Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Toronto, 2006. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-06, page: 2647. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 144-151).

本論文探討來自中國內地和南亞國家的少年移民學生如何適應香港的教育和生活。他們是香港兩大移民群體，儘管他們的族群和文化背景截然不同，香港人一般都認為他們落後和貧困，與香港社會格格不入。本研究旨在了解他們的求學道路和身份建構過程。而在社會化的討論背景下，求學道路和身份建構是兩個相互關聯、相互重疊的概念。田野調查在香港四所收了大批移民學生的中學進行，時間由幾個月到一年多不等。 / 本研究發現，雖然兩組學生的背景不同，在香港的教育制度下，他們面對相似的限制及不利因素。本文指出，教師認為這兩組學生有類近的學習問題，但卻成因各異，教師亦對自己可以起的作用有不同看法。以上種種皆會影響青少年作為社會成員的身份認同。本文又指出，這兩組學生，在不同程度上自稱是香港的一份子。然而，他們的理由不一，理解也不盡同。 / 在學校層面發生的事情是重要的，因為它反映了在社會層面，大家如何界定誰是社會成員，如何在不同的歷史、文化和社經環境下，轉變想法和做法，以及社會和個人如何在過程中互動。在當前全球化的時代，人口遷移不斷影響世界各地的社會經濟和人口結構。本文提出一個新的角度，以重新思考移民和教育的理論。 / This thesis explores the immigration and schooling experiences of the teenage children of immigrants of the two largest incoming groups to Hong Kong: from Mainland China and from South Asia. Most people in Hong Kong think that both groups are culturally backward and economically impoverished, which means that both do not fit in, despite the fact that they have utterly different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. I seek to understand the factors that are shaping their educational pathways and identity formation, which I consider to be two interrelated and overlapping concepts against the backdrop of socialization. Data are largely drawn from ethnographic fieldwork, from a few months to more than a year, in four secondary schools in Hong Kong which admit a large number of immigrants. / I argue that despite their different backgrounds, both groups of students face very similar structural constraints and disadvantages in Hong Kong’s education system. I also argue that teachers perceive very similar learning problems in these two groups of students, but they see the problems to have stemmed from different causes, and have different understandings how much teachers can do. This has implications on the teenagers’ identities as members of society. I further argue that both groups, albeit to different extents, claim their belonging to Hong Kong in terms of their identity. However, they seem to base their claims on different grounds, and have different understandings of their belonging to Hong Kong. / What goes on in the classroom is important because it reflects in the larger society how people understand and practice who they include and who they exclude; how the ideologies and practices at work change in different historical, cultural, and socioeconomic contexts; and how individuals negotiate the shaping and the inclusion or exclusion. My thesis adds a new perspective for us to rethink theories of migration and education in an era of globalization when the mass movement of people is defining and redefining the socioeconomic and demographic landscapes in many parts of the world. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Chee, Wai Chi. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 383-415). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgements --- p.iii / Abbreviations --- p.v / Language, Name, and Currency --- p.vi / Tables and Graph --- p.vii / Chapter 1. --- Introduction / Introduction --- p.1 / Research Questions and Objectives --- p.1 / Immigrant Students in Hong Kong’s Education System --- p.6 / Significance of Research --- p.9 / Literature Review --- p.15 / Methodology --- p.54 / Some Ethical Concerns --- p.63 / Chapter Overview --- p.67 / Chapter 2. --- Immigration Motivations, Trajectories and Predicaments: Positioning Teenage Immigrants in Hong Kong / Introduction --- p.74 / Ebbs and Flows of People from Mainland China into Hong Hong --- p.77 / Emergence of Hong Kong Identity --- p.79 / Situating Mainland Chinese Teenagers in Hong Kong’s Immigration Context --- p.82 / Situating South Asian Teenage Immigrants in Hong Kong’s Immigration Context --- p.87 / Immigration Motivations and Predicaments --- p.96 / Conclusion --- p.113 / Chapter 3. --- On the Threshold of the Mainstream: Initiation Program and its Completion Ceremony / Introduction --- p.115 / Initiation Program and Its Completion Ceremony --- p.119 / Form, Content, and Meanings of the Completion Ceremony: The Case of Lily School --- p.126 / Form, Content, and Meanings of the Completion Ceremony: The Case of Peony School --- p.141 / Dramatized Epitome of the Initiation Program --- p.159 / Conclusion --- p.166 / Chapter 4. --- Entering the Mainstream: From Initiation Program to Mainstream Education / Introduction --- p.169 / Looking for a Place in a Mainstream School --- p.172 / Entering the Educational Mainstream --- p.182 / Out of the "Greenhouse" --- p.191 / Future Educational Pathways --- p.198 / Conclusion --- p.208 / Chapter 5. --- Ideologies and Practices of Inclusion/Exclusion: Immigrant Students in Hong Kong’s Education System / Introduction --- p.211 / Perception, Inclusion, Exclusion: Mainlanders and South Asians in Hong Kong --- p.214 / Adapting to Education and Life in a "Greenhouse" --- p.229 / Educational Greenhouse Effect --- p.246 / Conclusion --- p.258 / Chapter 6. --- Socialization and Citizen-Making: The Role of Educators / Introduction --- p.260 / What an Ideal Student Should be Like --- p.264 / The Making of “Ideal Students --- p.267 / Double-Edged Teacher-Student Relationships --- p.300 / Paradoxical Effect of the Attempt to Create "Ideal Students" --- p.305 / Conclusion --- p.313 / Chapter 7. --- The Politics of Belonging: What Does It Mean to Be a Teenage Immigrant Student in Hong Kong? / Introduction --- p.318 / (Re)Evaluating Hong Kong --- p.323 / Positioning Hong Kong in Immigrant Children’s Migration Trajectories --- p.329 / Identity and the Politics of Belonging --- p.341 / Conclusion --- p.352 / Chapter 8. --- Conclusion / Introduction --- p.356 / Theorizing "Envisioned Belonging" --- p.358 / Theorizing the "Educational Greenhouse Effect" --- p.368 / Rethinking Theories of Migration and Education --- p.372 / More Supportive Educational Policies for Immigrant Students --- p.377 / Hong Kong and Immigration --- p.380 / References --- p.383

published_or_final_version / abstract / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics

This thesis addresses academic underachievement by ethnic minorities, a persistent sociological problem, in the context of low-income South Asian students in Hong Kong. South Asians have deep roots in the history of Hong Kong; however lower income groups among them find few opportunities for upward social mobility. Students from this community attend ‘designated’ local public schools, which do not seem to offer them a challenging academic environment. Hence, these students generally show poorer levels of academic performance and higher levels of dropout rates compared to the majority Chinese students. Most of them also do not go to university and seem to make poor career choices. Existing research on this issue has explored the impact of factors such as limited school choices, segregation in designated schools, poor quality of education, Chinese language requirement, and stereotypes associated with the South Asian community, suggesting that the disadvantaged position of South Asian students is a consequence of their ‘non-Chinese status’ as it denies them the privileges enjoyed by the mainstream population. However, prior research has generally overlooked the role of South Asian parents in their children’s academic life. This thesis addresses this ‘research gap’ by exploring low-income South Asian parents’ understanding of the educational opportunities available in Hong Kong and their attitudes towards children’s education and future. A qualitative study within the social constructionist paradigm is used, to examine the ways in which low-income South Asian parents understand and respond to the education system in Hong Kong. Grounded theory approach is used to collect and interpret the data obtained from seventy one interviews with South Asian students, their parents, teachers and social workers. Using ‘constant comparative’ and ‘inductive’ methods, three sensitizing concepts are identified - ‘parental involvement’, ‘ethnic identity’ and ‘folk theory of making it’; and these are used as the theoretical foundation for the data analysis process. In addition, four conceptual categories are developed - ‘educational perspectives’, ‘limited support’, ‘beyond control’, and ‘ensuring future success’, which define the process of adaptation of the South Asian parents to the education system in Hong Kong. Data shows that the low socioeconomic status and strong ethnic identity of South Asian parents has a major impact on their educational expectations for their children and their adaptation