Education reform policy and early childhood teacher education in Hong Kong before and after the transfer of sovereignty to China in 1997

Built on a sociocultural framework of policy analysis and Wertsch's concept of mediation, the present study examines how early childhood teacher education has changed as a result of interactions between reform policy and the action of teacher educators. Ten teacher educators participated in the study, along with eight early childhood leaders, 15 kindergarten principals and child care centre supervisors, and one policy-maker. Data collected through interviews, focusgroup discussions, and reviews of government and organisational documents as well as press materials were analysed. The findings revealed that early childhood organisations were more active than teacher educators in the process of negotiation. Although early childhood teacher education has expanded since the handover in 1997, the voice and identity of the profession are still in an embryonic state. The study offers implications for redefining the roles of teacher educators and restructuring teacher education contexts to help facilitate the development of ideological consciousness and new understanding.