ABSTRACT
Hong Kong and Singapore are two polities that, in common with other East Asian developmental states, have prioritised economic development and (to differing degrees) harnessed education to create a loyal citizenry and skilled workforce. However, the promotion of active and critical citizenship (Johnson and Morris 2010) has not been a key feature of the school curriculum in either society. Democratisation and liberalisation in Singapore have proceeded at a glacial pace as determined by the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP). In Hong Kong, the picture is more mixed: on the one hand, government and political ties with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have become more entrenched even while, on the other, the new Liberal Studies curriculum promotes – in intent if not always in practice – a more ‘active’ vision of citizenship than any previous compulsory school subject (Vickers 2011). Reflecting the political realities of the two societies, citizenship education has tended to combine a prescriptive view of values and citizenship with a largely directive pedagogical approach (Han et al. 2013). In the case of Hong Kong, a colonial government inclined to adopt a laissez-faire approach, in view of its limited political legitimacy, has given way to a Beijing-appointed administration anxious to foster identification with the People’s Republic of China. In Singapore, decades of PAP rule have resulted in a school curriculum strongly oriented towards inculcating acceptance of the regime’s soft authoritarianism, and its vision of a meritocratic, multicultural and loyal citizenry.
