published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Based upon the findings of the study, improvement measures are suggested, namely, government subsidies to help the kindergartens to mediate market forces, restructuring of the bureaucratic-authoritarian management in kindergartens, promotion of home-school partnerships, empowerment of teachers through nurturing their pedagogical competence, and reformation of the philosophical underpinnings of teacher training. / The call for professionalism in kindergarten education has been an important educational issue over the past several decades in Hong Kong. Official expectations have been published to guide the services of kindergarten education and to supervise teachers' pedagogical practice. Kindergarten education services that are child centred and play based, and that practise integrated learning to nourish children's holistic and balanced development are advocated. However, Quality Assurance Inspection reports have shown that kindergarten teaching and learning is still teacher directed. Young children are passive recipients of knowledge. The services run counter to the progressive motives of the 2000 Education Reform in nurturing young children to be active and self-motivated life-long learners. Driven by the interest to study the practice-expectation gap, the present study sought to observe kindergarten teachers' classroom practice, investigate their pedagogical decision making, and reveal the complexities underpinning their pedagogical roles which, to an extent, emerged from the practice-expectation gap. / The data analysis suggests that the teacher informants' pedagogical decision making and practice were shaped by a number of intervening forces. These forces can be categorised into (a) the personal variables of the teacher informants in terms of their personal beliefs and values towards kindergarten education, (b) the contextual variables of school management structure and administrative arrangements within which the teacher informants delivered their teaching and fostered the children's learning, (c) the societal variables of parental expectations of the kindergarten education of their young children, and (d) the professional variables of the teacher training programmes and their training effectiveness that nurtured the teacher informants' pedagogical competence. Each of these variables represents a unique array of interferences for the teacher informants, and when drawn together, the combination of influences that thus emerges illustrates the complexities within which the teacher informants made their pedagogical decisions. Consequently, the pedagogical practices of teachers were pushed and pulled by these intervening forces, causing deviation from the Official Expectations. / The present study, framed by in a qualitative research design, employed on-site observations and teacher interviews, together with official document analysis and training curriculum document analysis. The wealth of data and information collected revealed that a practice-expectation gap does exist. / Fung, Kit Ho. / "December 2007." / Adviser: Chi-Chung Lam. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-08, Section: A, page: 3023. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 405-462). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

Koo Wai-sze. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [163-172]). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Contents --- p.i / Abstract --- p.v / Acknowledgement --- p.vii / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Current Situation of Preschool Education and Services in Hong Kong --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Historical Review of Preschool Education and Services in Hong Kong --- p.5 / Table 1.1: Percentage of children aged 3 to 5 attending schools (1971-1996) --- p.10 / Table 1.2: Gross enrolment ratios of Pre-Primaty Education in Selected Countries (1995-1997) --- p.10 / Chapter 1.3 --- Research Inquiries --- p.12 / Chapter 1.4 --- Structure of the Thesis --- p.19 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Literature Review --- p.20 / Chapter 2.1 --- Functional School of Thought --- p.21 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Functional Perspectives on Preschool Education and Servicesin Hong Kong --- p.27 / Chapter 2.2 --- Conflict School of Thought --- p.29 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Conflict Perspectives on Preschool Education and Services in Hong Kong --- p.37 / Chapter 2.3 --- Institutionalist Perspectives and Organizational Analysis --- p.39 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Organizational Perspectives --- p.39 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Institution and Institutionalization --- p.42 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- The Problem of Isomorphism --- p.48 / Chapter 2.3.4 --- Institutionalist Perspectives on Preschool --- p.50 / Chapter 2.4 --- Theoretical Framework --- p.51 / Chapter 2.4.1 --- New Institutionalist Perspective on Institutionalization of Preschool Education and Services in Hong Kong --- p.51 / Chapter 2.4.2 --- New Institutionalist Perspectives on Preschool Education and Services --- p.52 / Chapter 2.4.3 --- The Child as Scientized Individual - Child-Centered Ideology --- p.56 / Chapter 2.4.4 --- The Form of Education Institution Embodied by Preschool Education --- p.61 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Methodology --- p.64 / Chapter 3.1 --- Government and Other Documents --- p.64 / Chapter 3.2 --- Content Analysis --- p.66 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Subject of Analysis and Method of Classification --- p.66 / Table 3.1 Analytical frameworks for content analysis of newspaper articles --- p.69 / Chapter 3.2.1.1 --- Formalization --- p.70 / Chapter 3.2.1.2 --- Modern Ideological Claims --- p.71 / Chapter 3.2.1.3 --- Conventional Conceptions on Preschool Education --- p.72 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Unit of Analysis --- p.73 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Limitations --- p.74 / Chapter 3.3 --- Interviews --- p.74 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- An Alternative Institutionalization 一 From Modern Education to Modern Early Childhood Education --- p.77 / Chapter 4.1 --- Preschool Education and Services under the Hong Kong Government --- p.80 / Chapter 4.2 --- The Changing Discourses of the Government 一 From Pragmatic Discourse to Child-centered Ideology --- p.84 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Phase I: Pragmatic Discourse (from the fifties to the end of the seventies): Peripheral Status of Preschool in the Educational Sector --- p.86 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Phase II (since the beginning of the eighties): Child-centered Ideology Discourse as Justification for Modern Early Childhood Education --- p.90 / Chapter 4.3 --- Child-centered Ideology as Source of Legitimacy --- p.94 / Table 4.1 Summary of recommendations on formalization of preschool education and services in government documents (1980-2000) --- p.98 / Chapter 4.4 --- The Redefinition of Preschool Education as Modern Early Childhood Education --- p.104 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Other Forces in The Institutionalization of Preschool Education And Services --- p.107 / Chapter 5.1 --- "Child-centered ideology in the discourses of professionals, pressure groups and the media/ public" --- p.107 / Chapter 5.2 --- From newspaper ´ؤ an overview --- p.109 / "Table 5.1 Percentage of different types of discourses by actors (1960, 65,70,75,80- June, 2000)" --- p.111 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Overall trend from 1960 to June2000 --- p.111 / "Figure 5.1 Number of News Items Concerning Preschool Education and Services in Ming Pao and Singtao Daily (1960,65,70,75,80-Jun, 2000)" --- p.113 / Chapter 5.2.3 --- Classification by discourse --- p.113 / Chapter 5.2.3.1 --- On formalization --- p.114 / "Table 5.2 a Percentage of form of discourses by Government (1960,65,70,75,80-Jun, 2000)" --- p.114 / "Table 5.2b Percentage of form of discourses by Professionals (1960,65,70,75,80-Jun, 2000)" --- p.115 / "Table 5.2 c Percentage of form of discourses by Pressure Groups (1960,65,70,75,80-Jun, 2000)" --- p.115 / "Table 5.2d Percentage of form of discourses by Media/ Public Opinion (1960,65,70,75,80-Jun, 2000)" --- p.116 / Table 5.3 The implementation of measures recommended in the White Paper (1982/83-84/85) --- p.117 / "Table 5.4 Percentage of discourses on formalization by actors (1960，65,70,75,80-Jun, 2000)" --- p.118 / Chapter 5.2.3.2 --- On modern ideological claims --- p.119 / "Table 5.5 Frequencies and percentage of modern ideological claims by actors (1960- June, 2000) (%)" --- p.122 / Chapter 5.2.3.3 --- On conventional conceptions on preschool education --- p.125 / Chapter 5.3 --- From other sources of data --- p.126 / Table 5.6 Comparison of news items by professionals and pressure groupsin selected years --- p.127 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- The Professionals --- p.130 / Chapter 5.3.1.1 --- Professional groups and individual professionals --- p.130 / Chapter 5.3.1.2 --- The practitioners --- p.136 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- Pressure groups --- p.139 / Chapter 5.3.3 --- Media and the Public --- p.140 / Chapter 5.4 --- Dynamics of different actors --- p.141 / Chapter Chapter 6： --- Conclusion --- p.145 / Chapter 6.1 --- The Institutionalization of Preschool Education and Services in Hong Kong with Child-centered Ideology as Cultural Model --- p.145 / Chapter 6.1.1 --- Dynamic Forces of the Actors --- p.150 / Table 6.1 Summary of the official reports from 1980 to2000 --- p.150 / Chapter 6.2 --- The Significance of Institutional Culture in Legitimating an Institution --- p.158 / Chapter 6.3 --- Limitations and Further Studies --- p.160 / Reference / Appendix

This research aims to determine whether the voucher scheme in Hong Kong would really increase professional development of Hong Kong early childhood teachers, and to see how the teachers will react to this change. Few studies have been conducted on how the voucher system affects the teachers. A qualitative approach was employed where a total of twelve teachers and four principals from the four kindergarten schools were asked to participate in the study. The results of the study show that teachers from the different kindergartens were having more convergent views about the pre-primary education voucher scheme among the teachers from these schools. Many of them believe that the voucher scheme is in fact a fair policy and that it could effectively improve teachers‟ quality, though the apprehension of old generation teachers over the influx of the younger and relatively more qualified teachers is a concern that needs to be addressed. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Almost all 3- to 6-year-olds attend preschool programmes in Hong Kong, yet until recently early childhood education (ECE) was excluded from the boundaries of formal government policy and the sector received minimal financial support from the government. The eventual introduction in 2007 of the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS) — a HK$2 billion government package to subsidise ECE, instead of bringing the early childhood predicament to an end, generated considerable controversy due to its unique nature. Unlike other education voucher programmes, which promote and rely on the “free” market to regulate the quality of education provision, the PEVS limits the vouchers to a restricted sector of the ECE market and ties financial assistance with official quality assessments. Against this background, the purpose of this study was to examine the evolution and the continuous development of this atypical education voucher scheme in the policy context of Hong Kong. The PEVS is conceptualised as both product and process, constantly shaped and reshaped by policymakers as well as parents and ECE providers. To adequately capture the evolving and emergent nature of the policy process and reflect the divergent voices of these stakeholders, a mixed-method approach was employed, and a historical approach is used to analyse and discuss the findings. Focusing on the context of policy text production, in the first two time periods, namely Pre-voucher (Pre-2006) and Announcement and Amendments (2006 – 2009), the rationale for the development and the modifications of the policy text was explored through documentary analyses. In the following time period, After Amendments (2009 – 2010), a survey of 628 parents, kindergarten principals, and teachers, and in-depth interviews with 16 kindergarten principals and teachers were conducted to determine the opportunities for parents and ECE providers to reform and reinterpret the policy text in different contexts of practice. In the final time period, the Official Review and Further Re-modification of the Policy Text (2010 onwards), the results obtained were compared with that of a critical analysis of the official government review of the PEVS and the resulting package of enhancement measures endorsed by the government to understand how parents and ECE providers in the context of practice might in return affect the production of the policy text. Taken together, the results illustrate a full depiction of the policy process. They also show the intertwining relationship among the government, parents, and ECE providers, as well as between the two contexts of policymaking. The illumination of these previously unexplored subjects has important theoretical and practical implications for educational change and policymaking in ECE, and lays the foundation for future research in related areas. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education