International student mobility has emerged as a key source of societal and educational transformations in the booming economies of East Asia. International competencies are increasingly valued by employees and employers alike. Given the uneven distribution of international student flows, and the inequitable levels of benefit that they bring to various locales and institutions, some jurisdictions are seeking the optimal policy instruments for leveraging public and private interests in the mobility of human resources and knowledge. This case study of Hong Kong looks at the outbound-inbound student flows and explains how the government facilitates cross-border education balances. The researchers utilized the four modes of the General Agreement on Trades in Services framework, and found it to be a helpful tool in analyzing the government's balancing act, despite the challenges associated with the conceptualization of international student mobility as a commodity or trade in services.
[Copyright of Studies in Higher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2011.630726]

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 research investigates how the Hong Kong state controls and disciplines the education sector through the regulation and manipulation of discourses. The authoritative narratives are that some schools are failing the students and parents for not being able to provide quality education, and that these schools are not subject to public scrutiny while spending public money. This article seeks to understand the role of such narratives in neoliberal politics and the marketisation of education which lead to governance in the form of initiatives in school quality assurance mechanism; how different actors (Education Bureau, Professional Teachers' Union and individual teachers) are involved in the process; how they negotiate this governance of education; how such governance transforms the self-perception of teachers as well as the perception of teachers by others; and how teachers interpret, appropriate and resist such discursive power.
[Copyright of Ethnography and Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17457823.2012.717201]

This new century has witnessed the rapid and frequent emergence of many new information and communications technologies (ICTs). On one hand, digitalisation enhances our economic, social and political lives. But on the other hand, it leads to certain negative social impacts. One prevalent problem is digital divide -- the gap between different social groups (namely, the 'haves' and 'have nots') in access to and in their different usages of ICTs. It has been of concern that digital divide will exacerbate existing inequalities, erode traditional community ties, socially exclude the disadvantaged and hinder the growth of the knowledge economy. All these will pose damage to the social fabric internally and international competitiveness externally. This article aims to examine the recent policies and coping strategies adopted by Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong to bridge the digital divide and their economic, social and political implications.
[Copyright of Globalisation, Societies & Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2012.710118]

This article critically reviews the national innovation systems of the four little tigers in East Asia, namely Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea, in fostering R&D and technological research. A national innovation system is characterised by the interactions between the state, industries and universities in promoting innovation. This article attempts to explore such interactions in the four societies, paying particular attention to the role of higher education. Specifically, university-industry collaboration is the main body of analysis. Drawing from comparative perspectives, this article finally maps out the national innovation systems of East Asia.
[Copyright of Globalisation, Societies & Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2012.710120]

Unpacking neoliberal policies: Interrupting the global and local production of the norms Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) has been constructed as a new site for educational, sociocultural, political, and economic investment. Coupled with such a growing and popular recognition of ECEC as a significant period of children's learning and development are critical issues concerning accountability, affordability, and accessibility to quality education and care for all. Highlighting the preschool education systems in Taiwan and Hong Kong as two examples from Asia, this paper aims to open up a discursive space for reconceptualizing the effects of neoliberal discourse and how such a system of reasoning reconstructed notions of inclusion/exclusion to limit the making of quality education and the provision of care for all.
[Copyright of Journal of Pedagogy is the property of Faculty of Education, Trnava University / Centre for Research in Education, Slovak Academy of Sciences.
Access via Directory of Open Access Journals: http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/jped]

'Soft' policy has newly emerged as a policy implementation concept in relation to governance. Non-binding in character, 'soft' policy is designed for multi-level systems of governance in which there is relative autonomy at different levels of collective decision-making. 'Soft' policy has gained attention since the adoption of curriculum reforms in various countries that involve governance and coordination among multi-level systems. In real practice, 'soft' methods or measures are used to assist implementation at various levels. The present study explores how 'soft' policy has been realised in recent large-scale curriculum reform in Hong Kong. In essence, the study explores the 'soft' measures used by the government in the curriculum change, how these 'soft' measures have brought changes to schools, and how they were received by school principals and teachers. Implications are also drawn from these real cases of 'soft' policy implementation.
[Copyright of Curriculum Journal is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09585176.2012.703378]