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Early Childhood Education in Hong Kong: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities

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Early Childhood Education in Chinese Societies

Abstract

Early childhood education (ECE) in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region entered an exciting and challenging phase after the handover of sovereignty from Britain to China in July 1997. The Government began to play a more proactive role in promoting the development of high-quality preschool education in the private sector by providing financial assistance to parents, upgrading teachers’ qualifications, and promoting quality learning environments. This chapter examines developments in early ECE in Hong Kong from a historical perspective. Policy changes that have impacted ECE, challenges in the pursuit of high quality, and opportunities for enhancing the provision of ECE are discussed.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Performance indicators for pre-primary schools, published from 2001 to 2003 (Education Bureau, 2015d), were considered “a tangible and effective tool for pre-primary institutes’ self-evaluation and external review” (Education Department, 2006, p. 7). The performance indicators included four domains, namely, (1) management and organization, (2) learning and teaching, (3) support to children and school culture , and (4) domain on children’s development.

  2. 2.

    The Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) is normally taken by a student at the end of his/her 5-year secondary education. With the commencement of the New Senior Secondary Curriculum at Secondary 4 in the 2009/ 2010 school year, the last cohort of school candidates took the 2010 Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination. The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority offered the last round of the HKCEE in 2011. Standards of performance in the HKCEE have for many years been benchmarked against standards in comparable subjects at British GCE O Level (Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, 2015).

  3. 3.

    Figures from 2005 onward include teachers in kindergarten-cum-child-care centers upon harmonization of pre-primary services on 1 September 2005. They are not strictly comparable to figures for earlier years.

  4. 4.

    White papers are the official documents proposing reforms in Hong Kong.

  5. 5.

    At present, all pre-primary institutes are privately run and are categorized as nonprofit-making kindergartens and private independent kindergartens. In 2010, there were approximately 85 % and 15 % children enrolled in nonprofit-making kindergartens and private independent kindergartens, respectively. All kindergartens are registered under the Education Ordinance, and the Operation Manual for Pre-primary Institutions (2006) provides prospective school operators with necessary information regarding statutory requirements and recommendations for operation of kindergartens (Education Bureau, 2015d).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Sharon Sui Ngan Ng & Jin Sun

  2. Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Carrie Lau & Nirmala Rao

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  1. Sharon Sui Ngan Ng
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  2. Jin Sun
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  4. Nirmala Rao
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Correspondence to Nirmala Rao .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Nirmala Rao

  2. Faculty of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China

    Jing Zhou

  3. Department of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Jin Sun

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Ng, S.S.N., Sun, J., Lau, C., Rao, N. (2017). Early Childhood Education in Hong Kong: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities. In: Rao, N., Zhou, J., Sun, J. (eds) Early Childhood Education in Chinese Societies. International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Development, vol 19. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1004-4_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1004-4_10

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