Towards A Citizenship Education Curriculum For e-democracy

Abstract

Globally and locally, an increasing number of young people participate in the democratic process through online media and these participations affect the institutionalized socio-political participation more and more effectively. This paper serves as a follow-up to OECD’s Promise and problems of e-democracy published more than a decade ago, in particular the capacity building for e-democracy through Hong Kong school curriculum. After a brief survey of the literature and news sources regarding Hong Kong young people’s online socio-political participation, a content analysis of the official curriculums and textbooks of relevant school subjects is presented. It is found that many key issues relating to citizens’ e-democracy practices are entirely omitted in most of the official curriculums studied. For the topics that are included within these curriculum artefacts, the statements regarding the associated knowledge and skills do not specify the desired breadth and depth of learning clearly. While occasional presence of relevant materials can be found in the textbooks corresponding to these artefacts, the coverage tends to be superficial and biased despite the presence of some good exemplars, which is highlighted and examined in-depth in this paper. On the basis of the above careful reading, several possible curricular directions that are aimed at enhancing future citizens’ ability to understand online political information, to present their ideas appropriately and effectively through the electronic media, and to take socio-political actions to ensure equal opportunity of online participation are recommended.