Student Voices About Educational Inequalities and Justice
Problematizing a Neoliberal Education System
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9729431 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yau Yu Chan (0000-0002-4629-7052, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong), Hei‐hang Hayes Tang (0000-0001-7386-3892, Department of Education Policy and Leadership, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 57 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 299-322 |
| Publication date | 2025-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Education and Urban Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0013-1245 • E-ISSN: 1552-3535 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00131245251314135 |
| OpenAlex | W4406766560 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 52 |
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 peoplewho 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
Criminology · Economic Justice · Inequality · Neoliberalism (international relations · Pedagogy · Political science · Social justice · Social science · Sociology · Gender Studies · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Higher Education Research Studies · Law · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics
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Distinction
Resilience as embedded neoliberalism
Culture and Public Action
Cruel Optimism
Making sense of ‘graduate employability’ in Hong Kong
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The Global Auction
A self-efficacy approach to the career development of women
Facing Up to the American Dream Race, Class, and the Soul of the Nation
Student voice and the politics of listening in higher education
Emotional geographies of young people's aspirations for adult life
Shaped by place? Young people's aspirations in disadvantaged neighbourhoods
Listening, pathbuilding and continuations
Rethinking the politics of voice
Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture
The end of the credential society? An analysis of the relationship between education and the labour market using big data
Perceptions of Social Justice Among the South Asian and Mainstream Chinese Youth from Diverse Cultural Backgrounds in Hong Kong
Education Markets, Choice and Social Class
Meritocracy, social mobility and a new form of class domination
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I Heard It on the Grapevine’
Aspirational ambivalence of middle-class secondary students in Hong Kong
Exploring the associations between youths’ explanations of poverty at the societal level and judgements of distributive justice
Inequality Generation & Persistence as Multidimensional Processes
Aspirations and Young People’s Constructions of Their Futures
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Higher education, social class and the mobilisation of capitals
Education, opportunity and the prospects for social mobility
Marketing the Self
Blair's Children
Thematic Analysis
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 4 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |