Multiculturalism, Chinese Identity, and Education: Who Are We?

• In Event: Self, Society, and Education for Belonging

Abstract

This study examines official understandings of Chinese identity in China and Hong Kong, exploring how the latest governments conceptualize Chinese identity; how government-endorsed textbooks frame it in different subjects; and how a multicultural approach can enhance understanding of identity in both societies.
Using content analysis to support my theoretical arguments, this study offers an in-depth, updated, and detailed picture of how the governments and their endorsed textbooks, encourage people in these societies to respond to the question of “who are we?”. It also elaborates on how the current approach to understanding Chinese identity can be harmful, and examines how a multicultural approach could better fit these Chinese contexts and enhance understanding of “who are we?”.

Author

• Jason Cong Lin, The Education University of Hong Kong