Abstract
There are multipleways of understanding citizenship: as a status conferred by a nation state, a personal identity constructed in response to particular circumstances or a social identity developed out of group membership. These are not mutually exclusive categories: an individual may experience "citizenships" that integrate these legal, personal and social identities. Yet how do young people who are not yet citizens understand what it means to be a citizen? In the present study, 15-year-old Hong Kong students were surveyed 2 years after the transition from colonial rule to Chinese sovereignty. They were asked to respond to a series of questions about citizenship responsibilities and the way they saw these reflected in 'good citizens'. The results showed that students viewed citizenship responsibilities as multidimensional with reference to specific groups. They identified legal obligations related to civil authorities, personal obligations to support other members of the community and patriotic obligations to support the nation-state.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 111-127 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Social Psychology of Education |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2010 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Citizenship
- Civic attitudes
- Hong Kong
- Students
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
- Education
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Sociology and Political Science
