1. Outline of presentation
(Multicultural Education)
1. Introduction
1.1 EDB’s policy for ethnic minorities students
1.2 Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) stance and view towards EDB's
policy
1.3 Studies conducted by the Centre for Social Policy Studies(PolyU) and
Unison Hong Kong （融樂會）
2. Case study: to show what the students really need or lack of
3. Role of teachers in catering for students' diverse learning needs
4. Conclusion
2. Introduction
No. of Ethnic minority (EM) students :10,000 (3 years ago)
12,000 (now)
learning of Chinese is the greatest problem for EM students.
EM students are often rejected by local universities:
(a) lesser proficiency in Chinese
(b) It can limit their opportunities for advancement in education and career
EOC has launched a report in 11 July 2011
EOC urged EDB to offer more support to EM students.
Controversial point: Is it fair to set the same Chinese proficiency
requirement for them without adequate and appropriate support ?
3. Statistics of Educated Ethnic
Minority Population
Education Level The % of EM
students attained
Pre-primary level 3.2%
Upper Secondary 1.1%
level
Post-secondary 0.59%
level
Source:2006 Population By-census
4. TVB News Report Summary
11.July.2011
EOC ‘s viewpoint EOC ‘s Suggestion
Lack of Chinese language
• An alternative curriculum
support:
• Failure for EM students to learn should be in place for EM
Chinese well enough to catch students
up with the curriculum.
• Failure in the public exam • The government should provide
• The difference in level is huge: language programmes at
GCSE Chinese exam vs kindergarten level
mainstream Chinese Language
tests
• Employers often dismiss the
qualifications as “not good
enough”
Source : Youtube.com
http://youtu.be/e5OwF19c0
5. EOC'S stance and view towards EDB's
policy
• Provide language and cultural programmes for EM students
at pre-primary level
• Offer intensive language courses
• Provide expert guidance and support to individual schools in
curriculum design
• Adaptation of teaching material in Chinese language for EM
students
• An alternative Chinese curriculum should be developed
• The unfair Chinese proficiency requirement=indirect
discrimination
• Huge gap (level): GCSE Chinese (up to P.3 level) vs. local
mainstream Chinese curriculum
Source:
1. EOC’s Report on the Working Group on Education
for Ethnic Minorities
6. A Research Report on the Education of
South Asian Ethnic Minority Groups in Hong
Kong
Studies conducted by the Centre for
Social Policy Studies(PolyU) and
Unison Hong Kong （融樂會）
Research based on questionnaire
survey on the views of EM students
Data Analysis for students':
1. Profile of Respondents
2. Education and School Life
3. Aspirations
4. Home environment
5. Language
6. Sense of Belonging to HK
7. A Research Report on the Education of South
Asian Ethnic Minority Groups in Hong Kong
Social Policy Recommendations were made regarding the following
aspects:
1. Improving education opportunities
school choices/ using Cantonese which they don't understand/ less
chances after F.5 level/ IVE & VTC running courses in Chinese
2. Improving teachers' attitude
13% EM students: think that some teachers dislike them
27%: teachers may punish EM students more severely
30%: teachers care more for Chinese students
30%: teachers dislike teaching EM students
3. Social Work: from remedial to development
promote cultural exchange between Chinese and EM students through
activities
8. A Research Report on the Education of South
Asian Ethnic Minority Groups in Hong Kong
4. Flexible cirriculum: responding to cultural differences
Nepalese students: Maths much easier in HK/ Filipino: Maths
harder/ Science easier
5. Developing Chinese curriculum for non-Chinese students
Students expressed that their Chinese teachers did not take their
Chinese classes seriously.
6. Mother-tongue: multicultural language policy
difficult to provide EM students with mother-tongues as academic
subjects
=>Provide their mother-tongues as extra curricular activities
7. Toward cultural sensitive practice
respect cultural religious practices: 56% students: not allowed to
wear scarves and salwar/ 66.5%: not allowed to grow beard/ 69%:
not allowed to put on religious signs
9. Case 1: Hena’s sisters
Key problem: Low self-confidence
• Hena’s three sisters: studying in one designated
secondary school.
• All subjects are taught in Chinese except English.
• They feel frustrated because:
• They scored the highest marks in English;
• Other chinese-medium subjects are almost totally failed.
• Asha do not have confidence to further studies after F.4
& local university.
• Asha plan to be an airhostess after graduate in
secondary school.
Source: ATV 時事追擊 25.8.2011 《少數族裔的教育》 Part 1: 10:18”-12:09”
http://youtu.be/sOd1uyb5Ras
10. Case 2: Dil’s brother
Key problem: Policy confused
• Dil’s brother, a Nepalese, wants to study F.1 in a
designated secondary school
Barrier in finding school:
• His brother can’t speak Chinese
• Designated school refuse to give chance to his brother
to study
• EDB’s suggestion: go to international school
• They don’t have enough money to pay school fees
Source: ATV Inside Story 23.8.2011 Part2: 2:05”-3:35”
11. Case 3: Iqua
Key problem: GCSE should be amended
• Iqua is studying in a local secondary school.
