ERIC Number: EJ1466507
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Mar
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1245
EISSN: EISSN-1552-3535
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Student Voices about Educational Inequalities and Justice: Problematizing a Neoliberal Education System
Education and Urban Society, v57 n3 p299-322 2025
Rising educational inequality is considered as one pressing social problem in many national education systems. There is limited existing literature that examines how youth from different social backgrounds perceive and consider social inequalities and "justice." This study addresses this research gap by probing the perspectives of different young people who have experienced the competitive Hong Kong education system through qualitative interviews. The findings revealed that youth, despite facing challenges, adopted a relatively "positive" mindset by focusing on what they could change rather than being fatalistic about social reproduction. Both middle-class and working-class young people in the sample did not view differences in family capital as inequalities but believed in education's role in promoting social mobility within a meritocratic system. The study also suggests redefining "life successes" from traditional measures of status and wealth to the perspectives of students that value job and life satisfaction. Critical analyses that highlight the embedded neoliberalism were conducted on these problematic findings, and the implications for educational policies were discussed.
Descriptors: Equal Education, Student Empowerment, Neoliberalism, Educational Practices, Foreign Countries, Social Justice, Middle Class, Students, Socioeconomic Background, Competition, Working Class, Family Environment, Social Capital
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Hong Kong
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; 2Department of Education Policy and Leadership, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong