This paper attempts to argue that using market forces to raise education standards casts doubts to quality education, although this is seemingly an international trend, for such practice presents challenges to many issues such as equity. Using Hong Kong as a case, the paper analyses the practices of quality school education by focusing in particular on the difficulties that newly arrived children encounter. A multi-level framework is employed to critically examine the current government policy on quality education with reference to nine schools from five levels: individual student, institutional, government, societal and professional learning community. Discrepancies between policy goals and school practices are highlighted. The paper then addresses options for improvement and consideration if quality education is to be the hallmark of Hong Kong schooling.
[Copyright of International Journal of Inclusive Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2010.481430]

This study aims to report how Hong Kong teachers handle a seemingly conventional, orderly schooling phenomenonXthe teaching of the newly arrived children (NAC) migrated from mainland China. Semi-structured interviews with ten teachers from nine primary schools were conducted. The principal findings are that the teachers are not prepared for the challenges of teaching NAC, that the traditional approaches adopted by many teachers are ineffective, that subtle transformation of the pupil population due to the everlasting influx of NAC has yet to be appreciated by the teachers, and that teachers' logic - their worldview, mindset and conceptualisation of forces at work in Hong Kong schooling - remains unchanged. This paper highlights the various issues of monoculturalisation. Implications are discussed.
[Copyright of Teaching Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10476210500122691]