Affordability,accessibility, and accountability: Perceived impacts of the Pre-primary Education Vouchers in Hong Kong

Hong Kong launched the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS) in 2007 to promote the “3A's” of early childhood education (ECE): affordability, accessibility, and accountability. The PEVS has three unique features: discriminating against profit kindergartens, promoting teacher professional development, and limiting parents’ choice to only non-profit schools. To understand the voucher scheme's perceived impacts, this study conducted stratified random sampling to include 10% of Hong Kong kindergartens and surveyed their parents, principals, and teachers. A total of 380 completed questionnaires were collected and analyzed, and the results indicated that (1) the majority of the respondents perceived positive impacts on the 3A's of ECE; (2) significant effects of stakeholders (parents, teachers and principals), school types (profit or non-profit), eligibility, and familiarity were found in between- and within-group comparisons; (3) the parents and especially those from non-profit/eligible kindergartens tended to perceive more positive impacts than others; and (4) the principals and teachers reported some implementation difficulties. Implications for voucher reform in others countries are discussed.     

Higher Education in Hong Kong

This article describes the extraordinary expansion of higher education in Hong Kong which took place from around the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. It considers the factors involved in this expansion with some reference to theories of policy development, and speculates on certain aspects of the situation after the 1997 handover to the People's Republic of China.     

Church,State and Education: Catholic education in Hong Kong during the political transition

Roman Catholic schools represent an important sector in Hong Kong's education system, both in terms of number and historical significance. As in many colonies in other periods of history, the Roman Catholic Church, in addition to other Christian Churches, had a partnership relationship with the colonial government in the provision of education in Hong Kong. Was there any change in this relationship during the political transition to 1997? Did the prospective return of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China (PRC) affect Catholic educational policies? This article examines these two questions in relation to the experience of other places in the world and in relation to the special nature of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong, namely its link with the Vatican and its relations with China where Church schools no longer exist.     

香港学前教育学券计划的理念、实施及作用

2006年,香港政府引入“教育学券制度”,加大对学前教育的投入,让香港地区符合条件的学龄前儿童都能够接受学前教育资助。本文介绍了香港“学前教育学券”计划,并对此计划中体现的教育公平、实施的管理规范、推进过程中对学前教育机构和教师的促进等进行了评析。     

香港中文教育政策述评

香港特区政府以“两文三语”为目标的中文教育政策,是香港总体语言政策的构成部分,文章从推广普通话、推行母语教学、以普通话教授中文及推行简化字等方面对此进行了述评。     

Accelerated Schools for Quality Education: A Hong Kong Perspective

This article addresses the application of the Accelerated Schools Project (ASP) model in Hong Kong, as well as specific aspects of implementation in two schools. One lesson from the localized project, the Accelerated Schools for Quality Education (ASPQE), is that change is slow. This suggests that time should be given for both cultural change and building communities of inquiry, especially in cases where the staff may not be initially receptive of school reform models such as the Accelerated Schools Project. A second important lesson is that the commitment of the principal and a core group is critical for change.     

Implementing media education in the Hong Kong secondary curriculum

The tremendous influence of today's mass media can hardly be matched by the sum of its works from the past. There are more sources of media, more types of information and entertainment, more interactive modes for consuming these messages of the mass media in a more interconnected global village available than ever before. Since many pupils spend much of their time on the media, the call for media education is urgent. This article first describes the aims and objectives of media education, then portrays the power of the media and how the education sectors have responded. Finally, it argues for the need to implement media education into the secondary curriculum in response to proposed curriculum reform in Hong Kong.     

Authentic school partnerships for enabling inclusive education in Hong Kong

Education reform towards a whole school approach to catering for diversity within Hong Kong government schools has seen the initiation of several strategies to support mainstream schools in this transition. One of these approaches is the use of a resource school model. Special and mainstream schools in Hong Kong are being invited to establish themselves as resource support hubs for partner mainstream schools. This paper investigates how this model is being implemented by considering one of each type of resource school. Three broad themes have emerged that relate to the type of support being offered and sought: the school ethos and culture of the partner schools; and management issues. The effectiveness of a resource model is evaluated for its use in Hong Kong.     

Nationalistic education as the focus for civics and citizenship education : The case of Hong Kong

Civic education has been assigned the mission of preparing critical thinking, responsible, participating, multidimensional citizens and is also used to serve the function of instilling a sense of national identity, loyalty to the nation state and patriotism In 1996, before the return of sovereignty of Hong Kong to China, the Hong Kong Education Department published theGuidelines in Civic Education for School (1996), which includes education for democracy, human rights education, global education and nationalistic education This survey adopted an amalgamate framework of five types of nationalistic education to study the understanding of nationalistic education of civic educators in secondary schools in Hong Kong The initial findings showed that the civic educators were basically strongly eclectic in terms of education for cosmopolitan, civic, and cultural nationalism and moderately eclectic in terms of anti colonial nationalism but rejected education for totalitarian nationalism This eclectic understanding can be said to be heading towards a more liberal, rational, open and inclusive type of nationalistic education, which is compatible with a cosmopolitan and pluralistic society such as Hong Kong     

