Impacts of the socio-political instability in Hong Kong on university students’ learning experience

Since the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement in 2019, Hong Kong has entered an era of socio-political instability. The conflict between student protesters and the government has become increasingly intense, whereas several universities even became the battlefield of the protest and were abruptly shut down in November 2019. To add fuel to the fire, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 has prompted all universities in the territory to suspend all face-to-face classes and activities for two semesters consecutively. All these have impacted university students in Hong Kong socially, academically and psychologically.

In light of this, this study aims to explore the ways in which the learning experience of university students in Hong Kong has been impacted by the socio-political challenges. Through conducting a mixed-methods study at a public university in Hong Kong, it was found that university students have a high perceived level of stress, high political involvements, unsatisfactory learning experience and poor learning motivation under this socio-political backdrop. It is hoped that this study can provide informed insights for teachers to understand students’ burdens, stresses, and emotional instability associated with socio-political unrest.