Language policy in British colonial education: Evidence from nineteenth-century Hong Kong

Language policy in British colonial education: Evidence from nineteenth-century Hong Kong

• Evans, Stephen Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Journal of Educational Administration and History, 38(3), 293-312, 2006

Routledge

2006

• P Social Context of Education
  • PA History of Hong Kong Education
    • PAA History of Hong Kong Education (Before 1945)
• F Learning & Teaching
  • FE Medium of Instruction, Language of Teaching, Bi-& Multilingual Education, Problems of Bilingualism, Code-mixing & Code-switching
• P Social Context of Education
  • PE Law & Education ; Politics & Education
• P Social Context of Education
  • PD Economy & Education
• R Educational Policy & Administration
  • RC Educational Planning & Decision Making Process, Educational Administration

Language Planning Statistical Data Foreign Countries Foreign Policy English Instruction English (Second Language) Second Language Instruction Second Language Learning Second Languages Language of Instruction Language Attitudes Political Power Economic Factors Native Language Instruction Educational History Educational Administration Hong Kong

• Hong Kong

• 1841-1899
• 1900-1941

• Unknown or Unspecified

This article examines the evolution of language-in-education policy in Hong Kong during the first six decades of British rule (1842-1902). In particular, it analyses the changing roles and status of the English and Chinese languages during this formative period in the development of the colony's education system. The textual and statistical data presented in the article provide a corrective to the claim that the British imposed English on their colonial subjects and in the process rode roughshod over the indigenous languages. The evidence suggests that Hong Kong's education system provided opportunities for native students to attend purely Chinese schools, purely English schools or mixed-medium schools. Although the British apparently attached more importance to English teaching, they were generally at pains to emphasise that English should not be studied at the expense of Chinese. The findings indicate that language policy (be it Chinese or English in orientation) was always tied in some way to Britain's political and economic interests in the region.
[Copyright of Journal of Educational Administration and History is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00220620600984214]

• English

Journal Articles

• 00220620

• 10.1080/00220620600984214

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/bibs/fe56fcfb

2010-09-24