Analyzing complex policy change in Hong Kong: What role for critical discourse analysis?

The Hong Kong government recently reformed pre-primary education with the introduction of a voucher scheme. This paper seeks to use Fairclough’s model of critical discourse analysis to explore a key policy text and seeks to assess to what extent such an analytical framework can help develop a better understanding of the policy. It suggests that critical discourse analysis can provide a useful analytical tool for analysing the complexities of policy. In particular it surfaces key tensions within policy, such as those between commitments to equity and efficiency, that may have a significant impact on policy implementation. The paper adds to the understanding of how a range of data analysis methods can help develop a more sophisticated understanding of policy development.