Joe Tin-Yau Lo

Confucius Institutes and China’s soft power: practices and paradoxes

Since China’s implementation of the Confucius Institute (CI) project in 2004, most academic works have been written on its objectives, nature, features, development, problems and challenges, especially in terms of soft power projection. Though some of them could unravel the tensions and paradoxes in the CI project, there is a paucity of in-depth and focused analysis on the related issues with a more systematic framework. Utilising Tellis et al.’s tripartite taxonomy approach to power – resources, strategies and outcomes – and integrating it with Nye’s tripartite approach to exercising power – coercion, inducement and attraction – this paper aims to fill this research gap. The findings can shed light on the tensions and paradoxes in China’s development of soft power by providing a more systematic and integrated framework for analysing the dilemmas and predicaments in the exercise of its power strategies in the global age.

Nationalism and globalism in the junior secondary history curricula of Hong Kong and Shanghai

Facing the trend and pressure of globalisation, the history curricula of Hong Kong and Shanghai have been undergoing reforms in order to better equip the youth for coping with rapid contextual changes. At the same time, there have been attempts to reposition nationalism in the changing contexts. This paper aims to compare and contrast how the forces of nationalism and globalisation affect, and are re‐presented in, the contents of the junior secondary history curricula of the two cities, with a view to exploring the convergent and divergent trends of development in the two systems (capitalist and socialist) within one country. It is expected that the findings will shed light on the continuities and changes in the junior secondary history curricula of the two cities, and explore possible alternatives for the improvement of history education.

The Primary Social Education Curricula in Hong Kong and Singapore: A Comparative Study

In the face of the challenges of globalization, nation states try to reinvigorate their traditional or national values and local identities as a kind of counterbalance to globalizing influences. Hence, social and citizenship education across nations in Asia takes different forms with certain distinctive varieties in terms of policies, practices and values in alignment with national priorities. Based on this premise, this article compares and contrasts the primary social education curricula in Hong Kong and Singapore in order to trace the differences and similarities in the responses of these two Asian city states to external and internal forces since the turn of the century. The article particularly sheds light on the tensions and contradictions in policies and practices in social and citizenship education as a result of the interaction of global and local perspectives.

Re-conceptualizing China's rise as a global power: a neo-tributary perspective

Abstract Two analytical perspectives – conventional wisdom derived from warlordism and European colonialism, and soft-power concepts drawn from post-Cold-War American international relations – are prevalent lenses for analysing Chinas global rise. However, neither considers the role of the past in shaping Chinas contemporary diplomacy. This paper fills the gap of this under-researched area by providing an alternative perspective featuring analytic categories rooted in Chinas tributary tradition. It proposes a neo-tributary framework for systematically interpreting historical Chinese mentalities and strategies embedded in Chinas contemporary power strategy.

Textbook and Identity

The forces of globalization have exerted considerable impact on the educational landscape across the world. On one hand, nation-states have to embark on educational reforms in order to equip their students with the knowledge, skills, and competencies required for coping with challenges brought about by various aspects of globalization.

Hong Kong’s curriculum reform: intentions, perceptions and practices

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the complex, intricate relationships between the central (intended) curriculum, teachers’ perceived curriculums, and the enacted/assessed curriculum in classroom contexts. To do this, the authors have used Hong Kong’s new core senior-secondary liberal studies (LS) curriculum as a case study, with a special focus on its key pedagogical component – inquiry teaching/learning. Design/methodology/approach This study’s objects are two teachers (from two local schools), each with a LS teacher’s education. Documentary analysis, lesson observation, and focus interviews were used to triangulate data for interpretation and analysis. Findings The findings illuminate: how LS teachers’ perceptions of inquiry teaching/learning relate to and align with the advocacy embodied in the intended curriculum, the relationships between teachers’ perceptions and practices of inquiry learning and teaching, and how this aspect of the intended curriculum reform can be made more relevant to the classroom context. Originality/value This paper contributes to the under-researched area of curriculum gaps and (mis)alignments in Hong Kong’s LS curriculum reform.