Values education in Hong Kong: Problems and possibilities

Economic, social and political changes have brought a change of values in our young people. A number of research studies have been carried out to look into the values of our young people. Research findings reveal that Hong Kong people are very money-minded and do not exercise autonomy in making moral judgment. They accept democracy, human rights and the rule of law as important but cannot comprehend the essence of them. The implications for the above findings are that something must be done to reconstruct the value system of our young people. We have to develop some positive values in our students as well as the promotion of moral autonomy.. However, there are a lot of constraints in the promotion of value education in Hong Kong. For example, the academic–oriented education system has left little room for values education. Teachers are not well prepared to teach values. The ethos of the society is not conducive to the promotion of positive values. But all these problems are not insurmountable if we, as educators have the will and endeavor for what is good for our next generation. Copyright © 1999 Australian Curriculum Studies Association Inc.