Globalization is a human revolution caused by the information technology revolution in the last century. In the context of globalization, there is a growing concern over the educational exchange and internationalization of education in various places. Hong Kong is an international metropolitan in Asia, and the Education Bureau promotes the development of education internationalization in many ways. In order to analyze the practice of the internationalization of education in Hong Kong, this article analyzes and discusses six aspects in Hong Kong education: internationalization of higher education in Hong Kong, international schools in Hong Kong, the International Baccalaureate in Hong Kong, the support provided to students learning English, the cultivation of an international perspective in students, and catering policies for the learning of non-Chinese speaking children. It will also point out new challenges faced by the internationalization of education in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s high ranking in the OECD’s PISA study and other international assessments has caught the interest of policy-makers internationally who are searching for policy models and classroom practices to learn from. This paper will investigate the nature and validity of the comparative international references made about education in Hong Kong and lessons that might be usefully learned from its experience. It will do this by exploring the outcomes of research that gathered views of stakeholders in Hong Kong, including policy-makers past and present, teachers, principals, academic experts, and parent and employer groups, along with the views of policy-makers, researchers and Chinese community leaders in UK. These perspectives shed light on the reasons – within and beyond the classroom - behind Hong Kong’s success, as well as on the strengths and limitations of schooling that may be misunderstood internationally, in particular in its perceived success in achieving the holy grail of quality and equity in education. Listening to local voices raises questions as to whether strengths in one system as identified by international agencies can be used by policy-makers elsewhere to guide or justify reforms when they are not familiar with the local context and its nuances. The paper draws on work for the research project ‘Hong Kong as a Source for Education Policy in England: Rhetoric and Reality’, funded by The UK Economic and Social Research Council/Research Grants Council, Hong Kong, Joint Research Scheme.

For the analysis of Hong Kong education policy in history, we apply theories of the state for the historical comparative research. For the description of the establishment of sociological concepts, some key concepts are set as the mediation of history. Weber’s historical sociology makes concepts establish idea types. They are used as yardsticks to facilitate and enrich the understanding and explanation of historical events. They give a cultural historical explanation of casual relevance of multi-causality of historical events. In the Hong Kong historical context, the education policy is one of governing policies. With the application of concepts, the different levels are global, state, institution and politicking. The key concepts established are helpful for more accuracy in handling the recognition, explanation and analyses of policy implementation. A series of education policies analysis applied is the powerful indication of theories of the state to have deep understanding of the functioning of the Hong Kong Government in our history.

Vouchers and school choice discourses have been translated, reassembled, and made intelligible in different localities, such as Taiwan and Hong Kong, as tactics in education reforms to ensure equality and quality. This paper presents the findings of a comparative research study that aims to investigate the effects of preschool vouchers in Taiwan and Hong Kong. I argue that laced within global and local circulations of educational choice and voucher discourses are notions of marketization and privatization. In that, I seek to understand how preschool voucher systems in Taiwan and Hong Kong work to create a normative socio-cultural administration to (re)-shape, regulate, and construct reasonable/desirable modes of thinking and acting.

Rapid changes have been taken place in Hong Kong since the hand-over of the sovereignty to China in 1997. These changes are far-reaching including the social, cultural economic and political aspects. There is a need to cultivate the kind of people who are creative, knowledgeable and multi-talented for Hong Kong to increase its competitiveness and continue its prosperity. In view of the situation, the Education Commission, the education policy maker of Hong Kong, published a Consultative Document in 1999 namely, Education Blueprint for the 21st Century, Review of Academic System: Aims of Education to review the education aims to enhance the quality of education to meet the challenge. The overall aims of education as stated in the Document are "to enable everyone to develop to their full potential in all areas covering intellect, and social skills, so that each individual is …… ; filled with self-confidence and team spirit; ……." Furthermore, the Document stresses school education should cater for individual differences, foster students positive attitude and increase their motivation as well as creativity. The present paper aims to examine the Document and government archives with the attempt to recommend some teaching modes which are effective to achieve the aims at the stage of school education, excluding the stages of early childhood education and tertiary education. Features of various teaching modes will be analysed and compared to find out the suitable modes.