Liberal Studies Reform and Sustainability Consciousness in Hong Kong Tertiary Education

Abstract

Formalizing sustainability education through a compulsory Liberal Studies curriculum at the national level was an internationally unique practice, introduced to Hong Kong educational system a decade ago. This chapter evaluates the effects of a decade-long New Senior Secondary Liberal Studies on Hong Kong university students in terms of their sustainability consciousness and provides an analysis of the potential impacts of replacing the New Senior Secondary Liberal Studies with the 2021 Civic and Social Development curriculum on the sustainability consciousness of the Hong Kong youth. The goal of this chapter is twofold: (1) to review the sociological background of Hong Kong sustainability education, as a product of Liberal Studies curriculum policies and, within that context, (2) to discuss the findings of a two-year study on the sustainability consciousness of Hong Kong graduates, funded by the Research Grant Committee of the Hong Kong Government. The chapter begins with a brief introduction of the main characteristics and policy turns of the Liberal Studies curricula and sustainability education. The second part presents the three evolutionary stages—introduction, reintroduction, and ‘optimization’—in the city’s Liberal Studies policy in relation to sustainability education. The third section details the goals and aims of the curricular changes from the point of view of the Liberal studies’ underlying philosophy. The chapter draws on an empirical study on the Liberal Studies curriculum’s influence on the sustainability consciousness of young Hongkongers after a decade of its implementation. The last section contains a discussion on the ‘sustainability consciousness with a nil participation paradox’ which depicts the core of the research findings. The chapter concludes with final remarks.