Mothers' experiences of a voucher scheme within the context of Hong Kong's early education: Issues of affordability and justice

Mothers' experiences of a voucher scheme within the context of Hong Kong's early education: Issues of affordability and justice

• Yuen, Wai Kwan Gail The Education University of Hong Kong
• Lam, Mei Seung Michelle The Education University of Hong Kong

Children and Youth Services Review, 82, 185-194, 2017

Pergamon Press

2017

• A Human Growth & Development
  • AE Socioeconomic & Cultural Differences, Class & Family Background
• 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
  • RC Educational Planning & Decision Making Process, Educational Administration

Early Childhood Voucher Affordability Market Justice Neoliberalism

• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• Pre-Primary Education

This paper examines issues of affordability and justice using the concept of “basic structure” as developed by Iris M. Young in order to produce a more nuanced account of the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme. We draw on the experiences of Hong Kong mothers of different socio-economic status who have participated in the voucher scheme. The scheme aims to provide affordable quality early education by giving parents a flat-rate voucher so as to assist them in enrolling their children in non-profit local kindergartens. We base our arguments on the central premise that socially just policy requires meticulous attention to the basic structure that determines distributive patterns. We go on to argue that the basic structure is governed by institutional assumptions, rules, and practices about class, gender, and markets. Our analysis references both quantitative and qualitative data of a three-phased mixed-method study with > 1400 mothers. The key findings reveal how mothers of different socio-economic backgrounds experienced the voucher scheme where power structures and relations are legitimized, thus contributing to the structural processes that reproduce constraints and injustice. Mothers' articulation regarding the policy recommendation of free early education adds insights into the constraints they experience and a notion of collective responsibility in supporting the education of young children.
[Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.]

• English

Journal Articles

• 01907409

• 10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.09.030

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/en/bibs/6544954a

2017-12-18