The development of university-level distance education in the context of Hong Kong's transition from a British colony to a special administrative region of China

China resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong on I July, 1997. After being a British colony for more than 150 years, Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of China following the "one country, two systems" policy. This dissertation is concerned with the examination of the market changes in Hong Kong's university distance education in the transition period. Information about respondents' demographics, evaluation and intention to pursue further study through distance education programmes was collected by sending questionnaires to two types of subject: current students using distance education programmes and potential adult students in Hong Kong. A total of five groups were identified as representing the first type of subject: students of the Henley Management College/Brunel University (UK) - MBA programme, the Curtin University of Technology - Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Accounting programme (Australia), and the Open University of Hong Kong - Bachelor of Business Administration and MBA programmes. The second type of subject comprised Hong Kong adults who were interested in studying via distance education programmes. One group of subjects were visitors to the Hong Kong Education Expo 1996, and they were classified as potential students who wished to study in distance education programmes in Hong Kong. All the data were processed using the Statistical Package for Social Science software programme. The research questions were tackled by the resultant data and analysis. The important findings obtained from the subjects are: a) The need for higher-degree-level programmes is very great among Hong Kong's distance learners. The decision to undertake further study to distance Master degree level after completing a distance Bachelor degree aptly demonstrates this situation. Consideration should, therefore, be given to developing distance Master degree programmes for students currently studying distance Bachelor degree programmes, and distance Doctorate degree programmes for students currently studying distance Master degree programmes. The majority of distance students, particularly at the higher-degree-level, tend to be in the higher-income bracket. b) Hong Kong adults who are interested in distance education programmes come from different occupation segments. Their choice of further study varies according to their needs and occupations. Consideration should be given to repositioning the current distance education programmes, particularly at Bachelor's degree or Diploma level. In addition, a segment comprising housewives has been identified as potential students for Bachelor's degree programmes by this study. In the further discussion about Hong Kong during the transition period, Fägerlind and Saha's Dialectical Model is used to examine the development of Hong Kong's higher education system with three important dimensions: political, economic and social forces. Finally, this analysis provides three possible alternatives of development for the integration of Hong Kong's and China's higher education systems in the post-transition period: "One Country, One System", "One Country, Two Systems", and "One Country, Many Systems"

Hong Kong higher education in transition: The academic community\u27s perception at the time of 1997 retrocession

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the perceptions of selected faculty and academic administrators of the 1997 retrocession of Hong Kong to China with respect to the dual challenge of Hong Kong higher education assisting with the modernization of socialist Mainland China while maintaining its function supporting the capitalist system in Hong Kong. Twenty-five selected faculty and academic administrators in two representative universities of Hong Kong were interviewed at the eve of the retrocession. Four related themes were investigated in the interviews: the implications of “one country, two systems,” the ability of the Hong Kong higher education system to reposition itself in its new context, the perceived impact of the retrocession on the work of faculty and academic administrators in higher education, and the respondents\u27 advice to the government of the Special Administrative Region. Interviewees responded that “one country, two systems” could result in the modernization of Mainland Chinese society while preserving Hong Kong\u27s historic autonomy. Hong Kong higher education experienced a rapid expansion within the fourteen year transitional period (1984–97). Two major tasks were identified for the time following the retrocession: first, redefine the mission of each institution to emphasize different functions, and second, with increased emphasis on research during the transition period, insure a continued balanced emphasis on quality teaching. In serving the goal of China\u27s modernization, Hong Kong academics thought themselves to be in a strong position to assist in the areas of business, social sciences, natural sciences, and technology. Hong Kong academics could foresee working together with their counterparts on the Mainland to strengthen a modern research enterprise and a civil culture with all the proven values from the East and West. They believe that the preservation of the academic freedom in Hong Kong\u27s universities was vital for the transformation of the two societies

Bilingual preschool education: a comparative study between Hong Kong and Shanghai

