ERIC Number: EJ814695
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Dec
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-0620
EISSN: N/A
Language Policy in British Colonial Education: Evidence from Nineteenth-Century Hong Kong
Evans, Stephen
Journal of Educational Administration and History, v38 n3 p293-312 Dec 2006
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. (Contains 1 table, 2 figures, and 51 notes.)
Descriptors: Language Planning, Statistical Data, Foreign Countries, Foreign Policy, English Instruction, English (Second Language), Second Language Instruction, Second Language Learning, Second Languages, Language of Instruction, Language Attitudes, Political Power, Economic Factors, Native Language Instruction, Educational History, Educational Administration
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Hong Kong
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A