Asia's High Performing Education Systems

The Case of Hong Kong

Colin Marsh, John Chi-Kin Lee

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781135048747
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Curricula

Education officials, specialist leaders and teachers have all been involved in different ways to bring about school reform in Hong Kong. This book is a very current and relevant analysis of this reform, highlighting the way in which agencies have cooperated in bringing about change over the last several decades. Through a process of wide-ranging decision-making, collaboration and consensus among key bodies and agencies of change, some important developments have occurred. The reforms collectively have had, and are continuing to have, a major impact upon schooling in Hong Kong.

This volume represents a range of authors and specialists involved in a number of different reforms, covering themes such as historical policy contexts, new curriculum approaches, changing pedagogies, school leadership, implementation and change, and assessment and evaluation. This is a very topical book which provides a probing analysis of how an Asian education system has been able to reach and maintain a very high performing level.

1 Asia’s High-Performing Education System

The Case Of Hong Kong

Colin Marsh and John Chi-Kin Lee

INTRODUCTION

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) became part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1997 when Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to the Chinese sovereignty. At the end of 2011, it had a population around 7.15 million (Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong SAR Government, 2013, p.4) in an area of about 1,104 km² (‘Hong Kong’, n.d., ‘Geography and Climate’, para. 1). In the 2011–2012 financial year, the approved estimate for recurrent government expenditure on education was HK$54.5 billion (about US$ 7.03 billion), accounting for about 22.5% of all recurrent government expenditure, while the total estimate for government expenditure on education made up about 18.2% of total government expenditure (Information Services Department, Hong Kong SAR, 2012c, p.150). As regards the number of educational institutions from the pre-primary, primary to secondary levels, there were 861 local and 96 non-local kindergartens; 455 local, government and aided primary schools; 394 local, government and aided secondary schools; 73 other local primary schools (e.g., Direct Subsidy Scheme and private schools); 96 other local secondary schools (e.g., Direct Subsidy Scheme and private schools); 61 local and international special schools; 41 international primary schools; and 29 international secondary schools in 2012 (Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong SAR Government, 2013, pp.341, 359). In terms of student enrolment in 2012, there were 164,764 kindergarten students; 317,442 primary school students; 418,787 secondary school students; and 8,021 students enrolling in schools of special education and special classes in ordinary schools (Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong SAR Government, 2013, pp.341, 359). For the number of teachers in the teaching profession in 2012, there were an overall 11,817 kindergarten teachers comprising 3,907 trained and 362 untrained kindergarten teachers with university graduate or equivalent qualification, as well as 7,328 trained and 220 untrained teachers, respectively, who were non-university graduates. There were 22,173 primary day school teachers, which included 20,221 trained and 777 untrained teachers with university graduate or equivalent qualification, as well as 1,053 trained and 122 untrained teachers, respectively, who were non-university graduates. There were 29,981 secondary day school teachers, which included 27,968 trained and 1,456 untrained teachers with university graduate or equivalent qualification, as well as 488 trained and 69 untrained teachers, respectively, who were non-university graduates (Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong SAR Government, 2013, p.349). As regards pupil-teacher ratio in 2012, kindergarten was 9.3, while the overall ratio for primary day school and secondary day school was 14.4 and 14.2, respectively (Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong SAR Government, 2013, p.351).

The Education Commission (EC) has its terms of references for advising the government via the secretary for education, on “the overall education objectives and policies; and the priorities for implementation of its recommendations having regard to resources available” (EC, n.d.[b], para. 1). In the EC, there are the chairman and the permanent secretary for education, as well the vice-chairman, 11 non-official members, the secretary and eight ex officio members (EC, n.d.[a]).

In 2000, the EC announced the education blueprint for the education system in Hong Kong in the 21st century. In the foreword of the document, Learning for Life Learning through Life: Reform Proposals for the Education System in Hong Kong, Mr. Antony K.C. Leung, the then chairman of the EC, remarked:

Learning is the key to one’s future, and Education is the gateway to our society’s tomorrow & ‘Students’ are the focal point of the entire reform, ‘life-long learning’ and ‘all round development’ the spirit. At the basic education level, the goal is to ensure that every student attain the basic competencies, while those with greater potentials be allowed to further excel. At the senior secondary and post-secondary level, a diversified and multi-channel education system will be introduced to provide more opportunities and choices. (EC, 2000, p.i)

The overall aims of education for the 21st century are stated as follows (EC, 2000, p.30):

To enable every person to attain all-round development in the domains of ethics, intellect, physique, social skills and aesthetics according to his/her own attributes so that he/she is capable of lifelong learning, critical and exploratory thinking, innovating and adapting to change; filled with self-confidence and a team spirit; willing to put forward continuing effort for the prosperity, progress, freedom and democracy of their society, and contribute to the future well-being of the nation and the world at large.

In addition, the priorities are to enable Hong Kong students to enjoy learning, enhance their effectiveness in communication and develop their creativity and sense of commitment. As regards the vision of the education reform, it is hoped that a lifelong learning society will be built, the overall quality of students will be raised, a diverse school system will be constructed, an inspiring learning environment will be created, the importance of moral education will be acknowledged and an education system that is rich in tradition but cosmopolitan and culturally diverse will be developed (EC, 2000, p.35). In addition, the principles of “student-focused”, “noloser”, “quality”, “life-wide learning” and “society-wide mobilisation” (EC, 2000, p.36) were adopted.

