It is argued that social legitimation is possible through hegemony whereby people of a given social system see the system as legitimate through the naturalness of a way of thinking about issues of all kinds. But, how this naturalness is articulated against a certain context is empirically under-explored. This study attempts to address this issue…

This paper highlights how a small group of minority students worked to take advantage of the privileges available once they were admitted to an elite school. The argument proposed is that, unlike their more privileged peers, minority students who have made it through the gateways of elite schools have to work out a salvation of privilege to level…

This study examined students' construction of academic subject identity in a university humanities discipline, English literary studies. In so doing, the study aimed to provide an empirically grounded intervention in current debates on the value of the humanities in higher education. Eight students participated in interviews lasting 15-20 minutes…

Drawing on the approach of narrative inquiry, this study looks into how a novice language teacher educator constructed and reconstructed his professional identities through his research and publishing practice in the higher education context in Hong Kong. The findings of the study show that the participant constantly tried to defend and develop…

Describes the pressures exerted on Hong Kong students by the examination system, discussing the historical background, function, and nature of examinations in Hong Kong and explaining that the Chinese examination experience is different from the contemporary emphasis on examination in North American schools. Writings by Hong Kong students and…