Chinese parents exercising alternative middle-class choice: A study of homeschooling in Hong Kong

Chinese parents exercising alternative middle-class choice: A study of homeschooling in Hong Kong

• Lee, Tsz Lok Trevor The Education University of Hong Kong
• Chu, Kris Lap Yi The Education University of Hong Kong

British Sociological Association Annual Conference 2022 (2022: United Kingdom)

• Q 教育體系與各級學校
  • QG 成人教育、終身及延續教育
    • QGE 遙距教育
• A 人的成長與發展
  • AF 家庭與成長、家庭關係、生育與育嬰、家庭教育、家長參與

• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• 未指定或無法歸類

Despite its continuing rise, homeschooling in Hong Kong and many other Chinese cities is under-studied in academic research, underrepresented in society, invisible in public policy, and even marginalized within parent communities. Unlike many cases in Western societies, homeschooling in Hong Kong appears to be largely a ‘middle-class phenomenon’—better-off Chinese parents in Hong Kong can draw on their resources and navigate opportunities in the existing legal framework so that homeschooling is a viable option for their children’s education. Putting this phenomenon into a wider context of stratification and inequality, alternative middle-class choice and practice that ‘opt out’ of a traditional school system to homeschool their children problematizes our common sense understanding of middle-class trajectories. For instance, would these middle-class parents fear any loss of educational privilege that they would otherwise have in a traditional school system? Or, conversely, would these parents think that homeschooling is ideally suited for their children, who, in turn, may gain even more ‘home advantage’ over their schooled peers? Or would these parents pursue alternative forms of aspiration and privilege for their children? With these questions in mind, this study explores how Chinese homeschooling parents perceive and make sense of their homeschooling choice, with emphasis on the relation to social class. Data were drawn from in-depth interviews with 15 homeschooling families in Hong Kong. We will discuss the preliminary findings of this study and the theoretical implications for how Chinese homeschooling phenomenon constitutes the analytical leverage for theorizing a relatively unexplored area of middle-class reproduction processes. Copyright © 2022 British Sociological Association.

Paper presented at British Sociological Association Annual Conference 2022, United Kingdom.

• 英文

會議論文

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/tc/bibs/0f922861

2022-11-03