香港问题青少年教育的特色

2004年7月19至25日,应香港扶幼会的邀请,作者有机会参加“华南师范大学香港教育及文化考察团”赴香港对问题青少年教育情况进行实地考察和调查研究。作者在香港的7天考察和调研中,先后参观了香港扶幼会属下的则仁中心学校、许仲绳纪念学校、则仁中心和元洲宿舍等问题青少年教育机构。本文所说的问题青少年在香港则称为“适应有困难儿童”,是指与同龄儿童相比,常在家庭、学校或其它公众场合表现出不能适应、产生情绪困扰或行为问题的儿童。现对香港问题青少年教育的主要特色作一简要述评     

香港职业教育的启示

香港职业教育在建设发展中有许多成功经验值得学习和借鉴.赴港学习的一个星期中,对香港职业教育过去和现在的职教体系、管理方法、教员工作等方面增加了一些理性认识,获得一些启示.     

Higher Education in Hong Kong: the context of and rationale for rapid expansion

Hong Kong is now engaged in implementing a programme designed rapidly to expand its Higher Education sector. This policy will effectively shift the role of higher education away from providing for the needs of a small and elite segment of school leavers to one which provides for a significant proportion of the relevant age cohort.The paper initially identifies the factors which have contributed to the emergence of the new policy. Central amongst these is the impending return of Hong Kong's sovereignty to the PRC in 1997. Subsequently the policy is analysed with reference to the context within which it will be implemented. This includes the shifting demographic structure, the level of emigration and the number of students who study overseas. Finally the paper anticipates the probable impact of the expansion on both higher education itself and on other sectors within the education system.     

香港高校通识教育课程变革

香港高校自2012年起推行四年新学制以及新的课程架构,其特点为:(1)课程理念与目标已经超出传统学术与智性发展范畴,开始融入与共通能力、态度有关的元素。(2)课程架构以必修课与分布选修结合为主要特征。分布选修的范畴围绕人文与艺术、社会与文化、科学与技术三大知识领域展开,必修科目的内容存在明显差异,有的大学围绕智性探究,有的大学还在智性探究范畴之外增加语言沟通、共通技能、统整融合的元素。(3)课程内容超越知识探究,关注当代社会重要议题以及未来生活需具备的能力与素质。(4)课程发展采取成果为本方法。(5)建立完善的质素保证机制,对通识课程进行定期检讨,从不同渠道搜集持份者意见,对通识课程、教学做出持续改进。     

Major issues of university education policy in Hong Kong

University education is believed to be one of the most controversial public policies in Hong Kong. Numerous changes have also occurred in the university education sector since the 1990s when the rapid expansion of university places was put into force. The most notable changes may include the institutionalization of quality assurance mechanisms, the reform of university governance and staff remuneration systems, the adoption of role differentiation among the universities, the potential emergence of private universities and community colleges, and the trend of internationalizing university education. This article identifies major issues of university education policy and examines those factors that are affecting the development of university education, in Hong Kong.     

香港地区青年学生的爱国主义教育途径思考

香港回归18载,"一国两制"方针得到全面贯彻实施,香港的经济社会始终保持着繁荣稳定的发展,然而,近两年的香港社会却出现了一些不和谐的声音,打破了长期以来的平静,让我们不得不重新审视香港的国民教育存在的缺陷,尤其是青年学生的爱国主义教育问题,本文通过对香港青年学生国民教育问题思考,旨在创新教育方法,提高香港地区的思想政治教育实效。     

Negotiating teacher professionalism: governmentality and education reform in Hong Kong

This research investigates how the Hong Kong state controls and disciplines the education sector through the regulation and manipulation of discourses. The authoritative narratives are that some schools are failing the students and parents for not being able to provide quality education, and that these schools are not subject to public scrutiny while spending public money. This article seeks to understand the role of such narratives in neoliberal politics and the marketisation of education which lead to governance in the form of initiatives in school quality assurance mechanism; how different actors (Education Bureau, Professional Teachers' Union and individual teachers) are involved in the process; how they negotiate this governance of education; how such governance transforms the self-perception of teachers as well as the perception of teachers by others; and how teachers interpret, appropriate and resist such discursive power.     

Outdoor education in Hong Kong: Past, present and future

This paper examines the development of outdoor education in Hong Kong from its colonial roots to the challenges of its uncertain future. The scene is set by a synopsis of Hong Kong's geography, history, economy, and culture. Next, we trace the history of organised outdoor education from the early 1900s to the present day. This is followed by a critical exploration of issues facing youth adventure education programmes and management development programmes. The paper closes with recommendations to return to “real” outdoor courses in natural environments, to raise the standards of training available to outdoor leaders, and finally, to create a governing body that would facilitate inter-organisational learning, raise standards of programme design and delivery, and help build a body of literature that is specific to experiential learning in Hong Kong.     

香港职业教育的历史变革初探

香港职业教育发展逾150年。香港职业教育史可分为四个时期:第一时期为香港开埠初期,以工商业及海员训练为主,首所工商学校于1864年由教会成立。第二时期为抗战结束,职校林立,工商业教育发展兴盛。第三时期为20世纪90年代初,当时工业式微,很多职校转型为文化中学,职业学校大减。第四时期踏入21世纪,职校重振旗鼓,推行资历课程,积极与企业合作,培育各行业具有竞争力的专才,获得社会的肯定。