Technology per se has been seen as a catalyst for reform and change in many schools. This article reviews Hong Kong school practices and government policies and strategies and proposes that technology can act more as a lever than a catalyst for change if supported by broader changes in the education system. The article concludes that certain factors can facilitate this change.
[Copyright of International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology is the property of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Access via Directory of Open Access Journals: http://ijedict.dec.uwi.edu//index.php]

This paper critically analyses how the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region has tackled the issue of preschool quality over the past 30 years. Although early childhood education is not part of the publicly funded education system, there is almost universal preschool attendance among three to six year olds. The government regulates, monitors and evaluates early childhood services, and has taken numerous steps to improve the quality of early childhood provision. However, a paradox lurks within government policy. On one hand, the facility-focused and provider-focused regulatory standards for the operation of preschools have been faulted for being too lax; but, on the other hand, policies and incentives have clearly improved the quality of preschool education. These include measures to support the upgrading of serving kindergarten teachers and an emphasis on quality assurance. The implementation of enabling policies is essential to ensure that all children have access to high-quality early education and care.
[Copyright of Early Child Development and Care is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03004430601078644]

This paper analyses, from a historical perspective, the implementation of civic education in Hong Kong secondary music education in the 1980s and 1990s. It attempts to explore the struggles between political ideology and civic education in the Hong Kong music education system from a non-musical perspective. The paper argues that the promotion of civic education in Hong Kong music education has been seen as a significant indicator for pursuing smooth social transitions. The singing of the national anthem of the People's Republic of China (PRC) is seen as a vehicle for cultivating political and civic values in school. Nevertheless, the findings of a questionnaire-survey on the perception of secondary music teachers show that the level of willingness with which they teach the PRC's anthem is not consistent with their comprehension of their national or communal commitment.
[Copyright of Music Education Research is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1461380990010205]

This paper examines the links between linguistic capital, cultural capital, linguistic imperialism and the use of English as the medium of instruction (MOI) in Hong Kong. It suggests that the notion of linguistic imperialism in Hong Kong, whilst useful for analysing practices in the early days of the colonial period, is superseded by the notion of linguistic capital, though neither presents a complete analysis of the MOI issue in Hong Kong. The paper suggests that a new version of linguistic imperialism in Hong Kong may be evidenced in examining the rise of Chinese-medium education and the spread of Putonghua in Hong Kong schools.
[Copyright of Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01434630008666418]

After World War II the Singapore government, wishing to blend the island's several ethnic communities into a national whole, endeavored to replace Chinese schools, which imparted students with cultural-linguistic traits sharply different from those promoted in other schools. This policy, nevertheless, elicited tough resistance from Singapore's ethnic Chinese population. The government, finally, was forced to recognize Chinese schools as a discrete and integral section within the educational system. This approach reduced the tension between the government and the Chinese masses. However, it allowed Chinese schools continue to produce social fragmentation and slowed state formation. In contrast, although the government of Hong Kong had never aimed to replace Chinese schools, many of its policies unintentionally Sinicized non-Chinese schools and blurred the cultural distinctiveness of Chinese institutions; this, consequently, prevented Chinese schools from becoming a catalyst of social disintegration and helped consolidate state domination. This study suggests the connection between state formation and the educational system is reciprocal and interactive. It also urges scholars to pay more attention to the unintended consequences of state intervention when examining state formation and education.
[Copyright of International Studies in Sociology of Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09620210701433761]

What international framework, if any, is higher education subject to in terms of its work, not in the sense of validating its programmes or safeguarding its academic freedom, but in terms of its funding, its operating environment and its stakeholders? Is it viewed as a business in some sense? Is it subject to trade rules and negotiations? All of these questions have, to some extent, been raised in the World Trade Organisation's 'Doha Round' of negotiations. Has agreement been reached or has the overall operating context of economies submerged higher education, in particular agriculture? This article analyses the brief history of the Doha Round and the possible categorization of higher education within a commercial framework. Conclusions are reached at the end.
[Copyright of Education and the Law is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09539960601036235]

The Education Department of Hong Kong issued the Medium of Instruction Guidance for Secondary Schools in October 1997. The policy stipulates that the use of Chinese as the medium of instruction in all but English language and literature subjects in secondary schools will be enforced with effect from September 1998. This signals a change in language policy in post-1997 Hong Kong, from bilingual to monolingual education. Traditionally English medium instruction has been more popular than Chinese medium instruction in Hong Kong secondary schools. Despite the Hong Kong government's recent efforts to promote Chinese medium education, the number of Chinese-medium schools was small before the handover. This is a documentary study investigating changes in Hong Kong government's medium of instruction policy amid political, economic and sociolinguistic changes in the last three decades. The study also explores some possible impact of the Chinese medium instruction policy proposed in the wake of change of sovereignty on English language learning. I will critique this new policy and make recommendations pertaining to the direction of Hong Kong's language education. The theoretical underpinning of the study is bilingualism and bilingual education. The model I propose will provide new insights for language teachers, language planners and policy makers.
[Copyright of International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13670059908667684]

The paper compares the educational policy changes during the postcolonial transition in Singapore (in the 1960s) and Hong Kong (1990s). The comparison includes different areas such as the language of instruction and curriculum variations.