Pursuing quality in early childhood education with a government-regulated voucher: Views of parents and service providers in Hong Kong

Pursuing quality in early childhood education with a government-regulated voucher: Views of parents and service providers in Hong Kong

• Wong, Jessie Ming Sin The Open University of Hong Kong
• Rao, Nirmala The University of Hong Kong

Journal of Education Policy, (0), - , 2020

Routledge

2020

• Q 教育體系與各級學校
  • QB 小學前之教育、育兒設施、母嬰保健設施
• R 教育政策與管理
  • RG 教育改革︰各項報告書及指引，施政報告

Early Childhood Education Preschool Voucher Quality Market

• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• 學前教育

This paper critically examines parents’ and service providers’ reception of the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS), which was designed to enhance the quality of early childhood education in Hong Kong. The PEVS was a universal voucher policy that was designed to harness market forces and increase direct governmental control of quality in a private education market wherein pre-academic training and competition are emphasized. This paper presents the results of a survey of 413 parents and 215 service providers. Findings indicated that despite the government’s efforts in promoting quality as ‘child-centeredness’ and the efforts of preschools in meeting the quality standards, parents remained relatively neutral about the policy's influence on preschool quality. However, all parents appreciated the financial benefits they accrued from the PEVS, and more socially-advantaged families allocated the additional disposable income on extra educational activities and programs for their children. Findings suggest the implementation of the PEVS in a fully private market might unexpectedly exacerbate inequity in educational opportunities. The enrolment size of the preschool was also found to be a determinant of respondents’ views of the PEVS. We argue the government’s idea of ‘joyful learning’ may be even harder to achieve with the current means of service governance.
[Copyright of Journal of Education Policy is the property of Routledge.]

• 英文

期刊論文

• 02680939

• 10.1080/02680939.2020.1764628

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/tc/bibs/007992fc

2021-02-16