Special Journal Issue

Special Journal Issues - Sociology of Education and Society in Hong Kong: In Retrospect and Prospects Volume 51, 2018 Chinese Education & Society

Theme	Entitled "Sociology of Education and Society in Hong Kong: In Retrospect and Prospects," this special issue is co-edited by Dr Hei-hang Hayes Tang of the Education University of Hong Kong and Dr. Kwok Kuen Tsang of Beijing Normal University. The aim of this special issue is to critically discuss and review the roles of sociological theories and perspectives in understanding better the current educational issues and/or phenomena in Hong Kong. By taking stock of the sociology of education and society in Hong Kong, the special issue will enable sociologists, educational researchers and practitioners, specialists in Hong Kong, China or/and Asia to see the power of sociology of education, as both scholarships of discovery and application, in creating new knowledge to the discipline of sociology while applying sociological analysis of education phenomena, policies and practices.

Issue Objectives	1. How has the academic literature or existing researches approached the education issues and or/ phenomena? What is/are the contribution(s) of sociology to the literature in the selected field? 2. In what ways can sociology offer a novel point of view to look at the issues? How are the sociological perspectives different from the approaches in the education literature, policy makers and practitioners? How does the difference inform a further development of theories or research agenda in sociology of education? 3. To what extent and in what ways does the advancement of the application of sociology into educational studies contribute to and have dialogues with the disciplinary development of sociology? 4. How can sociological analysis provide practical implications, improve the education policies and practices and enhance social justice? 5. What new knowledge can sociology of education in Hong Kong add to the literatures of Hong Kong Studies, China Studies and Asian Studies?

Issue Co-editors		Dr Tang Hei-hang Hayes Assistant Professor Department of Education Policy and Leadership Research Fellow Asia Pacific Centre for Leadership and Change The Education University of Hong Kong China : hhhtang@eduhk.hk	Dr Tsang Kwok Kuen Associate Professor School of Education Beijing Normal University China : kktsang@bnu.edu.cn

