Policy of quality assurance in Hong Kong preschools

Abstract

This article discusses the sources, processes and impact of the quality assurance policy implemented in Hong Kong preschools. Regarded as a sort of policy alignment between the subsystems of pre‐primary, primary and secondary education, the introduction of a quality assurance policy has been directly and indirectly transforming the settlements in the preschool context. The first section of this article examines the main shift in policy direction shaped by the global movement of supranational organizations and the local agenda of educational reform after 1997. The historical review of the changing parameters in the preschool field is provided in the second section as a backdrop for later discussion. The third section analyses how the local governance of education is subtly transforming the settlements in the preschool field. The fourth section discusses how the quality assurance policy is mediated with school‐level realities. It is argued that the top‐down approach adopted by policy‐makers should be critically re‐examined in the policy process in order to ensure the quality of preschool education.

Keywords:

• Early childhood education
• Education reform
• Hong Kong
• Performance indicators
• Quality assurance
• Settlement

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Professor Roger Dale and Professor Susan Robertson for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article.

Notes

1. The term ‘preschool’ refers to both kindergartens and childcare centres, including crèches, residential centres and day nurseries, which cater for various needs. Kindergartens provide services for children from three to six years, while day nurseries provide daycare services for children from two to six years whose parents are both working. Crèches and residential centres serve children who lack normal family care and provide either permanent family services or residential care.