Global and local factors have recently pushed English-Chinese bilingualism to the forefront of early childhood education in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Signaling new sociolinguístic alignments, each city is pursuing language policies according to its own political and economic imperatives. Using Bronfenbrenner’s (1977) ecological system's theory as a framework for analysis, this research study examines the contextual layers that shape the linguistic environments of the two cities, focusing on the macrosystem’s forces of globalization, the exosystem’s social networks, the mesosystem's institutions and human players, the microsystem's schools and homes, and the chronosystem’s biology, acknowledging all factors that affect child development. In the hope of providing better strategies and interventions for developing second language learning, it looks at the stakeholders' attitudes towards, beliefs about, and expectations of English, as well as at parental involvement in children’s English education, perceptions about NETs (native English-speaking teachers), and curriculum implementation. Quantitative and qualitative data collected (from four schools in each city and a total of 438 respondents) through questionnaires, interviews and archival documents are then triangulated to identify differences and similarities between the two cities. The results show that English is universally promoted for its economic benefits, both to individuals and society. The form of preschool bilingualism advocated by the governments of Hong Kong and Shanghai, however, is unduly influenced by political and nationalist considerations. This has lead in Shanghai to conceptualizations of bilingualism that allow only for the acquisition of English without its attendant cultural and philosophical dimensions. In Hong Kong, the government's attempt to arbitrarily reduce the size of English-medium education, has lead, due to blowback, to extremely high English literacy expectations for preschoolers, delivered through overly ambitious programmes. In both cities, attempts to safeguard the use of the mother tongue as the primary medium of Instruction stand in the way of early bilingual development through immersion or partial immersion. In addition, the stakeholders' disparate expectations about when, how and why English at preschool is important have given rise to conflicts and dilemmas that distort the two cities' cultures of learning and the extent and form of their education reforms. The recommendations made seek to create for bilingual preschool education, sufficient space, given the current political, social, and economic conditions in both cities, to allow educators to pursue it with the most effective pedagogies

The evolution of citizenship education in nation-building in Singapore and Hong Kong

Citizenship Education is a highly political agenda for politicians and governments, especially those of the emerging nations studied in transitology. Political circumstances that surround the birth of ล nation are inextricably tied up with the unique economic, social and even globalisation contexts that shape the formation of that particular nation. Citizenship education mirrors the political climate of such circumstances. A ruling government's policies and ideologies are often transmitted to the masses through education in the form of citizenship education in its evolving forms that take after the political orientations of the nation. A historical-comparative study of Singapore and Hong Kong is the focus of the thesis and a combined case in point. This historical-comparative approach presents a chronological and qualitative analysis of Singapore and Hong Kong that links the past to the present, and points to future direction on how citizenship education has transformed in its focus, dimensions, content, message and values. Theories of nationalism, nation-state and national identity provide a basis for the understanding of the political, economic and social factors that impact nation- building and the subsequent evolvement of Civic and Moral Education in Singapore and Hong Kong after independence. In an analysis of the content-domain of citizenship education, Singapore’s curriculum is shown to reflect the ruling party's ideologies infused through National Education, where the Singapore story is sacrosanct and has to be mastered by all students so that the continual survival instinct is preserved at ill times. Hong Kong covers more breadth with a curriculum that includes the history of China that can be taught critically and a Chinese cultural heritage element that is infused into all the Key Learning subjects. The Life Event Approach is also more practical and relevant to the students' appreciation of the more individual-growth values learnt. Singapore is identified as an Objective/Globalised nation-state with a parallel Objective/Globalised National Identity that has a predominantly strong political leadership and economic priority in its nation-building foundation. It recognizes the need to rise up to the global challenges ahead. Hong Kong has a combination of Objective/Subjective/Globalised region-state with a parallel Objective/Subjective/Globalised National Identity with China due to its cultural heritage component inherited from China and also the need to meet global challenges. The thesis demonstrates how education can be used as a channel to serve the ideologies of the politicians who have a direct stake in shaping the focus of the political content in citizenship education in building national identity. It also illustrates how the respective political circumstances, economic reasons, social contexts and globalisation challenges drive the evolvement of the citizenship education in both Singapore and Hong Kong

