This study investigates the transition from kindergarten to primary school through the experiences of the teachers, parents and children involved. Emphasis is given to the transitional activities participated in by the stakeholders and the effectiveness of these activities. These experiences of children's transition to school will inform further research into the design of effective transition programmes in the local context. The means of investigation in this study include questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and observations. The results show that the teachers and parents generally believed that the children performed quite well academically, although the primary school teachers reported that they were average in discipline. The findings from both the questionnaires and the interviews show that most of the respondents agreed that strong connections between kindergarten, primary school and parents could facilitate a smoother transition to school. However, in reality, both kindergarten and primary school teachers showed ignorance of each other's teaching practices and curriculum.
[Copyright of Early Child Development and Care is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03004430802586130]

Issues relating to the introduction of accreditation and a regulatory framework in Hong Kong for sub-degree and vocational courses, which encompasses both public and private funded institutions, are examined. This is a milestone development that seeks to introduce comprehensive quality assurance and consistency in standard and nomenclature for sub-degree and vocational education. The development also entails issues of the articulation of sub-degree and degree qualifications and the transfer between academic and vocational or professional qualifications. On a broader perspective, the paper discusses the implications of two types of quality assurance initiatives: the government-directed and the voluntary initiatives, which co-exist in the current development in Hong Kong. Finally, on the regional and international perspective, the paper examines the implications for foreign qualifications including qualifications awarded through offshore delivery in Hong Kong.
[Copyright of Quality in Higher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1353832242000195842]