Advancing Equity in Hong Kong: An Intersectional Analysis of Secondary School Students’ Schooling Experiences

Addressing educational inequality is a priority for both educators and policymakers in Hong Kong. Previous studies in Hong Kong have found significant links between inequalities in educational opportunities and learning outcomes and different demographic features—particularly gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES). Studies in diverse contexts indicate that the intersection of these demographic features can exacerbate educational inequalities, but little is known about how these features intersect and influence educational inequalities in Hong Kong, especially in relation to students’ schooling experiences. The proposed study will address this knowledge gap. It will deploy intersectionality approach to examine the multiplicative relationships among Hong Kong secondary students’ gender, ethnicity, and SES, and how these relationships affect inequalities in key schooling experiences. It will use a two-phase research design using mixed research methods. In Phase 1, a territory-wide survey will be used to examine the multiplicative relationships among secondary students’ gender, ethnicity, and SES, and their key aspects of schooling experiences identified as critical to their well-being, developmental outcomes, and learning opportunities and outcomes Phase 2, based on three case-study schools with interviews and narrative analysis, will provide in-depth insights into what the quantitative findings look like in the lives of diverse students and their views on how these inequalities might be addressed.

Funding Source: RGC - General Research Fund (GRF)