Cultivating Inclusive Classrooms: Strategies for Educational Equity for Non-Chinese-Speaking Students in Hong Kong’s Kindergartens

This article explores how Hong Kong kindergartens promote inclusive early childhood education for non-Chinese-speaking children within the dynamic context of China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA). It builds upon the findings of a foundational survey of 161 kindergartens from the same research project, which revealed that while new government subsidies encouraged greater inclusion, significant challenges persisted. Specifically, our survey identified systemic barriers, including human resource shortages, a heavy reliance on kindergartens’ own efforts to overcome difficulties, and insufficient parental engagement, resulting in disparities in implementation. Building on these findings, this article moves from identifying problems to highlighting solutions. It analyzes qualitative data from 16 case reports, submitted for an award scheme on multicultural inclusion, and 10 follow-up interviews to uncover exemplary practices. Using the CARE model (capability, aspirations, resources, engagement) as an analytical framework, this study identifies key strategies that proactive kindergartens employ, such as building multicultural learning environments, forging strong home-school partnerships, and developing targeted outreach programs. The findings reveal that successful inclusion is not accidental but the result of a deliberate, holistic, and interconnected effort. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of how inclusive education policies can be effectively implemented in diverse urban contexts, offering valuable lessons for advancing educational equity and sustainable development (SDGs 4 and 10) in Hong Kong and, with local adaptation, in comparable urban contexts within the GBA and beyond.