Parental Involvement in Students’ Cultural Development in Beijing and Hong Kong

Abstract

AbstractThis book aims to study parental influences on students’ music activities in the Chinese context, with particular reference to Beijing and Hong Kong. Beijing and Hong Kong are mainly populated by ethnic Chinese, are regarded as cosmopolitan, have economies that rank them among the most developed cities in China, and share similar cultural features—including Confucianism, a deeply-rooted traditional Chinese philosophy emphasising the importance of family and filial piety. Moreover, in both cities, one’s social status is perceived as a priority concern, as in other Chinese societies (Lam and Huang, 2012). In Chinese societies, education attainment is closely associated with social status, and Chinese parents and students alike have high expectations regarding educational achievement. Due to the close relationship between schooling and income (Chiu and Ho, 2006; Hoogerheide et al., 2012), Chinese parents expend extensive resources and considerable time on students’ study by enrolling students into tutorial classes and monitoring (Hau and Salili, 1991), while students collectively believe their dedication to studying and academic success will fulfil their parents’ expectations (Ma et al., 2018). How parental support and financial resources are allocated to enhance students’ cultural development remains a big concern to most families in these two economically advanced cities. However, Beijing’s and Hong Kong’s divergent historical backgrounds and social development have led to distinct cultural and social differences; a comparative study of the differences between these two regions may yield some nuanced insights. This chapter presents readers with general background information on and current developments in education and music education (in and out of school) in these two regions, and the literature regarding parental involvement in supporting their children’s academic and cultural development in the two regions.This study adopted a sequential mixed-method research approach to collect data from Grades Seven to Nine junior secondary school students in eight secondary schools in Beijing and nine in Hong Kong. Completed questionnaires (n = 3288), complemented by interviews involving 56 respondents, provided nuanced insights into the interplay between parental cultural capital and parental support and how parental support influenced students’ participation in musical activities and cultural development. The chapter further presents the readers with the demographic information and cultural background of this study's student respondents and their parents.KeywordsBeijingHong KongMusic educationParental supportCultural development