Campus Digest

HKBU holds Education, Ethnicity, and Inequality Symposium: Issues and Insights

16 Jul 2013

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(From left): Professor Adrian Bailey, Professor Sandy Li and Dr. Ferrick Chu officiate at the opening ceremony of the symposium
Local and international scholars gather to discuss the issue of education, ethnicity, and inequality at a symposium

 

The Department of Education Studies held the “Education, Ethnicity, and Inequality Symposium: Issues and Insights” on 12 and 13 July, providing a platform for meaningful discussion and debate that may lead to new insights around such issues.

 

Educational support mechanisms for ethnic minority students in Hong Kong have been introduced in the last 10 years. Their effectiveness is, however, a much-debated issue. There is a growing need to broaden the scope of this debate by opening up a global dialogue with those who share the vision of understanding and advancing issues of social justice and equity in education. The symposium represented the voices of local and international academics, postgraduate students, and community representatives working on issues of educational equity.

 

Officiating at the opening ceremony were Professor Adrian Bailey, Dean of Social Sciences, Professor Sandy Li, Head of the Department of Education Studies, and Dr. Ferrick Chu, Head of Policy and Research, Equal Opportunities Commission.

 

The symposium featured five keynote speeches, several parallel sessions and an open forum. Professor Alan Sadonick of Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA and Professor Parlo Singh of Griffith University, Australia, shared case studies from USA and Australia respectively. Dr. Hue Ming-tak, Associate Professor of Hong Kong Institute of Education, and Dr. Chan Kui-pui, Principal of Delia Memorial School (Glee Path), spoke on ethnic minority education in Hong Kong. Ms. Fermi Wong of Hong Kong Unison addressed the issue from the social justice point of view.

 

The symposium was one of the academic activities under the “Global Social Sciences: Hong Kong Initiative” project of the Faculty of Social Sciences.