Departing from Hybridity: Higher Education Development and University Governance in Postcolonial Hong Kong
- Resource Type
- Journal Articles
Reports - Research
- Authors
- Lo, William Yat Wai (ORCID 0000-0002-8091-7745)
- Source
- Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education. 2023 44(3):407-424.
- Subject
- Hong Kong
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 0159-6306
1469-3739
This paper aims to explain the path of higher education development and governance in (post-colonial) Hong Kong in light of the concept of hybridity. The paper begins with a historical review, delineating the establishment of major universities in Hong Kong, thereby illustrating how hybridity informs the trajectory of higher education development in the city. Considering the tensions and conflicts that emerged during the post-colonial transition and underlining the influences of managerialism and political activism, the paper draws on data from interviews with university council members and student leaders to outline the issues on university governance in Hong Kong. This paper argues that the response of the Chinese central government to the social unrest in the city represents a re-Sinification process that redefines the idea of the university in postcolonial Hong Kong.