Abstract #598

Abstract: The majority population in Hong Kong is Chinese. According to the population census in 2006, around 5% of the 7 million population, i.e. over 340,000 are South Asian minorities, with around 12,000 students. They are immigrants or second generation immigrants mainly from Pakistan, Nepal and India. Their difficulties in learning Chinese have become a serious obstacle to further their studies, career, and their immersion into Hong Kong society. According to the 'Education for all: Report on the Working Group on Education for Ethnic Minorities' reported by the Equal Opportunities Commission in Hong Kong in 2011. While it would be rare that an EM (ethnic minority) child is refused admission to an educational establishment on the ground of his race, it is more often that he is rejected due to his lesser proficiency in Chinese as compared with other Chinese speaking competitors. The Chinese proficiency requirement, if unjustly administered by individual schools, may amount to indirect discrimination under the RDO (Race Discrimination Ordinance)(p.8).

Centre for Advancement of Chinese Language Education and Research of Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong has launched University-School Support Programme: Supporting Secondary Schools in the Teaching and Learning of Chinese for non-native Learners funded by the Hong Kong Government since 2008 to provide professional support to secondary schools on the learning and teaching of Chinese for ethnic minority students who are from non-Chinese speaking (NCS) families, particularly, to develop classroom pedagogy to help ethnic minority students to learn Chinese more effectively. One of the items of the programme was Picture Book reading and writing award scheme conducted in designated secondary schools for non-Chinese speaking students. The scheme provided support for teaching South Asian minority students in creative writing and developed learning material for teaching South Asian minority students literary reading in multicultural context in Hong Kong at the same time. Through writing Picture Books, South Asian minority students created writing on imagination of their relationship with Hong Kong and their complicated experience of identifying themselves as HongKonger.

This study aims at using narrative analysis to analyze and interpret language, plots and themes of Picture Books written by South Asian minority students under the Picture Book scheme. The study adopts concept of extemalizing problem in light of narrative therapy approach to explore how South Asian minority students face their (post-) immigrant situation in figuring out their identify issue as HongKonger. The study investigates immigrant experience of South Asian minority students and develops narrative therapy approach in narrative analysis.

References

Centre for Advancement of Chinese Language Education and Research. (2010). Experimental Picture book reading and writing. Retrieved 14 February 2012, from http://www.dragonwise.hku.hk/usp/pictureBook/fileShare/.

Curriculum Development Council. (2008). Chinese Language Education Key Learning Area: Supplementary Guide to the Chinese Language Curriculum for Non-Chinese Speaking Students. Hong Kong: Curriculum Development Council. Retrieved 14 February 2012, from http://www.edb.gov.hk/FileManager/TC/Content_2810/sg%20to%20chi%20lang%20curr%20ncs%20proper%20eng%20upload.pdf
Education Bureau, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. (2010). University-School Support Programme: Supporting Secondary Schools in the Teaching and Learning of Chinese for Non-native Learners. Retrieved 14 February 2012, from http://www.edb.gov.hk/index.aspx?nodeID=6744&langno=1.

Equal Opportunities Commission. (2011). Education for all: Report on the Working Group on Education for Ethnic Minorities. Hong Kong: Equal Opportunities Commission. Retrieved 14 Feburary 2012, from http://www.eoc.org.hk/EOC/Upload/UserFiles/File/EducationReportE.pdf

Narrative analysis on Picture Books written by South Asian minority students in Hong Kong