A Study Of National Identity In Liberal Studies Of Senior High Schools In Hong Kong

In recent years,the youth in Hong Kong began to break the taboo of non-violence and become active in the political arena of Hong Kong,which shows that they have deviated from the attribution and identity of the state power and national culture.Many researchers attribute this phenomenon to the implementation of the Liberal Studies in Hong Kong high schools,believing that the implementation of this course strengthens the distrust of Hong Kong youth towards the SAR government and hostility towards the central government,and weakens the national identity of the young generation.Therefore,it makes sense to conduct an in-depth study of the real state of national identity reflected in the course and its possible impact.Using content analysis method,this paper selects the two most controversial units,"Hong Kong Today" and "Modern China" and takes 12 textbooks published by 6 publishers of them,which are circulated in the market and widely used by schools,as text analysis objects.The text data were collected on the basis of the self-compiled Quantitative Content Analysis Table of National Identity.Based on 11,580 pieces of valid data,this paper describes the status quo of national identity presented in the textbook,including seven elements of governance effectiveness,institutional rules,ideology,language,culture,historical memory and territorial sovereignty,and analyzes the possible positive and negative impacts on Hong Kong youth.The paper also analyzes the possible reasons for the teaching materials to present the current national identity from the perspectives of curriculum internal and curriculum external,and puts forward some suggestions for future reform from the perspectives of curriculum content,curriculum evaluation and curriculum data sources.The article holds that the description of national identity in the general education textbooks of Hong Kong senior high schools has both positive aspects which should be affirmed and carried forward and negative aspects which should be taken seriously and changed.From the perspective of national identity based on approving:(1)In terms of governance efficiency elements,the textbook objectively and positively introduces China’s economy and diplomacy etc.since the reform and opening up,which is conducive to students’ understanding of the major changes in the country and deepening their understanding of national conditions.However,the textbook portrays the mainland government’s negative portrayal of corruption and other factors,improperly discusses the controversial issues such as the "free travel policy" which has a far-reaching impact on the relationship between the two places,and presents the image of the ineffective solution of the livelihood issues of the SAR government.All these have shaped the image of economic supremacy in national development,weakened the trust of Hong Kong youth in the central government and the SAR government,and deepened their hostility to the mainland.(2)In terms of the elements of institutional rules,the objective introduction of the basic contents of the political,economic and legal systems of the mainland in the textbook is conducive to students’ preliminary understanding of the operation mode of national institutional rules.However,whether it is the intentional emphasis on the differences between the two systems,or the insufficient emphasis on the fundamental and core issue of "one country",or the adequate expression on the positive implications of the implementation of "one country,two systems",which all strengthens students’ sense of exclusion to the mainland’s institutional rules,their sense of pride in Hong Kong’s institutional rules and their sense of improper maintenance under the so-called influence of the mainland,deepens students’ misunderstanding of "one country,two systems".(3)In the ideological elements,although the textbook introduces the contents of guiding thoughts in different periods of China’s reform and opening up,it helps deepen students’ understanding of the changes of these guiding thoughts.However,its propaganda of the western ideology of "Justice by law" and indirect encouragement of students to perform their civic responsibilities in ways outside the system also increase the possibility of students’ radical participation in social and political affairs and their deliberate illegal rebellion against the SAR government and the central government.In addition,on the one hand,the textbook guides students to explore this complex political issue on the basis of publicizing that western election-style democracy is the real democracy and one-sidedly and wrongly conveying the sincerity of the central government in promoting the process of universal suffrage in Hong Kong according to the Basic Law.On the other hand,on the basis of shaping the positive image of Hong Kong as the capital of the rule of law and attaching importance to human rights and freedom,and on the basis of the negative image of the mainland as not attaching importance to human rights,suppressing rights defenders and fraught with legal problems,students were guided to explore whether the "interpretation of the NPC" and other controversial issues had an impact on the rule of law and freedom in Hong Kong.In the case of insufficient knowledge of students,biased materials presented and non-neutrality of teachers,such discussion is likely to lead to misdirection and weaken the sense of citizenship of students.From the perspective of national identity based on belongingness:(1)In terms of language elements,the emphasis in the textbook on the uniqueness of Cantonese as the mother tongue of Hong Kong people,as well as the partial reference to the disputes between Putonghua and Cantonese and between traditional and simplified Chinese characters may hinder the communication and integration between the two places and deepen the sense of isolation of students’ identity.(2)In terms of cultural elements,the positive emotional guidance of the textbook on the long history of Chinese culture and the homology of the two cultures is conducive to strengthen students’ sense of cultural identity to the motherland.(3)In terms of historical memory elements,the introduction of historical events such as the Opium War in the textbook is helpful for students to remember China’s humiliating years and hardships in modern times.However,the insufficient description of the historical events that the two places have participated in together,the historical feelings that are difficult to dissociate,and the frequent mention of the negative historical events that affected the national identity of Hong Kong citizens before the return to China may also strengthen the sense of historical alienation of students.(4)In terms of the elements of territorial sovereignty,the textbook introduces the knowledge of the division of national administrative regions and the distribution of resources,which is helpful for students to understand the basic national conditions.However,their lack of emphasis on the historical and sovereign unity of the disputed territory and sea,as well as their inappropriate expression of the Tibetan separatists who try to split the motherland,also weakened students’ sense of obligation to safeguard national sovereignty,unity and territorial integrity.According to the article,the reasons for the teaching materials to present the current national identity are the result of the interaction of the internal and external factors of the curriculum.The former includes six factors: curriculum concept,subject nature and unit structure in macro theory level,curriculum evaluation system,curriculum planning strategy,curriculum learning and teaching resources in concrete operation level.The latter includes the historical and realistic factors of government and society.In the future,the adverse factors in the textbooks can be improved by adjusting and optimizing the course content,course evaluation methods and course information sources,so as to realize the correct guidance for young students in Hong Kong...