Researching Migrant Chinese Families in Hong Kong: Changing Perspectives and Methodologies

This chapter argues that research on Mainland Chinese migrants in Hong Kong has become more diverse, dynamic and complex over the past 25 years. The previously dominant thinking, such as the social adjustment agenda and the human capital-deficit model, has strongly been challenged by three emerging perspectives, such as rights-based citizenship, gender and empowerment, and social capital building. These new perspectives enrich our understanding by deconstructing migrants as many social groups with competing needs and facing constraints. They also demystify migrant families by examining the power dynamics within these families. New research methodologies, such as ethnography and participatory action research, and new methods, such as photovoice and community map drawing, have been experimented with in order to engage and empower the migrants. These changing perspectives are more sensitive to the influence of locality and have brought some impact on social service provision and delivery.