Improving mainstream perceptions of diversity
in Hong Kong is fundamental to enhancing equality and
human rights in the society in the future. The importance of
mainstream members of society learning to recognize
diversity with less prejudice undergirds many of the aims
of a recent educational reform, Liberal Studies. This paper
evaluates the capacity of Liberal Studies to educate for
multicultural understanding of cultural difference. Its primary
data source is Liberal Studies textbooks, and it
employs a qualitative content analysis to consider how
diversity and ethnic, cultural, and religious differences are
represented in the texts. The analysis is complemented by
an examination of related resources teachers may use in the
classroom (and are encouraged to use by the Hong Kong
Curriculum Development Council): mainstream news
articles and resources from the (government-provided)
Web-based Resource Platform for Liberal Studies. The
voices and views of some practicing teachers and pre-service
teacher education students related to multicultural
Liberal Studies resources are also included to provide a
balanced picture. Based on this analysis, multicultural
education as provided in major resources within the Liberal
Studies curriculum appears inadequate. As diversity is
reflected upon in resources analyzed here most often as
problematic and stereotypical, interventions are needed if
Liberal Studies is to enable multicultural appreciation and
understanding among students in Hong Kong in the future

EB00000002625K

Available

• Learning About Diversity in Hong Kong: Multiculturalism in Liberal Studies Textbooks