What are children’s perceptions and experience of parent-child
relationships in Hong Kong, where westernization (modernization) has met with the
indigenous Chinese culture? This article focuses on how school children in Hong Kong
are constantly grappling with ‘Chinese’ and
‘western’ traditions in the parent-child relationship as they
hear different voices from school guidance professionals, school principals,
teachers and parents in an already hybridized society at large. Findings suggest
that school stakeholders hold different views about the parent-child relationship
and that parents are the most ambivalent about their parental role, being caught
between the traditional idea of authority and submission, and the modern idea of
equality. Furthermore, discrepancies between belief and behaviour are causing
tensions for all stakeholders. The findings have theoretical as well as practical
implications in teacher training, parent education and guidance programmes for
primary school children.
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