Pursuing quality in early childhood education with a government-regulated voucher: Views of parents and service providers in Hong Kong

Pursuing quality in early childhood education with a government-regulated voucher: Views of parents and service providers in Hong Kong

• Wong, Jessie Ming Sin The Open University of Hong Kong
• Rao, Nirmala The University of Hong Kong

Journal of Education Policy, (0), - , 2020

Routledge

2020

• Q Philosophy of Education, Educational System & School At Different Levels
  • QB Pre-school Education, Child Caring Facilities, Maternal & Infantile Health Facilities
• R Educational Policy & Administration
  • RG Education Reforms

Early Childhood Education Preschool Voucher Quality Market

• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• Pre-Primary Education

This paper critically examines parents’ and service providers’ reception of the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS), which was designed to enhance the quality of early childhood education in Hong Kong. The PEVS was a universal voucher policy that was designed to harness market forces and increase direct governmental control of quality in a private education market wherein pre-academic training and competition are emphasized. This paper presents the results of a survey of 413 parents and 215 service providers. Findings indicated that despite the government’s efforts in promoting quality as ‘child-centeredness’ and the efforts of preschools in meeting the quality standards, parents remained relatively neutral about the policy's influence on preschool quality. However, all parents appreciated the financial benefits they accrued from the PEVS, and more socially-advantaged families allocated the additional disposable income on extra educational activities and programs for their children. Findings suggest the implementation of the PEVS in a fully private market might unexpectedly exacerbate inequity in educational opportunities. The enrolment size of the preschool was also found to be a determinant of respondents’ views of the PEVS. We argue the government’s idea of ‘joyful learning’ may be even harder to achieve with the current means of service governance.
[Copyright of Journal of Education Policy is the property of Routledge.]

• English

Journal Articles

• 02680939

• 10.1080/02680939.2020.1764628

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/bibs/007992fc

2021-02-16