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The influence of education and family systems on the sustainability values of Hong Kong University students

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Abstract

In Hong Kong, which transitioned from a colonial to post-colonial One Country-Two Systems structure, sustainability implementation rests on two institutional pillars: education, which drives the city’s knowledge-based economy, and family system. In light of the recent policy demands to strengthen higher education and family systems by capitalizing on the unique advantages of the post-colonial era, the purpose of this study was to: (1) describe and analyze sustainability values of the first-year university students; and (2) investigate roles of family and educational systems in the process of their formation. The mix-method study stressed the importance of discerning and analyzing sustainability value formation in order to create in-depth understanding of the curricular adjustments that align the sustainability mindset of Hong Kong students in the context of the One Country-Two Systems under the pressing demands of global economy. The study relied on the use of two systems theoretical frameworks employed within sustainability education (Sterling, 2003) and family (Bowen, 1957/1974) fields. Data sources included questionnaires of 4985 Hong Kong first-year university students; and 31 semi-structured interviews of Liberal Studies teachers. The quantitative findings showed that 85% of the students believed that their family influenced their environmental values; reported a significant negative coefficient (−0.044) between the two student cohorts in relation to family influence; and showed that family influence on students’ sustainability values differed by gender. The qualitative results revealed the overarching themes of Family Income, Role Modeling, and Shared Responsibility as three major descriptors of family influences on sustainability values of Hong Kong students.

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Notes

  1. The study adapted UN’s (1992) notion of sustainability as implementation of environmental, social, and economic dimensions to Hong Kong’s development to meet the needs of present and future generations.

  2. O’Sullivan and Capra define sustainability consciousness as a reflective process of formulating personal and group-related realities or ontologies that lead to sustainable changes within an individual or society.

  3. Other components of the model include Intellectual, Physical, Professions, Psychological, and Social features of students’ whole person development.

  4. During the time of the publication of this paper, the ‘Liberal Studies’ curriculum was replaced by ‘Citizenship and Social Development.’ This urgent ‘curriculum optimisation’ followed a prolonged social unsettlement in the territory.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. 28608115).

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Funding was supported by Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, (Grant no. 28608115).

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    Tamara Savelyeva

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Savelyeva, T. The influence of education and family systems on the sustainability values of Hong Kong University students. Asia Pacific Educ. Rev. 23, 669–681 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-022-09786-1

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