Contributors	Entitled "Sociology of Education and Society in Hong Kong: In Retrospect and Prospects," this special issue is co-edited by Dr. Kwok Kuen Tsang of Beijing Normal University and Dr Hei-hang Hayes Tang. The aim of the special issue is to critically discuss and review the roles of sociological theories and perspectives in understanding the current educational issues and/ or phenomena in Hong Kong.
	Dr Tang Hei-hang Hayes The Education University of Hong Kong China Sociology of Education and Its Forms of Scholarship: Taking Stock, Looking Ahead in China’s Hong Kong Amid Deep Transformation https://doi.org/10.1080/10611932.2018.1570795 Introduction As a member of the Chinese community at large, Hong Kong represents a “social laboratory” where any imposed exchange of powers usually stimulates recurrent repercussions in many aspects (Chan and Lee 2007). However, surveying the related bodies of academic literature reveals that most sociological works pay less attention to the phenomena related to Hong Kong education and society, in comparison with those phenomena that happened in other Chinese societies, especially mainland China. The empirical patterns by no means imply that the sociological understanding about Hong Kong education is less significant. The role of sociology of education, as in other Chinese societies, should contribute to a better understanding about the relationship between education, society, and Chineseness. The sociological investigation of Hong Kong education and society has more than 50 years of history. However, there is not much effort to synthesize the knowledge. The scholarship of integration is important since it can tell us about what happened, is happening, and the way forward in Hong Kong sociology of education as an academic field. It will offer an integrated framework that helps sociologists and educational researchers to better understand and conceptualize the changing conditions, emerging issues, and prospective trends in Hong Kong education and society, with theoretical and methodological implications for sociological studies into education and other Chinese communities. Entitled “Sociology of Education and Society in Hong Kong: In Retrospect and Prospects,” this special issue is co-edited by Drs Hei-hang Hayes Tang of the Education University of Hong Kong and Kwok Kuen Tsang of Beijing Normal University and me. The aim of the special issue is to critically discuss and review the roles of sociological theories and perspectives in understanding the current educational issues and/ or phenomena in Hong Kong.
	Dr Ho Ching Wai The Chinese University of Hong Kong China Discoursing Education Reforms: A Case Study of Post-Handover Education Development in Hong Kong https://doi.org/10.1080/10611932.2018.1570796 Introduction This study adopted a discursive institutional framework to examine how teachers make sense of and understand transformation in their work and workplace during education reforms. Examination of this process is highly significant because it helps us to understand the often misplaced emphasis on workload in analysis of teachers’ work pressure in public and academic discussions, which might not reflect the whole picture. In-depth interviews were used to obtain information from the teachers’ perspective as front-line practitioners in the education institution. The study identified the discursive processes contributing to the institutionalization of new ideas and practices introduced during education reforms. This article argues that through situating teachers’ response to the reform in the relevant sociohistorical context, we can better delineate how meaning negotiation is possible in the moment of institutional change.
	Dr Tsang Kwok Kuen Beijing Normal University China *The Structural Causes of Teacher Burnout in Hong Kong* https://doi.org/10.1080/10611932.2018.1570797 Introduction Since the mid 1990s, teacher burnout has become a crucial phenomenon in the Hong Kong education system, as increasing numbers of Hong Kong teachers have been reported as stressed, exhausted, and depersonalized in their teaching. In the Hong Kong community, including the academic circle, many people have applied the psychological theory of burnout to study the psychological causes of teacher burnout. However, this article argues that teacher burnout has become a social issue and is not a purely psychological phenomenon. Thus, it is important for us to identify the structural causes rather than the psychological causes of teacher burnout, to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of teacher burnout, and to develop better solutions. This article therefore theoretically analyzes how teacher burnout can be caused by certain structural forces, including structural education reforms, the administrative structure of schools, and the occupational and career structure of teaching, from the perspective of the sociological theory of work alienation. The article also gives recommendations for further studies based on the theoretical analysis.
	Dr Liu Dian University of Stavanger Norway Professor Wong Sing Wing Dennis City University of Hong Kong China Professor Erling Roland University of Stavanger Norway The Family–School Linkage in Addressing Bullying in Hong Kong: A Sociocultural Perspective https://doi.org/10.1080/10611932.2018.1570799 Introduction The phenomenon that around ten percent of schoolchildren are bullied regularly in Hong Kong has attracted much scholarly attention in anti-bullying research. Current literature suggests taking into consideration the contextual features and socioeconomic factors in anti-bullying research, instead of applying identical intervention/prevention measures across cultures. Therefore, this article examines the role of school-family linkage as a mirror of the wide social-culture context, and analyzes the functions of such linkage in anti-bullying practice in Hong Kong. This study was conducted following a film approach in 2015. That is, a group of middle school teachers in Hong Kong were invited to watch small films showing typical bullying and anti-bullying episodes, followed by semi-structured interviews. The article demonstrates a list of good practices representing the functioning of a positive family-school linkage in bullying addressing. However, parental involvement does not always facilitate and can hinder bullying addressing on campuses. This study implies that efficient bullying addressing aligns with parental involvement in the intervention process, suggesting more parental involvement and more collaboration between family and school in anti-bullying. It also raises an urgent question in regards to balancing the various opinions between parents and teachers in child-raising and bullying addressing. This article suggests further and more investigations examining anti-bullying from a socioeconomic perspective.
	Mr. Yau Siu Ho Thomas The Chinese University of Hong Kong China Dr Chung Ming Lun The University of Hong Kong China Mr. Li Ho Ching The Education University of Hong Kong China Mr. Chun Wai Sun Derek The Education University of Hong Kong China Myth of the Inferior Status of Vocational Education: The Case of Hong Kong https://doi.org/10.1080/10611932.2018.1570801 Introduction In this article, factors contributing to the poor perceptions and inferior status of vocational education in Hong Kong are discussed. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is employed as the methodology in examining the discursive construction of vocational education in the policy context. A total of five policy documents published between 1970 and 2015 are included. Our findings show that the socioeconomic transformation of Hong Kong in recent decades, massification of higher education, and cultural factors such as parental expectations are pertinent to the stigmatization observed in vocational education. This article discusses the implications from the findings and concludes with possible solutions for the future development of vocational education in Hong Kong under the novel vocational and professional education and training (VPET) initiative launched by the government.