pattern reflects ‘resistance’ against marginalization in the local education system. This study highlights the ‘instrumental’ view of education wherein South Asian parents do not conform to standard achivement ideology of Hong Kong society. Instead, they seem to withdraw from high academic expectations and upward social mobility, which further widens the existing social and economic gap between them and other groups, especially the majority Chinese group. In this process, their ethnic identity is reinforced with a focus on strong ties with their home countries; hence, most of them consider themselves only as ‘economic stakeholders’ in Hong Kong society. These findings emphasize the immediate need for the provision of quality education for ethnic minority groups and concerned attitude from the educators and citizenship education / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Tam, Sin Yu Ophelia. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 203-209). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Scope of study --- p.1 / The policy change in the context of the education system in Hong Kong --- p.4 / Theoretical discussion and literature review --- p.10 / Definition of terms --- p.10 / Multicultural education --- p.16 / Newspaper coverage of South Asians in Hong Kong --- p.22 / My methodology and its problems --- p.26 / My involvement in the field --- p.26 / Areas of study --- p.30 / Methodological problems --- p.32 / Summary of chapters --- p.37 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Historical and Socioeconomic Context of South Asians in Hong Kong --- p.40 / Introduction --- p.40 / Socioeconomic situation of South Asians --- p.43 / Occupational pattern --- p.43 / Language spoken --- p.47 / Educational attainment --- p.50 / Discrimination and legislation --- p.56 / Concluding remarks --- p.58 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- The Educational Opportunities and Education Systems for Ethnic Minorities in Hong Kong --- p.60 / Introduction --- p.60 / Medium of instruction in history --- p.61 / Education systems in Hong Kong for ethnic minorities --- p.69 / Three types of schools based on the medium of instruction --- p.69 / The fieldsite school - a case study --- p.75 / The policy change --- p.80 / The school place allocation system for ethnic minorities --- p.81 / Concluding remarks --- p.84 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Views of the Education and Manpower Bureau --- p.87 / Introduction --- p.87 / Background --- p.88 / Promoting integration --- p.90 / School closer to home --- p.97 / The principle of equal opportunities --- p.98 / More choice of schools --- p.102 / Concluding remarks --- p.104 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Views of the Concern Group --- p.107 / Introduction --- p.107 / "Background: The meaning of ""integration""" --- p.107 / Better Chinese language skills? --- p.112 / Lack of resources and long-term planning --- p.115 / Are closer schools an advantage? --- p.121 / More choice of schools? --- p.122 / What is equal opportunity? --- p.125 / Results of a survey done by the concern group --- p.127 / Concluding remarks --- p.129 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Views of the South Asians Apart from the Concern Group --- p.133 / Introduction --- p.133 / Background --- p.134 / English as an international language --- p.137 / Is Chinese reading and writing skill irrelevant? --- p.140 / Ability to support their children's study --- p.143 / Racial discrimination --- p.149 / Cultural assimilation --- p.153 / Parents who supported the new policy --- p.155 / Concluding remarks --- p.158 / Chapter Chapter 7 --- Views of Other Parties --- p.162 / Introduction --- p.162 / Non-Chinese Speaking schools --- p.162 / Principals and teaching staff --- p.164 / The mass media --- p.167 / University experts on education policy --- p.172 / Unison Hong Kong --- p.174 / Concluding remarks --- p.176 / Chapter Chapter 8 --- Conclusion: Multicultural in Education in Hong Kong --- p.180 / Summary --- p.180 / Versions of multiculturalism in Hong Kong --- p.183 / The Education and Manpower Bureau --- p.186 / The concern group --- p.190 / The South Asians --- p.192 / Implications of multiculturalism in Hong Kong --- p.195 / Concluding remarks --- p.200 / Reference