The role of university leaders in a political crisis: Students' perspectives from Hong Kong

Lo, William Yat Wai; Auld, Euan

Abstract

University students actively participated in the 2019 Hong Kong protests. In this context, the students expected that their universities would support their political stance. Drawing on data from interviews with student leaders, this article documents and examines students' expectations for their university heads, how they interacted and negotiated with university management and how university leaders variously responded to the students' expectations during the social movement. Noting the difficulties in reconciling conflicts over the positioning of the university amid strong political polarisation and social divisions in the society, this article argues that university leaders can only passively adapt to political unrest, and that such passive adaptation exemplifies university's vulnerability to political crises.

Citation

Lo, W. Y. W., & Auld, E. (2024). The role of university leaders in a political crisis: Students' perspectives from Hong Kong. Higher Education Quarterly, 78(1), 4-19. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12418

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 16, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jan 27, 2023
• Publication Date: 2024-01
• Deposit Date: Feb 8, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 8, 2023
• Journal: Higher Education Quarterly
• Print ISSN: 0951-5224
• Electronic ISSN: 1468-2273
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 78
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 4-19
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12418
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1183329