EXPLORING EDUCATIONAL PATHS: UNVEILING CONTRASTS BETWEEN INDONESIA’S CURRICULUM AND HONG KONG’S CURRICULUM

This study aims to conduct a comparative analysis of the development of Indonesia's curriculum and Hong Kong's curriculum, with a focus on identifying the underlying philosophical values and influences embedded in both educational systems. The research also explores the implications of these curricula on various stakeholders involved in their development and implementation. To achieve these objectives, a synthesis research approach was employed, analyzing a combination of empirical and conceptual papers to draw robust conclusions. The study yielded four key findings that shed light on public opinions, philosophy, goals, and implications of the curricula. Firstly, both the Indonesian curriculum and the Hong Kong curriculum received predominantly positive responses from stakeholders, with minor complaints reported through official surveys. Secondly, the philosophical foundation of the Indonesian curriculum centers around social justice, while the Hong Kong curriculum places a strong emphasis on diversity and inclusivity. Furthermore, both curricula have implicit purposes that can be inferred from the range of topics covered in the respective curriculum guidebooks. Finally, the implementation of these curricula has led stakeholders in each country to issue policies aimed at consolidating their influence. In Hongkong, the promotion of the Chinese-based course serves to strengthen China's power in the field of English education. Conversely, in Indonesia, efforts have been made to preserve the Indonesian language by removing the English subject at the primary level and reducing the time allocation for English in secondary education. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the development and influences of curricula in Indonesia and Hong Kong, providing valuable insights for policymakers, educators, and researchers

Language of the Future, Language of the PRC –Representations of Putonghua in South China Morning Post

As the national language of the PRC, the world's growing economic power and the sovereign of Hong Kong, Putonghua is a language with multiple facets of relevance for the current Special Administrative Region. This paper seeks to explore and explain different representations of Putonghua in Hong Kong's leading English-language newspaper South China Morning Post in articles published between January 2012 and February 2013. The representations are studied in the context of the different discourses in which they appear, some of which feature language(s) as a central theme and some more marginally. An overview is first presented of the scholarly research on the most important developments in Hong Kong's complex language scene from the beginnings of the colony until present day, with the aim of detecting developments and attitudes with potential relevance or parallels to the context of Putonghua today. The paper then reflects on the media and its role in producing and perpetuating discourses in the society, before turning to more practical considerations on Hong Kong's English and Chinese language media and the role of South China Morning Post in it. The methods used in analysing the discourses are those of discourse analysis, with textual analysis as its starting point, in which close attention is paid to linguistic forms as the concrete representations of meanings in a text. Particularly the immediate contexts of the appearances of the word “Putonghua” in the articles were studied carefully to detect vocabulary, grammar and semantical choices as signs of different discourses, potentially also revealing fundamental underlying assumptions and other “hidden meanings” in the text. Some of the most distinctive discourses in which different representations of Putonghua appeared were the Instrumental value for the individual (in which Putonghua was represented as a form of social capital); Othering of the mainlanders (in which Putonghua served as a concrete marker of distinction); Belonging to China (Putonghua as a symbol of unity); and Cultural distinctiveness of Hong Kong (Putonghua as a threat to Hong Kong's history and culture, as embodied in Cantonese). Some of these discourses were more prominent than others, and for example the discourse of Belonging to China was relatively rarely enacted in Hongkongers' voices. In general, the findings were not surprising in the light of the history, but showed a fair degree of consistency with what has been written earlier about the languages and attitudes towards them in Hong Kong. It has often been noted that Putonghua and its relation with Cantonese is a matter linked with the social identity of the colony and its citizens. While it appeared that there were no strict taboos in the representations of Putonghua in the societal context, the possibility of self-censorship cannot be ruled out as a factor toning down political discourses in the representations.Siirretty Doriast

A study of an integrated approach for strategy formulation and performance measurement in manufacturing enterprises.

