The academic underachievement of ethnic minorities, especially Pakistanis, in Hong Kong is well-recognized. This is stereotypically attributed to Islamic practices that are perceived to impede education, yet the voices of Pakistani parents and children are seldom heard. This research seeks to illuminate how Pakistani Muslim immigrant students and their parents understand the role of religion in education. The key finding highlights how both parents and students rate religion and education as highly important, and maintain that the two complement—rather than contradict—each other. They reject the public perception that Islam discourages the education of females, asserting that Islam upholds equality, including gender equality. Nonetheless, and maybe paradoxically, females interviewed during this research do encounter greater challenges than males in pursuing an education. In the young women's understanding, this comes from gendered cultural practices that are not necessarily endorsed by Islam. In response, both parents and daughters fight against, or conform to, these practices.
[Copyright of Asian Anthropology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1683478X.2015.1025592]

Many Hong Kong schools are concerned about their growing numbers of ethnic minority students. When these students are enrolled in Hong Kong secondary schools, how their cultural diversity is catered for becomes critical. This article examines how teachers narrate the cultural diversity of ethnic minority students, who come from Pakistan, India, Nepal, the Philippines and Thailand. Qualitative data were collected from interviews, through which the narratives of twenty-four teachers from four secondary schools were explored. The study showed that to address cultural diversity, a 'connected' classroom should be established by promoting interpersonal relationships, developing adaptive teaching strategies, keeping the balance between guidance and discipline and strengthening home-school collaboration. Implications for the development of teacher education will be presented.
[Copyright of Pastoral Care in Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02643944.2013.811697]