Hong Kong's Early Childhood Landscape: Division, diversity, and dilemmas

There is no public preschool system in Hong Kong, yet almost all children between the ages of three and six attend some type of preschool service. Services include kindergartens, playgroups, nursery schools, and childcare centers. Within each of these types of services, there is a variety of providers, programs, and patterns of provision. Early childhood services in Hong Kong currently operate in a climate of considerable political, social, and economic change. This chapter commences with an overview of recent developments in Hong Kong’s political, social, and economic landscapes and their possible implications for early childhood services are described and some of their major causes identified. Developments likely to promote cohesion within the early childhood field are discussed. The chapter concludes with some lessons to be learned from the early childhood landscape in Hong Kong. Copyright © 2000 Peter Lang Publishing.