During the COVID-19 pandemic, kindergartens in Hong Kong have sought ways in which to support children's learning at home while schools were closed. We report on a proof-of-concept study: short videos intended to support playful learning at home were distributed to parents/caregivers of preschool children via a smartphone app; toys and a storybook were provided to their children. No significant changes were observed in the importance attached to literacy and numeracy by parents/caregivers over time, perhaps because parents/caregivers place high value on children's academic progress in Hong Kong. However, significant increases in mean scores were observed for the intervention group but not the control group with regard to reported frequency of playing counting games and discussing/participating in weighing or measuring activities. Readily accessible opportunities to recognize learning in playful activities may have contributed to changed practices at homes. Copyright © 2023 Wiley.

This study considered the influences of the home learning environment and preschool quality on the development of 5-year-old Chinese (N = 43) and South Asian (N = 32) children in Hong Kong. Children were recruited from two preschools—one admitted only South Asian children, and the other admitted only Chinese children. Children were assessed in individual sessions with the Hong Kong Early Child Development Scale-3. Their parents were surveyed about the home learning environment. Teacher interviews, classroom observations, and document reviews were used to gauge preschool quality. Results of regression analyses indicated that socioeconomic status (SES) was positively associated with language development and pre-academic learning for both Chinese and South Asian children. In contrast, only the SES of Chinese children was related to their knowledge of society and the environment. The frequency of home learning activities was positively associated with language development for Chinese children. Controlling for SES, multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) results revealed that Chinese children performed significantly better than South Asian children in Chinese language and knowledge of society and environment. In contrast, South Asian children did better than Chinese children in pre-academic learning and fine motor development. Interviews revealed that teachers from the two participating preschools needed more professional development. Classroom observations showed that the preschool that admits only South Asian children has limited physical space, which may hinder children’s all-round development. Nevertheless, the teacher interviews and document reviews suggested that regular home-preschool communication and parental participation in preschool activities are high. Implications of the findings are discussed. Copyright © 2023 Springer.