaction with friends.” Structural equation modelling was used to test the relationship between informal learning, formal learning, citizenship self-efficacy, participation experiences and civic knowledge. Results indicated that traditional media exerted a positive effect on students' civic learning across the three societies; social media exerted a small but negative effect in all societies, though the effect was not significant in Korea. Talking with friends about social and political issues or about other countries, as a source of informal civic learning, did not affect students' civic knowledge in any significant way in any society. Copyright © 2020 selection and editorial matter, Javier Calvo de Mora and Kerry J. Kennedy; individual chapters, the contributors.

Guided by the “opportunity–propensity” (O‐P) framework, this study explores how immigrant status might affect students’ civic knowledge through an antecedent factor (socioeconomic status [SES]), opportunity factors (civic learning at school and civic participation at school), and propensity factors (perceived open classroom climate, perceived student–teacher relationship, and perceived importance of conventional citizenship). The data were taken from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2016. The sample comprised 2,544 eighth graders from Hong Kong. Results of two‐level path analysis showed that, at the student level, mainland Chinese immigrant grant students had a higher level of civic knowledge. Although perceived open classroom climate and perceived importance of conventional citizenship were found to be two positive mediators and family SES (via civic learning at school) was a negative mediator, the mediation effects at the student level were quite small. In contrast, quite a large amount of variance was explained at the school level: School‐aggregated immigrant status was positively linked to school‐aggregated civic knowledge and negatively via school‐aggregated students’ family SES via school‐aggregated civic learning. Copyright © 2019 The Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

The major characteristic of religious education is to equip students with a set of values with reference to its religious doctrines. Vermeer (2010) pointed out that religious education may influence students with some basic democratic values like equality, tolerance and non-discrimination. Various Western literature highlights the influence of religion on students' civic and social values development (see Grundel and Maliepaard, 2012; Pike, 2008; Vermeer, 2010; Gates 2006). However, the study of this topic in Chinese contexts is quite limited (Zhai & Woodberry, 2011; Cheung et al., 2016). Hong Kong and Taiwan are part of East Asia with similar set of values (Cho & Kim, 2013; Karsten et al., 2002). Religious bodies like Buddhist organizations and Christian churches play a significant role in both Hong Kong and Taiwan education development (Cheung et al., 2016; Zhai & Woodberry, 2011). They operate various secondary and primary schools. Religious education is part of their curriculum and makes these schools different from secular schools. This paper aims to explore the influence of religion on secondary students' civic and social values development in both societies. By making use of the focus group interview, this study collected data from schools with four different types of religious background, including Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism and Atheism (no religious affiliation) and making comparison between Hong Kong and Taiwanese students. The findings provide a better understanding about the influence of religion on Chinese students' citizenship development in both societies but the results differ from those found in Western studies. The implications of these results for theory building and policy are discussed.

The Basic Law, a law of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China, plays a fundamental role in the life of Hong Kong people, As Gittings (2013) recently explained: As the highest law with practical effect in Hong Kong, it sets the framework for Hong Kong’s system of government, how its courts operate, and the rights and freedoms enjoyed by its residents, to name just a few examples. Yet the school curriculum does not deal with these major civic issues in any great depth. As Chinese citizens, the city’s youth need to be aware of what defines their citizenship in legal terms, how they can take on their responsibilities as citizens and how they can make a productive contribution to Hong Kong and the nation. This paper will draw on the Basic Law Education Project that has been funded by The Education University of Hong Kong. It will describe the five domains of study that have been identified (Rule of Law, Rule by Law, Historical Contexts of the Basic Law, How the Basic Law was Made, Changing the Basic Law), compare and contrast these to other law education projects both in Hong Kong and internationally and indicate pedagogies that can be used to enliven Basic Law Education in Hong Kong classrooms.

It has recently been asserted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees that “education is a basic right, one that is vital in restoring hope and dignity to people driven from their homes. It helps them to get back on their feet and build a better future” (A Basic Right for a Better Future, UNHCR, 2016, p.1). Asylum seekers, both here in Hong Kong and elsewhere, struggle to be self-sufficient, and it is education that can equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge. Education empowers refugees and is the key to better future that helps bring stability and hope. The study to be reported here asses explores refugee family responsibilities and the Hong Kong SAR Government’s responsibility for educational provision in relation to refugee children in Hong Kong. The preliminary findings indicate that refugee children in Hong Kong encounter many difficulties and problems (such as financial, psychological). Many of them, however, embrace their education opportunities and excel academically with support from teachers and schools. This study highlights issues which refugee children encounter and also provides a narrative in understanding the complicated and extraordinary childhoods of refugee children and youth in Hong Kong. While the study is set in the Hong Kong context, the findings are likely to be of interest of other countries which to improve educational provision for refugees.

This paper reports the findings of a public policy research supported by the University Grant Council on the relationships between the characteristics, school engagement and civic engagement of adolescents in Hong Kong. Data was collected from a sample of 3,024 students, aged 12 to 19, by employing the self-rated modified school engagement scale and the ICCS 2009 student questionnaires. Using local Hong Kong students as a reference, the other students included in the study were non-Chinese South Asians, cross-boundary students who live in Mainland China but who go to schools in Hong Kong, and newly arrived students from Mainland China. Family income and student groups were two predictor variables examined. About 38% of the sample were of low socioeconomic status, in that they reported their family monthly income as being less than 1500 USD. Hierarchical regression was employed to determine the relative influence of student characteristics and school and civic engagement variables. Findings revealed that there was a close connection between the self-assessment of school and civic engagement and there were differences in this regard among the immigrant and minority student groups. Recommendations for both schools and government agencies towards future policy development in facilitating pro-school and civic-oriented attitudes and behaviours of all students were suggested.

Hong Kong underwent tremendous changes after the transfer of its sovereignty to China in 1997. This study attempts to explore the changing role of schools in preparing students for future democratic citizenship in the post-colonial era. Different researchers have postulated that schools play a crucial role in the political socialization process in meeting the developmental needs of adolescents. A mixed-method sequential explanatory research design was adopted to assess the effectiveness of Hong Kong schools in promoting civic learning. The significance of the present study was to analyse the school context by using the assessment framework from the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Civic Education Study (CivEd) to generate citizenship education studies. An extensive review of research related to the role of schools through formal and informal curricula was conducted. This process helped extend the current understanding of the effectiveness of the political socialization in secondary schools in Hong Kong and contributed to the further development of the research on political socialization in the Chinese context. The findings from this study would help educators or policy makers rethink the future role of schools in citizenship education.
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