The pursuit of equitable education is key to a government’s regulation and allocation of life-chances, which enables social integration. Yet, evidence of the diminishing returns of degrees and of the “skills mismatch” between higher education training and labour market requirements casts doubts on the role of higher educational institutions in facilitating social mobility. This paper draws upon the findings of 40 qualitative interviews with young people conducted in 2018 in Hong Kong to shed light on the micro-level processes in which higher education training is translated into graduate employment outcomes. Findings comparing two sets of higher education graduates’ interview narratives are presented. Assumptions of the logic of human capital theory are questioned from the “positional” and the “processual” perspectives on graduate employability. The discussion unpacks the meanings of “skills mismatch” and “graduate employability,” and foregrounds the assumptions of the differential values assigned to skills and knowledges of different kinds in the local higher education system. With the insights drawn, this paper concludes with a reflection on the relevance of higher education to our understanding of social mobility and social integration in post-Covid-19 Hong Kong. Copyright © 2024 China Perspectives is the property of French Centre for Research on Contemporary China (CEFC).

Contemporary processes of globalisation have led us individually and collectively to grapple with affordances and challenges of living, learning, and working on an increasingly interdependent planet. Consequently, developing the dispositions, knowledge, skills, and behaviors to navigate local and global ambiguities that arise from interdependence has become an important task of education. While the affective dimension in developing positive global perspectives seems clear, teaching approaches often prioritise the cognitive component of knowledge. We present preliminary theoretical and empirical work from an EdUHK Teaching Development Grant project, involving almost 20 university teachers across disciplines and the globe, to develop affectively-oriented pedagogical activities for the teaching of internationally-focused course content. Theories of affect tend to resist the reason-emotion binary. Therefore, to assess effects of these affective pedagogies quantitatively, we’ve developed brief pre- and post-class surveys for students measuring how affective engagement in the activity (e.g. experience of curiosity, enjoyment, pity) is related to gains in global affective attitudes (e.g. valuing other cultures, interest in interacting with cultural others), as well as gains in global knowledge (e.g. knowledge of other cultures). This project promises to advance both the theory and application of affective pedagogy in the interest of cultivating students’ affective commitment to being global citizens. Copyright © 2021 The Education University of Hong Kong.

Within the early childhood context, kindergarten teachers encounter day-to-day ethical dilemmas. These relate to the multiple obligations and responsibilities that kindergarten teachers have when working with different stakeholders, such as children, families, colleagues, organizations, and policy makers (Dahlberg & Moss, 2005; Feeney & Freeman, 2007). Although codes of ethics for teaching profession have been developed and applied in the worldwide, understanding professional ethics of early childhood teachers has been an underdeveloped area of study in Hong Kong. Using the ethical codes from three counties as the base, this study attempts to explore and develop the principles of professional ethics for Hong Kong early childhood sector. Those principles are conceived as an essential part of the professional repertoire which helps teachers make judgment and choices of action in the real-life workplace (Campbell, 2000; Mahoney, 2008). However, those principles are not exhaustive nor applicable to every situation. This study reports the suggested principles of professional ethics which are built on reviewing the extant ethical codes from international and regional contexts and collecting qualitative data from the semi-structured interviews with a total of 13 pre-service and in-service teachers. Findings reveals that professional ethics among early childhood education can be conceptualized into five domains. The interview data also reflect that the dimensions and meanings of professional ethics are varied among pre-service and in-service teachers. This study contributes to articulate dialogues about the notions of professional value, moral reasoning, professional autonomy, and teacher identity. Findings of this study reaffirm the responsibilities and obligations of kindergarten teachers, and this could be seen as a source of insights into the ethical base of teacher professionalism in Hong Kong early childhood context. Copyright © 2023 ISA, International Sociological Association

This folio is a collection of three separate research papers which includes one theoretical paper and two other empirical studies and each contribution can also be read as a stand-alone article. The overall aims of the folio are to revise the proposed vocational teachers’ workplace learning model and its practical application into teaching and learning in vocational education and training and to illustrate how vocational teachers enact vocational pedagogy developed from classroom-based learning. Moreover, the folio also further addresses vocational students’ learning in the work-based collaborative learning environment. Following the revised theoretical model of workplace learning, the two empirical research studies reflect on occupational pedagogy and teachers’ work-related knowledge and experiences in collaborative learning and adaptive instructions. The second paper mainly focuses on vocational teaching behaviours in facilitating practice-based teaching pedagogy concerning students’ occupational learning, which implied on the practical importance of collaborative instructions in vocational pedagogy and students’ participation in hands-on activities. The contribution of the third paper relates to the findings of the second paper, and the third paper contributes to vocational students’ learning patterns and learning participation concerning collaborative learning environments and adaptive instructions through dialogic analysis of classroom observations. These findings implies on interactive work-based learning in vocational teaching and learning relating to professional education, the vocational curriculum, and knowledge and experience. All rights reserved.

Worldwide, there has been a proliferation of international schools, defined as schools offering international curricula in a non-native language (most often English). International schooling is also changing as the greatest demand has come from a 'local' base of (upper-)middle-class families. This paper examines why affluent local families choose international schools, the educational advantages accumulated, and the implications for social stratification. As a framework, we apply positional conflict theory (e.g., Brown, 2000) to consider three rules of educational exclusion and inclusion: 'Market', Membership', and 'Meritocratic'. The context was the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. We conducted a multi-site case study of five international schools that serve local students, including 105 interviews with principals, teachers, parents, and students. The findings demonstrate how international schooling first remains exclusionary and second is distinctive in forming global identities and pathways. For 'Market' rules, access to international schooling is constrained by admission practices, high fees, and location. For 'Membership' rules, international schooling experiences focus on cultivating globalised identities, including aspirations, sensibilities, and worldviews. For 'Meritocratic' rules, international schooling provides a privileged position for global higher education. We argue that international schooling may (re)produce a Global Middle Class of cosmopolitan, credentialed, and mobile young people. However, they may face exclusion from their host societies in the context of geo-political tensions and emphasis on national identity. Overall, we discuss how the proliferation of international schools may create new forms of social class advantage for global futures separate from national class structures. Copyright © 2023 World Education Research Association.