Analyzes curriculum-related papers in primary education published by the education departments of New South Wales, Australia, and Hong Kong. Examines and contrasts the ideological positions adopted by the two communities in their approaches to first language education. Shows that the Australian school discourse system exhibits characteristics of progressivism, utilitarianism, and reconstructionism, whereas the Chinese system in Hong Kong displays combined elements of European classical humanism and Confucianism. (Author/VWL)