高雄市是一個以閩南人為主要族群的現代化都市，屬於「客家族群被隱性化」的都會區，更非所謂的「客家文化重點發展區」。但高雄市「客語生活學校」的政策執行成效持續穩定成長，甚至產生了非客籍選修學生之比例超越客籍學生，以及促進學生多元文化認同等政策成果。人們如何解釋高雄市「客語生活學校」政策的影響力呢？且在高雄市的環境脈絡下，「客語生活學校」執行成效所代表的實質意涵為何？對於選修學生（包括客籍與非客籍）而言又產生了哪些層面的影響呢？
本研究以2003～2010年期間高雄市「客語生活學校」為例，透過問卷量化分析發現：學生選修客語的動機主要來自於「因為想多認識不同族群的文化而學習客語」以及「因為客語上課方式很有趣而學習客語」。在客語生活學校在高雄市執行的實質影響方面：有助於強化客籍學童的「客家人」自我認同，進而改善客家人隱形化的現象；也提升非客籍學童接觸並了解客家文化的意願，進而促進多元文化概念的建立。對於「族群認同」、「選課動機」與「多元文化觀念」三者的假設檢定結果發現，兩組差異分析雖有顯著，但經事後比較並沒有達顯著差異。換言之，高雄市客籍與非客籍學童的客語學習動機與多元文化觀念很接近，並不因為身分背景而有顯著差異。「選修客語之動機」與「多元文化觀念的建立」相關分析則顯示出極高的正相關，證明兩者有正向的幫助。

Kaohsiung City is a modernized metropolitan inhabited mainly by Min Nan ethnic people. It is not one of the so-called “Major Developing Area of Hakka Culture,” but a city where Hakkanese is being minorized and invisualized along the course of history. However, the Hakka Language School Policy (HLSP) in Kaohsiung City has been implemented surprisingly well and come out with unanticipated policy outcomes: the participation percentage of non-Hakka schoolchildren exceeds that of Hakka schoolchildren in particular; the increasingly acceptance of multiculturalism among elementary school schoolchildren in general. How we explain this unexpected outcome of HLSP in Kaohsiung City, an urban area where Hakkanese social power is considered weak. More importantly, what were the motives of those participating schoolchildren? What were the substantial effects of HLSP on the Hakka and non-Hakka schoolchildren?
This empirical study examines policy effects of HLSP in Kaohsiung City implemented from 2003 to 2010. By using questionnaire and statistical analysis, our preliminary findings are: firstly, the major learning motives of schoolchildren participating HLSP are “wanting to know other ethnic cultures” and “Hakka language school is interesting.” Secondly, the HLSP has strengthened Hakka schoolchildren’s Hakka identity and the interest to learn more about Hakka culture and language among non-Hakka schoolchildren. As for the hypothesis testing of “ethnic identity,” “learning motive,” and “multiculturalism conception,” we find that the difference is significant in pairing comparison, but after post hoc comparisons the difference does not reach significant level. In other words, the learning motives and conception of multiculturalism of Hakka and non-Hakka schoolchildren are not much different; and thus, there is no proof of influence of schoolchildren’s ethnic background. Furthermore, the correlation analysis shows a significant positive correlation of “learning motives” and “multicultural conception”; namely, the motives to learn Hakkanese contributes significantly to the conceptualization of multiculturalism, and vice versa.