In the past, the Curriculum Development Council in Hong Kong [Curriculum Development Council (CDC). (1996). Guide to the pre-primary curriculum. Hong Kong: Government Printer; CDC. (2000). Consultation document: Learning to learn: The way forward in curriculum development. Hong Kong: Government Printer; CDC. (2001). The way forward in curriculum development – Learning to learn: Life-long learning and whole-person development. Hong Kong: Government Printer; CDC. (2006). Guide to the pre-primary curriculum. Hong Kong: Government Printer], has issued a number of consultation documents regarding the overall aims of the twenty-first century and its implementation, particularly in pre-primary education. These documents provide the backdrop for our research on the implementation of language policies in Hong Kong kindergartens. Data were collected via questionnaires, focus group interviews, and classroom observations in pre-school settings. This paper discusses the provision of bilingualism in Hong Kong pre-schools, especially the teaching and learning of English.
[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/10.1080/03004430.2013.788816]

This study examines young children's number sense in subjects from Finland (n=254), Hong Kong (n= 246), and Singapore (n = 130). Chinese, English and Finnish versions of the Early Numeracy Test (ENT; Van Luit et al, 1994) were used. Two highly correlated aspects of number sense were measured, one reflecting children's abilities to organize and compare quantities (i.e. relational skills), and the other pertaining to their ability to operate with number-word sequence (i.e. counting skills). The results showed significant age-related gain on the relational and counting scales. No gender or language differences were found. The children in Hong Kong and Singapore outperformed those in Finland in relational and counting tasks starting at the age of four years. The children in Singapore also had better relational and counting skills than those in Hong Kong. Differences in teaching were assumed to explain the findings.
[Copyright of International Journal of Early Years Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0966976042000268681]