This paper analyses how the impact of international student achievement studies and the recent economic crisis in Europe are influencing the development of educational policy transfer and borrowing, from East to West. This is contrasted with education reform movements in East Asia which have long legacies of borrowing from so-called 'progressive' discourses in the West. England and Hong Kong are used as case studies. Since 2010, England's coalition government has prioritised its determination to look to jurisdictions like Hong Kong to inspire and justify reforms that emphasise traditional didactic approaches to teaching and learning.in contrast Hong Kong's reforms have sought to implement practices related to less formal and pressured, more student-centred lifelong learning, without losing sight of strengths derived from its Confucian heritage culture. Conclusions highlight factors that underpin English interest in Hong Kong education policy, values and practice, and point to the need for further attention to be given to these multidirectional and often contradictory processes by researchers concerned with the study of policy transfer.

Since the mid-1980s, a number of East Asian societies have consistently performed well in international tests, and their education systems have emerged as models of "best practice", including Hong Kong, which has been extensively referenced by politicians and their advisers in England. In parallel, local dissatisfaction with the education system in Hong Kong has prompted major education reforms. This mismatch between the two policy communities in their perceptions of Hong Kong education is explored using documentary analysis and semistructured interviews with policymakers and other key stakeholders. We analyse the ways in which features of Hong Kong's education system are reconstructed in policymaking in England and argue that the referencing is political theatre, reminiscent of a pantomime, with stereotyped villains and heroes, narratives of good conquering evil, and comical set-pieces. However, there is a darker side to this form of comparative education that involves the manipulation of an unwitting audience.3 PISA, policymaking and political pantomime: education policy referencing between England and Hong Kong

Background: This paper analyses the role of, and approach to, policy referencing and borrowing in Hong Kong's recent reforms that culminated in the creation of its New Academic Structure and the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education. Main argument: It argues that Hong Kong has gone further than most jurisdictions not just in responding to global influences on education reform, but in taking explicit steps to internationally benchmark its curriculum and assessment, and in involving the global community at multiple levels in the process of education policy planning and implementation. Sources of evidence and method: The paper is based on the documentary analysis of policy documents in Hong Kong, and 23 interviews with key stakeholders in the policy network, including policy-makers, practitioners and community leaders. Discussion and conclusions: While policy referencing and borrowing in the Hong Kong context can, in part, be traced to a colonial legacy, the Special Administrative Region of China demonstrates a collaborative approach to education reform involving local and international engagement that may be relevant to other systems. Its approach was informed by a measured use of policy referencing that involved 'horizon scanning' of other systems' policies and practices; international benchmarking; and engaging international expertise to facilitate implementation.

No abstract

No abstract