Language Policy in British Colonial Education

Evidence from Nineteenth‐Century Hong Kong

Bibliographic Data

ID10106331
AuthorsStephen Evans (0000-0001-5626-7079, corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume38
Issue3
Pages293-312
Publication date2006-11-30
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Educational Administration & History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0620 • E-ISSN: 1478-7431
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00220620600984214
OpenAlexW1986342666
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited1

This article examines the evolution of language-in-education policy in Hong Kong during the first six decades of British rule (1842-1902). In particular, it analyses the changing roles and status of the English and Chinese languages during this formative period in the development of the colony's education system. The textual and statistical data presented in the article provide a corrective to the claim that the British imposed English on their colonial subjects and in the process rode roughshod over the indigenous languages. The evidence suggests that Hong Kong's education system provided opportunities for native students to attend purely Chinese schools, purely English schools or mixed-medium schools. Although the British apparently attached more importance to English teaching, they were generally at pains to emphasise that English should not be studied at the expense of Chinese. The findings indicate that language policy (be it Chinese or English in orientation) was always tied in some way to Britain's political and economic interests in the region. [Copyright of Journal of Educational Administration and History is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00220620600984214]

Colonial period · Colonial rule · Colonialism · Formative assessment · Indigenous · Medium of instruction · Pedagogy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · History · Law · Multilingual Education and Policy

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub