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Across cultures and eras, children have engaged in play as part of the process of growing and maturing into adulthood. Play has been recognized as an effective form of pedagogy to promote learning in the early years. However, beliefs about what play is and how it should be practiced vary across Hong Kong and in other countries. Because Chinese culture places a heavy emphasis on academic achievement, a play-based curriculum has not been widely implemented in the region. Through classroom observations and interviews with key stakeholders in early childhood education, namely parents, teachers, and principals, this study reveals the complexity of views on this matter and uncovers the root cause of the difficulties in supporting play in the Hong Kong kindergartens. These findings may help promote the play-based curriculum in Hong Kong and other countries where play is in crisis.

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In this study, we used a mixed-methods research design to investigate the extra curricular participation of kindergarten-aged Hong Kong children, based on reports provided by 1260 parents, and parents’ perceptions of their children’s extra curricular participation, through nine individual interviews. The results of the survey indicated that kindergarten-aged Hong Kong children are regularly and extensively involved in extra curricular activities, and that children with more educated parents and children from families with higher incomes participate in more extra curricular activities. The interview responses revealed that, in general, the parents believe that extra curricular participation provides their children with opportunities for positive development that are beyond the scope of the training provided by kindergartens. We discuss the implications of these findings for parent education and Hong Kong’s policy of subsidizing kindergarten education.

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