In search of a guidance curriculum for Hong Kong schools

Importing a Western curriculum to another culture is contentious. Through a content analysis of guidance materials in selected primary schools, in this paper we explore the appropriateness of adopting a Western guidance curriculum in Hong Kong. Using a multi-dimensional framework derived from Lawton’s (1973) model of curriculum development, we report the sociological contextual features of the materials and present a content analysis to develop an understanding of the different approaches to psychology embodied in the curriculum. Three forms of the same Western guidance curriculum (Radd 1993), as used in three Hong Kong primary schools, are analysed to illustrate how Western notions of ‘self’ do not fit within an ‘East meets West’ context such as Hong Kong. We argue that because of the ‘East meets West’ context of Hong Kong, there is a need to develop a ‘hybrid’ guidance curriculum that draws on a psychology guided by an understanding of the ‘hybrid self’, and that reflects the social and psychological contexts of Hong Kong. Implications of the findings for countries with Confucian heritages are discussed