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The purpose of this paper is to highlight the urgent need for a genuinely effective and attainable citizenship education model in Hong Kong’s schools, which focusses on promoting student participation in school governance. It is an empirical citizenship education management model for school leaders that illustrates the predictive effects of personally responsible, participatory, justice-oriented and patriotic citizenship, necessarily supported by school management practices, school ethos and teacher beliefs.

A total of 3,209 students from 51 secondary schools in Hong Kong participated in a quasi-experimental design questionnaire survey. A structural equation model (SEM) was applied to confirm the model.

The results of the SEM show that the values and cultural practices held by a school’s teachers drive the implementation of its citizenship education. Moreover, it is well known that organizational values can exert a powerful influence and it is the same within educational structures: management practices in schools have an impact on ethos, teachers’ beliefs and student participation in school governance.

The paper provides practical proposals for school leaders to create opportunities for student participation in school governance.

This study builds on existing literature and provides school leaders with a practical model for implementing student participation in school governance.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between the civic mission of schools and students on participation in school governance through an empirical study. It articulates the importance of school mission on nurturing citizenship of high school students.

The research used a mixed method with questionnaire survey in the first phase and qualitative interviews in the second phase. Quantitative data were obtained from a survey completed by 3,209 students and 495 teachers (including principals) from 51 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Qualitative data were collected from 41 individual interviews with principals and teachers and 17 focus group interviews with 56 students in five case study schools.

Both students and teachers believed that good citizenship qualities should include students’ participation in school governance. Schools in general took up the civic mission to nurture good and participatory citizens. A mission of nurturing students to become good and participatory citizens made a significant and positive contribution toward achieving students’ actual participation in school governance. However, students’ actual impact on major school policies was minimal. A paradox existed whereby students, knowing their influence over managerial issues was much circumscribed, still gave it a higher rating than their teachers.

The paper contributes an empirical model for school leaders to develop school vision for promoting student participation in school governance. Based on a large-scale research supported by public funding, the paper contributes an empirical model for school leaders to develop school vision for promoting student participation in school governance. It further adds to the literature on relationship between citizenship education, civic mission of school and student participation in governance.

Liberal Studies (LS), as a compulsory subject for senior secondary students (S4-6) who sit for the Diploma of Secondary Education, was introduced in 2007. There has been increased discussion about merits of the subject. This paper was written based on a study the researchers conducted with LS teachers and students to probe the role LS may play in relation to civic education. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The study employed a qualitative methodology and a series of in-depth interviews were carried out with real LS teachers and students to tap their views about LS from their lived experience.

Findings suggest that LS, if conducted appropriately, can be one of vehicles of civic education particularly in such matters related to enhancing social awareness and the ability to partake in public affair debates. It can also be of potential use to nurturing civic virtues in support of democratic discussion. On the other hand, its relationship with real social and political participation by students was not confirmed.

This paper represents one of the first to explore about LS’s possible role in civic education with real grounded data. The paper will be of reference value to readers interested in civic education and teachers, students and policy planners of the subject.

Hong Kong is a case that demonstrates the distinctively multi-dimensional nature of citizenship within and in relation to a given nation. The purposes of this paper are to: first, discuss Hong Kongers’ unique identity and the influence of political, historical and economic factors on them in order to show the value of challenging the “national citizenship” approach as a dominant discourse in the intended curriculum of Hong Kong citizenship education; second, analyze the efforts of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to foster a stronger sense of Chinese national identity in Hong Kong students; and third, evaluate the appropriateness of this nationalistic approach by examining its compatibility with and coherence to in relation to the implemented and attained curriculum.

This study analyzes existing scholarly discussions on the PRC’s emphasis on Chinese national identity in citizenship education and negative perceptions held by teachers and students regarding the approach and presentation of their actual teaching and learning practices for citizenship education with empirical data.

This paper illuminates the mismatch found between the intended curriculum and the implemented and attained curriculum in terms of the viewpoints of good citizens.

The notion of “cultural citizenship” is suggested as an alternative approach to developing the curriculum of Hong Kong citizenship education. This paper will be of interest to those curriculum scholars, educational authorities and teachers who are interested in developing and implementing the curriculum of citizenship education.

The purpose of this paper is to outline the history of the Sino-Indian conflict and to evaluate recent changes as reflected in the high level meetings between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It explores the evolving relationship in terms of three types of bargaining: elusive, tacit and convergent.

By adopting a historical approach one gets a better sense of the evolving pattern of relations between China and India and the circumstances in which the evolution is occurring.

China-India relations are similar to a journey where the progress is measured in terms of small steps rather than a final peace settlement. Relations have changed slowly towards a positive direction in economic relations, and there is a pattern of stability in border talks but the issue is complicated by the linkages between the Tibet question and border issues.

This topic requires considerable research because it is important for the future of Asian international relations and it is under-researched. Perhaps there could be an edited volume which brings together researchers from different backgrounds and expertise. The suggested work must be empirical but with a theoretical framework related to different types of bargaining cultures and experiences in Asia.

As China and India evolve in their diplomatic practices and thinking, as Asian powers are readjusting their policies in the light of new circumstances, there are insights for policy analysts and practitioners in China and India among other Asian countries.

The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss current challenges for citizenship education in England.

This paper provides a relatively brief overview of the reasons for the introduction of citizenship education into the National Curriculum. Then, it describes the different versions (in 2002, 2008 and 2014) of the National Curriculum for citizenship. Finally, this paper draws attention to the issues that explain the reasons for the radical change in status and nature of citizenship education evidenced by the 2014 version of the subject.

Following the period 1998-2010 in which citizenship education became research informed and professionally developed, policy makers now since 2014 seem to be involved in the development of citizenship education in the National Curriculum in the form of promoting knowledge about civics, willingness to volunteer and a commitment to manage responsibly personal finances. In 2014 policy makers have confirmed the place of citizenship education in the National Curriculum but its nature, the relative lack of attention devoted to it and the growing official commitment to character education which emphasises personal morality rather than citizenship education suggests that it has lost a lot of ground. This paper argues that there are parallels between what we felt had happened at earlier points, principally, the early 1990s, when political education had been rejected in favour of a particular form of citizenship education (i.e. volunteering); and the situation in 2014 when volunteering and character education are now officially preferred.

This paper argues for a need to address key current challenges in citizenship education in the context of earlier development.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical analysis of recent examples of action competence among young people engaged in democratic participatory action in sustainability programs in Australia. It explores examples of priorities identified for citizen action, the forms this action takes and the ways that democratic participation can achieve positive outcomes for future sustainability. It suggests multiple ways for developing action competence that provides further opportunities for authentic and engaging citizen action for youth connected to school- and community-based learning, in new and powerful ways.

This conceptual paper examines international literature on the theory of “action competence,” its significance for education for sustainability (EfS) and the ways it can inform education for young people’s democratic participatory citizenship and civic engagement. It analyses examples of the development of action competency among young people in Australia, including the problems and priorities identified for citizen action, the forms this action takes and how it can achieve positive outcomes for sustainability. Following this analysis, the paper suggests multiple ways for developing action competence in EfS in schools and communities in new and powerful ways.

Developing EfS to increase democratic and participatory action among young citizens is now widely regarded as an urgent education priority. There are growing exemplars of school and community organizations’ involvement in developing EfS learning and teaching to increase participatory citizenship. Young people are being empowered to develop a greater sense of agency through involvement in programs that develop action competence with a focus on sustainability in and out of school. New forms of participation include student action teams and peer collaboration among youth who are marshaling social media and direction action to achieve change.

It contributes to the literature on multiple ways for developing action competence in EfS.

There has been an increase in the number of non-government organization (NGO) schools in India’s disadvantaged communities. Since these schools often serve the most marginalized populations, it is important to understand their role in addressing educational inequities. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of an NGO school in Uttar Pradesh, India in improving girls’ education.

A case study methodology was utilized to identify barriers to girls’ education and ways in which the NGO school is working to minimize educational inequities.

The barriers to girls’ education in this study are traditional values, lack of economic opportunities, and safety concerns. The school works to minimize these inequities by providing a rigorous curriculum, teaching the students how to be good citizens, improving school facilities, and providing free school supplies. Implications – it is through better understanding the role of the NGO sector that a more complete understanding of the status of girls’ education will develop.

This paper contributes to the literature on girls’ education, but expands the conversation to include NGO schools.

One would not commonly associate democracy with Singapore, instead scholars have often described Singapore as an illiberal democracy and an authoritarian state. At the same time, all Singaporean school students recite the national pledge of allegiance in school every morning, in which they pledge “to build a democratic society based on justice and equality”. What do students know about democracy? Are they able to distinguish the characteristics of democratic systems from non-democratic ones? The purpose of this paper is to report on Singapore students’ understandings of democracy.

Using a qualitative instrumental case study design, 64 students from three secondary schools were interviewed and the social studies curriculum was analysed.

Overall, students had poor knowledge of democracy. Consistent with a lack of knowledge of democracy, most students also showed a relatively uncritical acceptance of hierarchy and deference to authority, and held a superficial understanding of citizenship. Civics lessons through social studies, and the school environment did little to promote students’ engagement with democracy.

The authors argue that it is important that students be given the opportunities to develop a basic conceptual knowledge of democracy, as they are not capable of discriminating democratic characteristics from non-democratic ones without it. At the very least, students should know the relevance of what they pledge relative to their nation’s model of democracy, or in the absence of a clear model, be encouraged to struggle with the various existing models of democracies so that, as the future of Singapore, they might determine and adapt the ideals that they deem best for the nation.

This paper is an original study of Singapore students’ understandings of democracy.