Choices for Whom

The Rhetoric and Reality of the Direct Subsidy Scheme in Hong Kong (1988-2006)

Dados Bibliográficos

ID9728634
AutoresThomas Kwan-Choi Tse (0000-0003-2183-1973, Chinese University of Hong Kong, autor correspondente)
Ano2008
Volume40
Fascículo5
Páginas628-652
Data de publicação2008-07-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoEducation and Urban Society (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0013-1245 • E-ISSN: 1552-3535
EditoraSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0013124508316309
OpenAlexW1968264583
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas3
Referências citadas16

School choice programs have proliferated around the world since the 1980s. Following this international trend, the Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) was launched in 1991 to revitalize Hong Kong's private school sector. DSS schools receive a similar subsidy per student to that received by aided schools, but they may charge fees and have greater control over curricula, entrance requirements, and management than their public school counterparts. Drawing on a number of documents and reports over the period 1987-2006, this article centers on the notion of choice and its related arguments. By revealing the discrepancies between rhetoric and reality, it shows how a policy purporting to appeal to choice, diversity, and competition undermines equality, community, and democracy. Under the provision of DSS, the benefits some parents and schools enjoy by being afforded more choices are often achieved at the expense of fewer choices for others

Appeal · Competition (biology · Curriculum · Democracy · Diversity (politics · Economic growth · Economics · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Rhetoric · School choice · Sociology · Subsidy · Global Educational Reforms and Inequalities · Law · Public Administration · School Choice and Performance · Socioeconomic Development in Asia