Constructing Layered Identity Through Music Education in Post-Handover Hong Kong

As Hong Kong approaches 1 July 2027—the 30th anniversary of its return to the People’s Republic of China—questions of cultural belonging and political identity remain salient. This study examined how local, national, and global identities have been constructed and hierarchically organized through post-handover school music education. Drawing on qualitative discourse analysis of policy documents and government-approved junior secondary music textbooks, the analysis examined how these orientations are articulated and mediated in the curriculum. The findings showed that local identity is sustained through heritage canonization, Cantonese repertoire, and affective attachment. Additionally, national identity is reinforced more programmatically through Putonghua repertoire, patriotic theming, civilizational narratives, and the legally codified status of the national anthem. Finally, global identity is cultivated through structured multicultural exposure, including Western art music and international popular genres. Together, these orientations form calibrated layering, through which music education functions as cultural governance by stabilizing multiscalar belonging.