The Curriculum Development Council (CDC) (2001) announced the curriculum reform document Learning to Learn: Lifelong Learning and Whole-Person Development, which proposed a ten-year plan, with 2001–2002 to 2005–2006 as the short-term phase, and 2006–2007 to 2010–2011 as the medium-term phase. It was suggested: “By 2006, schools will be ready to use their professional autonomy to strike a balance between the recommendations of the CDC’s new curriculum guides and school-based curriculum development [SBCD], in matters such as choice of options, contents, flexible use of time and life-wide learning opportunities”. And “by 2011, we hope that our students will possess life-long learning qualities such as resourcefulness, resilience, motivation, collaboration, critical mindedness and creativity” (p.13).

For many years, the education system in Hong Kong followed the British system, exemplified by the 6–5-2–3: six years of primary school (primary 1–primary 6), five years of secondary schools (secondary 1–5, leading to a certificate examination), two years of pre-university or sixth form study (secondary 6–7, leading to an advanced level examination) and three years of normative university study. Recently, the education system for secondary and higher education became a 334 academic structure consisting of three years of junior secondary, three years of senior secondary and a four-year normative undergraduate degree.

In 2005, the Education and Manpower Bureau (now the Education Bureau [EDB]) issued the document The New Academic Structure for Senior Secondary Education and Higher Education: Action Plan for Investing in the Future of Hong Kong. From the 2008–2009 school year, the government launched a 12-year free education comprising nine years of basic education and three years of senior secondary education for students in public sector schools. Starting in 2009, the New Senior Secondary (NSS) curriculum, comprising four core subjects (Chinese Language, English Language, Mathematics and Liberal Studies) and a flexible, coherent and diversified curriculum, was implemented for secondary 4 to secondary 6 students who sit for the only one public examination leading to the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) at secondary 6.

There have been systematic arrangements for the continuing professional development (CPD) of principals and teachers since the late 1990s. In 2003, the Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications (ACTEQ) (2003) proposed a generic teacher competencies framework with four domains: teaching and learning; student development; school development; and professional relationships and services. In addition, it was suggested that “all teachers, irrespective of their rank and capacity, should engage in CPD activities of not less than 150 hours in a three-year cycle” and “time spent on the 3 school-organised staff development days will be fully recognized and counted towards the CPD requirement” (ACTEQ, 2003, p.13). The ACTEQ has been renamed the Committee on Professional Development of Teachers and Principals (COTAP), effective 1 June 2013, to broaden its mission of promoting the professional development of teachers and principals. The new COTAP may carry out educational research and professional development programmes for both teachers and principals (ACTEQ, n.d.).

Another unique feature of the education system is that many schools in Hong Kong are supported by School Sponsoring Bodies (SSBs). In 2005, the government implemented the school-based management (SBM) governance framework and with the amendment of the Education Ordinance required the SSBs of an aided school to submit a draft incorporated management committee (IMC) constitution before 1 July 2011 so that an IMC could be established to manage the school. An IMC involves SSB managers, the principal (an ex officio manager), elected teacher manager(s), elected parent manager(s), alumni manager(s)and independent manager(s) (EDB, School Management Section, 2010b).

ASIA’S HIGH-PERFORMING EDUCATION
SYSTEM: THE CASE OF HONG KONG

Over the last decade, there has been a prevailing trend of international comparison and benchmarking of educational systems. Comparative tests, such as Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) (Tse, 2012); Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) (Leung, 2012); and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) display a growing emphasis on benchmarking the performance of different systems. Taking the PIRLS, for example, the overall mean score of Hong Kong grade 4 students’ reading performance was 564 (ranked second) in 2006 and 571 (ranked first) in 2011. The average score for informational reading was 568 (ranked first) in 2006 and 578 (ranked first) in 2011. The average score for literary reading was 557 (ranked fourth) in 2006 and 565 (ranked fourth) in 2011 (Information Services Department, Hong Kong SAR, 2012a).

In TIMSS, Hong Kong students also demonstrated remarkable performance. Table 1.1 shows Hong Kong students’ performance in TIMSS 2007 and 2011 (Information Services Department, Hong Kong SAR, 2012b).

Table 1.1 Hong Kong Students’ Performance in TIMSS 2007 and 2011

	TIMSS 2007	TIMSS 2011
Grade 4 Mathematics	607 (ranked 1st)	602 (ranked 3rd)
Grade 8 Mathematics	572 (ranked 4th)	586 (ranked 4th)
Grade 4 Science	554 (ranked 3rd)	535 (ranked 9th)
Grade 8 Science	530 (ranked ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Dedication
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• List of Appendices
• Series Editor’s Note
• 1 Asia’s High-Performing Education System: The Case of Hong Kong
• Part I Policy Context
• Part II Curriculum for New Times
• Part III Changing Classrooms
• Part IV School Leadership
• Part V Curriculum Change and Implementation
• Part VI Assessment
• Part VII Quality Assurance and School Evaluation
• Contributors
• Index