A prominent school issue is health and safety in kindergartens. However, there has been no concerted effort to develop health and safety training as part of the school management of the kindergarten workforce in Hong Kong. A pilot study was designed to assess early childhood teachers' knowledge of and attitudes towards health and safety in kindergartens using a self-reported questionnaire. The participants were 54 early childhood teachers, which included 10 principals, or senior teachers, and 44 frontline teachers of four kindergartens. The results indicated that the teachers' level of knowledge regarding common childhood injuries was high, but their knowledge of health and safety measures was very low. There was a significant difference in the overall knowledge level of the senior teachers and the junior teachers. The principals or senior teachers were more positive towards the need to have a health and safety policy and to develop a health and safety strategy plan and recording system for their kindergartens than the front-line teachers. Furthermore, the teachers with more teaching experience were more concerned about assigning an appropriate staff member to be responsible for different aspects of health and safety than the teachers with less teaching experience. The teachers with a Bachelor degree or above were more likely to indicate the importance of providing professional development training for staff than the teachers with a Diploma degree or below. There is a need for an in-service professional training program for early childhood teachers to increase their health and safety knowledge and attitudes.
[Copyright © 2015 CGPublisher.]

In recent years, the Government of the Hong Kong SAR has allocated considerably more attention and resources to pre-primary education. This chapter considers how these changes at the policy and pedagogy levels are shaping the learning experiences of young children in Hong Kong. It will focus on the impact of the following four broad policy changes initiated in the last decade: the implementation of the Guide to the Pre-primary curriculum; the adoption of the biliterate and trilingual language policy; the enactment of a new quality assurance process; and the introduction of the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS). It was assumed that the implementation of these policies would enhance the preschool and home learning experiences of young children. However, after one decade of implementation of these measures, studies have shown that: (1) preschool teachers still encounter difficulties in implementing child-centred teaching approaches and are likely to continue to adopt teacher-directed instruction or product-oriented pedagogy; (2) there are problems associated with the implementation of the trilingual language policy; (3) there are still wide variations in preschool quality despite the new quality assurance processes; and (4) the PEVS has resulted in some middle-families using the extra disposable income to enrol their children in additional academic classes rather than more play-based extra-curricular activities. Against the background of these research findings, this chapter argues that the changing role of the State, teacher characteristics and traditional Chinese beliefs should be adequately considered for an understanding of the early learning experiences of young Chinese learners in Hong Kong. Preschool education in Hong Kong has not necessarily become more child-centred as teachers have difficulties implementing developmentally appropriate teaching. On the other hand, the government has allocated more resources in enhancing the quality of early childhood

This study aimed at identifying the effective leadership roles for quality programmes in a market-driven, Chinese preschool context. It adopted a qualitative research strategy with in-depth case studies of two preschools in Hong Kong. Effective leadership was investigated from the multiple perspectives of various school stakeholders. The findings indicated that principals of the two schools tended to take up three major roles: role model, school manager, and mentor for curriculum and pedagogy. With reference to the contemporary leadership models proposed by Leithwood and Duke (1999), the characteristics of effective leadership perceived by various school stakeholders were similar to those of moral, managerial and instructional leadership but were different from the Western notion of distributed leadership documented in the literature.

While studies consistently showed that a person’s subjective well-being (SWB) was related to his/her job performances, health, and adaptation, few research examined Hong Kong kindergarten teachers’ SWB in relation to their demographics. The purpose of study was to address this issue by examining the relationships of teachers’ job satisfaction, self-esteem, and mental health complaints (representing SWB) to their demographic characteristics. 371 in-service teachers participated voluntarily as convenient sample by self-rating on the inventories, including the Job Satisfaction Survey, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventory, and the General Health Questionaire-12. Results showed that the SWB variables showed significant correlations with the majority of demographic factors: the factors of age, marital status, years of teaching, and rank in school correlated with all SWB variables. Among all demographics, the “rank in school” factor was the most consistent factor in associating with all SWB variables. In addition, there were group differences in SWB by teachers’ age, working experiences, school ranks, school type, and marital statuses. The age group (46-50) displayed the highest job satisfaction, whereas another age group (26-30) showed the lowest job satisfaction. Teachers with teaching experiences longer than 21 years had significantly higher job satisfactions than those with 6-10 years and 11-15 years of experiences. Of all ranks in kindergartens, the principals displayed the highest job satisfaction. Teachers worked in non-profit-making kindergartens showed consistently more favourable job satisfaction and perceived work environment than teachers in profit-making kindergartens. Furthermore, married teachers indicated significantly higher self-esteem than singled teachers. Implications of findings to teachers’ development were discussed.

Hong Kong early childhood education runs in the private sector. In recent years, the government has implemented a number of policies to improve the quality of early childhood education. The Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme is one of important early childhood education policies in Hong Kong. The Scheme aims to improve the quality of early childhood education, by providing financial assistance to parents and upgrading teachers' qualifications. However, this policy raised widespread awareness and debate amongst the stakeholders. This paper will discuss how the scheme affects different stakeholders and explores its way forward. The essay first provides a brief background of the scheme and Hong Kong's early childhood setting. The latter part of the essay discusses how the scheme affects the various stakeholders, including: policy makers, early childhood education sectors, early childhood educators and parents. Finally, suggestions to improve the scheme are made.
[Copyright © The Hong Kong Institute of Education].

The whole language approach is an important language theory in the West. In recent years, many kindergartens in Hong Kong have been implementing the whole language approach. To understand how this western educational concept is being implemented in the Chinese society, this research aims to investigate the current practices of teachers implementing the Whole Language Approach in Hong Kong. The study employed a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods with data collected through questionnaires and interviews. 138 questionnaires were sent to experienced teachers. A total of six teachers were interviewed, and they were all experienced. Findings indicate that most of the kindergarten teachers have the basic understanding of the whole language approach. However, it finds that many teachers cannot fully implement the meaning of the whole language approach in it entirely. Further training for teachers is needed.
[Copyright © Scientific Research Publishing, Inc.].

Purpose: The function of early childhood education (ECE) has shifted from mothering to nurturing child development in Hong Kong. Teaching in kindergartens seems to be more attractive to men nowadays. The purpose of this paper is to explore the issues of male participation in ECE through a case study of a local kindergarten. Design/methodology/approach: A case study methodology was used in the research design and the data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The interviewees all came from a single, case study school, and included the kindergarten principal, head teacher, teachers, both Chinese and foreign nationals, and parents. Findings: The findings of the study indicated that most of the school staff support hiring male teachers in kindergartens and perceive that male teachers play an important role in educating young children. On the other hand, the views of parents who participated in the study were divided. This reflects gender bias on the part of parents. Originality/value: Minimal research on male participation in kindergartens has been conducted in Hong Kong. The findings of the study shed some light on the issues of male participation in ECE in a Chinese context. It is argued that overcoming the low participation of male teachers in ECE will require changes in deeply rooted institutional and management practices. From a wider perspective, providing better career prospects and improving the professional status of kindergarten teachers will attract more men to teach in kindergartens.
[Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited].