Hong Kong, a global city with abundant opportunities, attracts many people from all around the world. Due to so many different cultures coexisting, Hong Kong has become a diverse city. This phenomenon is reflected in the education sector in Hong Kong. Although 95% of population is still Hong Kong Chinese, more and more diverse students from different ethnic backgrounds arrive in Hong Kong to study resulting in a multicultural classroom environment (McInerney, 2010). Some researchers raise concerns of the current unequal student engagement level amongst diverse ethnic groups in classrooms. This concern may result in a skewed educational attainment for certain ethnic groups. Dr. McInerney states that student engagement is heavily associated with
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Simply, ‘one size fits all’ approach cannot be employed to bring engagement for all (McInerney, 2010, p.9). This paper will critically analyze the current problem of student engagement in Hong Kong, through an ethnic minority perspective, and examine what other multi-cultural settings like Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia have done to alleviate the same inequality issue within their education sectors. Possible solutions of student engagement such as parental support, multicultural curriculum, individualized goal setting can elevate student motivation and interest level and, potentially, minimize the gap between different sociocultural groups in Hong …show more content…
There are two main theories of sociology of education: functionalist theory and conflict theory. Functionalists emphasize the importance of “social cohesion and harmony” and that society functions as one unit of machine with multiple parts taking equal importance (Sadovnik, 2007, p.3). Sadovnik claims that from functionalist point of view, education is used as a channel to safeguard equal opportunity and equality of results based on meritocratic system (Sadovnik, 2007). Many education systems, including Hong Kong’s, implement this philosophy as an ideal methodology when they establish educational goals for student success. Simultaneously, many systems, including Hong Kong’s, cannot escape the criticism that their current educational systems favour the dominant group and its success. This is well explained by the second theory of sociology of education: conflict theory in which schools are described as social battlefields where students have to consistently struggle to attain credentials not for achievement purpose but to gain status symbol (Sadovnik, 2007, p.4). Therefore, conflict theorists claim that schools solely reflect the interest of cultural and social elites. Both perceptions coexist up to a certain level in all education systems. Upon establishment of the missions and philosophy of schools, most schools adopt the functionalist point of view where all students are guaranteed an
Simply, ‘one size fits all’ approach cannot be employed to bring engagement for all (McInerney, 2010, p.9). This paper will critically analyze the current problem of student engagement in Hong Kong, through an ethnic minority perspective, and examine what other multi-cultural settings like Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia have done to alleviate the same inequality issue within their education sectors. Possible solutions of student engagement such as parental support, multicultural curriculum, individualized goal setting can elevate student motivation and interest level and, potentially, minimize the gap between different sociocultural groups in Hong …show more content…
There are two main theories of sociology of education: functionalist theory and conflict theory. Functionalists emphasize the importance of “social cohesion and harmony” and that society functions as one unit of machine with multiple parts taking equal importance (Sadovnik, 2007, p.3). Sadovnik claims that from functionalist point of view, education is used as a channel to safeguard equal opportunity and equality of results based on meritocratic system (Sadovnik, 2007). Many education systems, including Hong Kong’s, implement this philosophy as an ideal methodology when they establish educational goals for student success. Simultaneously, many systems, including Hong Kong’s, cannot escape the criticism that their current educational systems favour the dominant group and its success. This is well explained by the second theory of sociology of education: conflict theory in which schools are described as social battlefields where students have to consistently struggle to attain credentials not for achievement purpose but to gain status symbol (Sadovnik, 2007, p.4). Therefore, conflict theorists claim that schools solely reflect the interest of cultural and social elites. Both perceptions coexist up to a certain level in all education systems. Upon establishment of the missions and philosophy of schools, most schools adopt the functionalist point of view where all students are guaranteed an