Introduction

The public–private partnership in education has rapidly increased across countries. One common form this partnership has taken is outsourcing education. However, the public is unaware of outsourced education and of the issues of quality and equity. This introductory chapter opens the book by briefly mentioning this global phenomenon, then zooms into Hong Kong, which is the main context of this book. English being the subject in which the partnership is mostly occurring, its status and historical importance in Hong Kong is highlighted. Then the three types of empirical studies—document research, case study and survey study—which informed this book are introduced. Finally, an overview of the book guides readers into the book. In short, the reader will vicariously experience the widely practiced but largely unnoticed educational outsourcing, its quality and equity concerns, so they can join the collective effort to make it work for all students.