Yan, Kin Cheung Adrian; (2023) From Liberal Studies to National Education: The Life and Death of Liberal Studies in Hong Kong. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

This thesis explores the emergence and demise of a secondary school subject in Hong Kong called Liberal Studies (LS). It was introduced in 2009, became the centre of controversies associated with local identity politics in the 2010s, and was replaced by Citizenship and Social Development (CSD) in early 2021. To make sense of the LS controversy, I addressed three research questions: Why and how did LS emerge as a compulsory subject? Why was LS replaced by CSD? How did LS teachers experience the controversy surrounding the subject? I reviewed four analytical approaches: world culture, policy borrowing, subject community, and nation building. I argue that what emerges from my study is that no single analytic approach can satisfactorily explain the introduction and demise of LS; the former is best explained by the policy borrowing approach whilst the latter by the nation building approach. I examined policy documents to show that LS was part of the Government’s intention to signify departure from British colonial rule. In so doing, LS was designed in a distinct way that it was not buttressed in official textbooks, and it encouraged students to explore contemporary issues related to China. I analysed media archives to argue that the replacement of LS by CSD was caused by the escalating political conflicts between the pro-Beijing and pro-democracy camps amidst the 2019 protests. This provided a rationale for the Government to enact the National Security Law in June 2020 and to introduce national education through replacing LS with CSD. Based on semi-structured interviews with twenty LS teachers, I found that they were subjected to increasing levels of public scrutiny of their work. The replacement of LS by CSD prompted some interviewees to reconsider their career prospects. Those remaining believe that they are now expected to inculcate students’ uncritical loyalty to China.

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