This study examined how a dialogic reading (DR) program with a component of multisensory learning (MS) of Chinese characters improved early Chinese reading and writing skills in L2 Chinese-speaking kindergarteners in Hong Kong. The DR + MS program was compared to the same DR program but focusing on morphological awareness (MA) training. A total of 118 3- to 4-year-old L2 Chinese-speaking kindergartners were recruited for the study. These children were randomly assigned to one of three separate training groups: DR + MS, DR + MA, and DR alone as a control group: Before and after a 12-week training session, all participating children were tested on a range of Chinese words reading and writing-related skills. The DR + MS group demonstrated the strongest growth in Chinese word reading and writing skills. The DR + MA group showed a trend toward greater improvement in Chinese vocabulary knowledge. These results demonstrated enjoyable ways to develop Chinese early literacy skills. Copyright © 2021 ACTFL.

A lot of literature has been written about education as the transmission of cultural knowledge yet the way in which culture, as ritual action, constitutes and fosters religio-cultural ideological myth remains largely unexplored in the context of ritual pedagogies in school settings. In Hong Kong, the government had initiated an educational reform promoting the play-based child-centred approach to replace the traditional mode of teacher-centred approach aimed at meeting the changing world at the start of 21st century. However, there are great variations when these principles and approaches are implemented in classroom practice. Even though the school voucher scheme1 providing support for parents to choose kindergartens that adopt the approach has been introduced in 2006, there is no significant impact in the field of early childhood education. This study aimed to identify the extent to which how different ritual pedagogies had reflected the mythical values that the teachers held by examining the forms and practices of ritual in two early childhood classroom settings. Data was collected through observational records and interviews to examine how the mythical values of the two teachers concerned had underpinned their ritualistic practises. The findings suggested that teachers using different ritual pedagogies had reflected entirely different mythical values that they held respectively. The implication for this study is that schools should not ignore the mythical values of their teachers if they are to realise their school missions and cultural values that they cherished. The study might give insight to early childhood practitioners and policy makers on how the ritualistic practises of the teachers could make a big difference to the realisation of their ideological goals. On the academic side, light might be shed for an understanding of the puzzled gap between the traditional teaching mode and the recommended approaches.
[Copyright © 2013 Grace LAU, Kwok Keung

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