Ethnic minority children stereotyped and belittled in Hong Kong schools, say parents

Tanya Hart was surprised to learn that her seven-year-old son, Sam, was never asked about his culture and background by teachers at his local school.

And she was in for an even bigger shock when she asked teachers why they did not think Sam’s Korean, Australian and European ancestry was worthy of discussion. She was told the children, most of whom are Chinese, studied “multiculturalism” only in Primary Four.

“But you have all these multicultural kids in your class from Primary One to Primary Six,” she laughs. “So in Primary Four you’re multicultural and in Primary Five you stop again?”

While much of the debate on the education of minority children has focused on their struggle to learn Chinese – the government is to introduce Chinese-language lessons from September – some parents and educators believe language is only part of the problem.

Hart believes many ethnic minority children in Hong Kong feel their cultural background is being ignored, stereotyped or seen as a barrier for integration, when in fact exploring their cultures could enrich the education of all pupils.

Her concerns are shared by many ethnic-minority parents whose children enter the public school system because they choose not to or cannot afford to send them to international or English Schools Foundation schools. She says teachers know little of their non-Chinese pupils’ culture, belittle their languages and can be too keen to stick only to the curriculum and textbooks.