Socio-political changes and curriculum reforms in Hong Kong pose new challenges to civic education. These challenges can influence “principals’ reorientation and development of practices” (Szeto, 2020, p. 2), teacher autonomy and self-efficacy (*Wong et al., 2020) in different ways across schools. The National Security Law (NSL) in Hong Kong (implemented in July 2020) increases social uncertainty over academic autonomy and could influence teacher attitudes toward civic education. Hence, this study examines principals’ and teachers’ perceptions of citizenship education and how their schools support civic teaching in times of stress. Principals influence the civic environments of their schools (Author et al., 2020), and teachers affect the civic environments of their classrooms (Author et al., 2018b). Understanding principals’ and teachers’ perceptions of citizenship education could provide insights for nurturing students to live in a complex world. The findings revealed principals were more positive than teachers in regard to their schools and citizenship education, and attempted to provide teachers with the autonomy to facilitate civic teaching. Teachers perceived more strongly than principals that the Chinese national government has influenced their schools’ attitude to citizenship education and they showed less confidence than principals in the possibility of nurturing students’ patriotism. Copyright © 2022 CitEdEV.

This paper draws on Basil Bernstein’s theory of pedagogic discourse and practice to explain the controversy surrounding civic education in Hong Kong, through the case of a compulsory secondary school subject called Liberal Studies (LS). The distinct advantage of a Bernsteinian approach is that its conceptual grammar cogently captures the contentious nature of LS and locates the structural autonomy of teachers. This article highlights the fragmented nature of the LS curriculum, which attests to a historical legacy of the Hong Kong education system that favours a subject-based curriculum in practice and a managerialist approach to teacher staffing. These institutional parameters exert profound influences on LS teachers’ modalities of practice. This study contributes to the burgeoning interest in applying Bernsteinian scholarship to the East-Asian region by nuancing the role of teachers in mediating the contentious LS curriculum and implementing civic education. Finally, further application of the Bernsteinian approach will be discussed. Copyright © 2021 Taylor & Francis Ltd.

• The review essay discusses Wing-Wah Law's Politics, Managerialism and University Governance: Lessons from Hong Kong under China's rule since 1997. • The book recounts the rise of managerialism and performativity in Hong Kong's high quality universities, and their enfolding in demands for democratic reforms. • The One Country Two Systems formula,cannot manage a cleavage over national identity and loyalty. • The differences between China and Hong Kong go to the distinction between neo-coloniality and decoloniality and the fundamentals of political culture. • A wholly Western-style university is no longer fully viable in Hong Kong and ways need to be found to develop a more hybrid approach. The review essay introduces and discusses Wing-Wah Law's 2019 book Politics, Managerialism and University Governance: Lessons from Hong Kong under China's rule since 1997, in the context of the position of Hong Kong as a formerly colonised Western enclave within a Sinic political culture, and expands on the associated issues. The book recounts on one hand the rise of managerialism and performativity in Hong Kong's high quality universities, and on the other their enfolding in demands within the Special Autonomous Region for democratic reforms, tending towards independence from mainland China. Issues of corporatism and issues of political stability and control have coincided in disputes over the role and character of the governing councils, over senior appointments, and in relation to the freedoms of faculty and student activists. The One Country Two Systems formula, while broadly implemented, is not infinitely elastic and cannot manage a cleavage over national identity and loyalty. The differences between China and Hong Kong are more deep-seated than a tally of democratic activism and party-state repression would suggest. They go to the distinction between neo-coloniality and decoloniality and the fundamentals of political culture. The review argues that a wholly Western-style university