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ERIC Number: EJ1446378
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0305-7925
EISSN: EISSN-1469-3623
Admission Olympics: The Emerging Tutoring Market for Kindergarten Applicants
M. Nutsa Kobakhidze; Janisa Hui
Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, v54 n8 p1347-1364 2024
This paper presents empirical evidence on kindergarten admission preparation services in Hong Kong. Parents increasingly turn to tutoring companies for a range of services, such as social skills training, portfolio editing, mock interviews, and parental consultation. We used qualitative methods to capture the views of parents, teachers, tutors, and early childhood educators (n = 78), to contribute to the lack of literature on this topic. Our findings indicate a market-driven ecosystem of education that favours commercial interests, widens educational inequalities, and is perpetuated by factors such as privatisation of the early childhood sector and misalignment between kindergarten and primary school curricula. Parents consider choice of school, future aspirations, and perceived hierarchies among kindergartens as major considerations for seeking admission preparation services. Heightened admission competition is also present in pre-nurseries and playgroups, calling for increased attention to be paid to the level of competition imposed among children.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Hong Kong
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A