The growing popularity of e-learning may pose one of the greatest challenges currently facing traditional educational institutions. The questions often asked are how, rather than whether, to embrace this new form of instructional delivery and how to create an appropriate learning environment for the learners. Educational institutions in Hong Kong have the option of adopting programmes or learning materials developed in other parts of the world for local learners, or not. Such an approach of acquiring learning materials is not without risks in terms of the suitability of materials embedded with cultural contents 'foreign' to local learners, or in terms of the suitability of assumptions in the communication context. What are the issues involved in the globalization of education through e-learning? This paper explores - from a critical-dialectical perspective - the implications of globalization on educational policy through cross-border delivery of educational programmes by e-learning, with particular attention given to the threat of cultural imperialism. The paper concludes that Hong Kong seems to be coping with 'cultural imperialism' rather well because of its unique history of being a cross-road for East and West, and also with some recommendations to e-learning providers to mitigate the potential damage of cross-cultural delivery of e-learning.
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Hong Kong has one of the busiest higher education sectors in Asia with eight universities and a network of institutes, colleges and associations. It is also a hub of international educational activity with many foreign universities and other educational bodies participating in various forms of strategic alliances with a range of Hong Kong based education based providers. The aim of this paper is to analyse and evaluate the range of alliance options (universities, institutes, associations, colleges and so on) available to foreign universities in Hong Kong, compare these briefly to the rest of China, and discuss how these various options can be accessed by foreign universities wishing to enter the Hong Kong market via the strategic alliance mode of entry. The paper notes that each type of alliance option has particular features which may be of relevance to particular foreign universities, depending on their entry aims and objectives. The paper also notes that because these entry options are somewhat different from the rest of China, previous research relating to that country cannot easily be applied to Hong Kong, thereby suggesting that country based entry models need to be developed to assist foreign universities to enter differing markets. These various entry models can later be developed into a model which may be able to identify entry issues of commonality between countries, and differences which may be expected.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J050v11n03_03 ]