Performance measurement quantifies the efficiency and effectiveness of action that helps organisations translate their strategies into results and fixes accountability to improve performance. This research identifies two problem statements: First, can integrating strategy formulation with measurement initiatives safeguard the performance goals in manufacturing enterprises? And second, how can manufacturing enterprises derive an integrated approach that meet their requirements and needs for strategy formulation (SF) and performance measurement (PM) system implementation? This work proposes an integrated paradigm that aligns the strategy-related performance measures to attain performance improvement in manufacturing enterprises. A two-stage empirical study was conducted, with 232 Hong Kong firms and 85 Shanghai firms participating in the study. The first stage surveys identified the common success factors, problem areas and strategy choices, and examined the relationship amongst corporate, marketing, technology and operational strengths and the `reactive/proactive' strategy choices. The subsequent personal interviews in Hong Kong complemented the survey findings by examining the impact of SF/PM efforts in manufacturing enterprises. There were two series of interviews. The first series acquired the managerial views on the decision criteria on the integration of strategy formulation and performance measures, with the aid of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) methodology. The second interview series derived several design elements and process considerations for aligning strategy formulation with performance measures. The empirical study used in this research provided important inputs and served as a foundation for development of a SF/PM Integration (SPI) model. In an attempt to integrate strategy formulation and performance measurement, the SPI model adopts the guiding principles embodied with the Business Excellence Models and stresses the results-oriented assessments on five categories of SF/PM criteria, namely leadership and constancy of purpose, management by process, people development, continuous improvement, and results orientation. Unlike that of the MBNQA and EQA, the point values for criteria and sub-elements of SPI model were generated collectively from the perspectives of industry practitioners in the manufacturing sectors. These were determined using the normalised weights obtained from the AHP analysis of empirical interview findings. They are taken together to calculate the overall performance index for an organisation. The process framework comprises five stages starting from strategy formulation to implementation and evaluation of an integrated performance measurement system. It encapsulates the requirements, critical processes and activities of strategy formulation and performance measures into the way they are being managed in organisations. The SPI model helps manufacturing enterprises to build a self-assessment platform for amalgamating strategies, plans and actions which can enable performance improvement. It can supplement any Business Excellence Models, and serves three important purposes. Firstly, it is a working tool for integrating SF and PM initiatives and guiding the implementation of performance measurement system in manufacturing enterprises. Secondly, using the model can help improve the effectiveness of management practices in relation to performance measures and self-assessment; and thirdly, using the model can facilitate information sharing of best practices within an organisation and benchmark performance against competitors and other organisations. Results of a post-evaluation survey affirmed that the model and processes could encourage organisational learning and provide a practical means for manufacturing enterprises to devise effective self-assessment and performance improvement. The novel contributions of the research are to identify the key SF/PM attributes, develop the self-assessment scoring method and the process framework accompanying the SPI model. Manufacturing enterprises must evolve a holistic performance measurement system matching their corporate mission, objectives and strategies. The SPI model provides them with a systems approach for building and integrating the capabilities of SF and PM to attain performance improvement goals, irrespective of their business nature and sizes

Capacity building for transnationalisation of higher education

Purpose – Transnationalism and transnational concept are extensively researched in many social science areas; however, transnational management and transnational marketing is relatively a less explored research domain. Also, knowledge management for transnational education (TNE) marketing is not well-researched. Capacity building is an established research-stream, with a key focus on socio-economic and ecological development; however, prior research on capacity building from the context of TNE’s knowledge management and marketing is scarce. The purpose of this study is to analyse TNE marketing mix, to understand the influence of transnational stakeholders’ causal scope(s) on knowledge management in TNE to uphold their transnatioalisation processes through capacity building in TNEs’ marketing management. Design/methodology/approach – An inductive constructivist method is followed. Findings – Organisational learning from the context of transnational market and socio-economic competitive factors, based on analysing the transnational stakeholders’ causal scope(s) is imperative for proactive knowledge management capacity in TNE marketing. Following the analysis of transnational stakeholders’ causal scope(s) to learn about the cause and consequence of the transnational stakeholders’ relationships and interactions, an initial conceptual framework of knowledge management for TNE marketing is proposed. Practical insights from different TNE markets are developed in support of this novel knowledge management capacity building framework of TNE, and its generalisation perspectives and future research areas are discussed. Practical implications – These insights will be useful for TNE administrators to better align their knowledge management perspectives and propositions with their transnational stakeholders to underpin TNE marketing. Academics will be able to use these insights as a basis for future research. Originality/value – This study proposes a novel conceptual stakeholder-centred capacity building framework for TNE’s knowledge management to uphold TNE marketing and supports the framework, based on practical insights from three different transnational markets