• She wants to works as a doctor after graduation
• She work hard to learn Chinese together with his father
• She find that: GCSE is too easy (up to Primary 3 level)
• The local Chinese exam is too difficult
• She wants EDB to up-grade the level of GCSE
• The level can be set between GCSE and local Chinese exam
(i.e. the medium level)
Source: ATV Inside Story 23.8.2011 Part2: 4:52”-7:31”
12. Role of teachers in catering for students'
diverse learning needs
TOWARD A CONCEPTION OF CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT(CRCM)
Ballenger: 5 Components of CRCM
1. Recognition of One’s Own Ethnocentrism and Biases
– White teachers consider their cultural norms: European,
middleclass stuctures programs and discourse to be neutral
and universal/ accept as normal and right
=>cultural awareness: examination on the issue
2. Knowledge of Students’ Cultural Backgrounds
– Teachers should know about students cultural backgrounds,
experiences, norms and values:
a. Family background and structure/ b. Education/
c. Interpersonal relationship styles/ d. Discipline/
e. Time and space/ f. Religion/ g. Food
h. Health and hygiene/ i. History, traditions, and holidays
13. Role of teachers in catering for students'
diverse learning needs
TOWARD A CONCEPTION OF CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT(CRCM)
Ballenger: 5 Components of CRCM
1. Recognition of One’s Own Ethnocentrism and Biases
– White teachers consider their cultural norms: European,
middleclass stuctures programs and discourse to be neutral
and universal/ accept as normal and right
=>cultural awareness
2. Knowledge of Students’ Cultural Backgrounds
– Teachers should know about students cultural backgrounds,
experiences, norms and values:
a. Family background and structure/ b. Education/
c. Interpersonal relationship styles/ d. Discipline/
e. Time and space/ f. Religion/ g. Food
h. Health and hygiene/ i. History, traditions, and holidays
14. 5 Components of CRCM
3. Awareness of the Broader Social, Economic, and Political Context
current practices and policies may reinforce institutional
discrimination e.g. Banning Spanish use in school
4. Ability and Willingness to Use Culturally Appropriate Management
Strategies
Monitor our behavior in terms of equitable treatment
e.g. Are we patient and encouraging for all students? Do we use
hairstyle and dress to form stereotypical judgements on students
Find mismatches between conventional management strategies
and students' cultural backgrounds.
e.g. Chastising Filipino students' lack of independence: futile
5. Commitment to Building Caring Classroom Communities
Rogers and Renard (1999) : “students are motivated when they
believe that teachers treat them like people and care about them
personally and educationally”
15. Culturally Responsive Classroom
Management: Awareness Into Action
Strategies for Enacting Culturally Responsive Classroom Management:
1. Organizing the physical environment
bring cultural diversity to the classroom
e.g. using a map of the world/ poster depicting people of various cultural
groups/ children's individual photograph to create a jigsaw puzzle/ desk
arranged in clusters to let students share together.
2. Establishing expectations for behavior
sit quietly and listen vs. more active, participatory (“call-response”)
pattern?
more collectivist vs. work independently?
3. Communicating with students in culturally consistent ways
using straight-forward directives (“sit down and get to work”) vs.
politeness formulas (“Would you like to sit down?”).
16. Strate s for Enac
gie ting Culturally Re pons
s ive
Clas room Manage nt:
s me
4. Creating caring, inclusive classrooms
planned efforts to cross social borders and develop caring, respectful
relationships
e.g. teachers can greet students with students' native language/ sharing
stories about students' lives, interests and activities, inviting them to make
choices and decisions
5. Working with families
e.g. a Pakistan father doesn't allow his daughter to sit next to a boy.
=>arrange student to interact with boys in small group activities instead
6. Dealing with problem behaviors
Teachers from dominant culture find students "rude and disruptive" and
respond with anger.
=> should remain calm and non-defensive
discuss norms with classmates like taking-turns for classroom activities
17. Appendix I
Secondary schools Admitting Greater Number of Non-Chinese
Speaking Children
Government Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS)
Sir Ellis Kadoorie Secondary School (West • Delia Memorial School (Hip Wo)
Kowloon) Kwun Tong, Co-Educational
Yaumati, Co-Educational
Delia Memorial School (Broadway)
Aided Sham Shui Po, Co-Educational
Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College Pak Kau College
Eastern, Co-Educational Yuen Long, Co-Educational
St Margaret's Girls' College, Hong Kong
Caritas Tuen Mun Marden Foundation Secondary Central & Western, Girls
School
Tuen Mun, Co-Educational Buddhist Fat Ho Memorial College
Island, Co-Educational
Bethel High School
Yuen Long, Co-Educational
Salesians of Don Bosco Ng Siu Mui Secondary
School
Kwai Chung & Tsing Yi, Boys
Source: Education Bureau web site
http://www.edb.gov.hk/index.aspx?nodeid=2&langno=2
18. Source of TV News Story
• http://youtu.be/e5OwF19c0cg (TVB news report)
• http://www.hkatvnews.com/v5/world.php?id=97591&p=3000005
(ATV: Inside Story)
• http://youtu.be/sOd1uyb5Ras ( 時事追撃 )
• http://youtu.be/gxK7Dy5NH4w ( 時事追撃 )
