In the past decade, there have been numerous researches on motivation, which is generally agreed to be the key to student learning. Concepts like intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, students’ perception of their own competence and sense of control over their study, mastery-oriented goal or performance goal theories are much explored. These researches have generated theoretical support and arguments for educational reforms taking place in the 1990s in the educational scene in Hong Kong. However, the outcome of the research findings, which is vital to successful teaching and implementation of new education policy, is always given only fragmented and superficial treatment in most teacher training courses. Consequently, teachers in Hong Kong cannot see why they are forced into adopting new practices different from traditional methods, creating a huge gap between beliefs and actual practices. This paper argues that the rich knowledge base on motivation has already had its impact in shaping educational reforms in Hong Kong but teachers and educational practitioners are not ready to cope with the changes mainly because of the lack of coherent effort to organize this important body of knowledge into programs that help teachers see the linkage between old and new educational practices.

Numerous educational change and school reforms have been conducted to pursue educational effectiveness and educational quality in different parts of the world. Unfortunately, most of the past educational reforms with focus on fragmentary improvement and remedial treatment are not sufficient to bring holistic school development and long term effectiveness, and inevitably many of them have experienced serious frustration if not failure. This paper aims to propose a new direction including ten important tendencies for ongoing and future educational reform and school reengineering in Hong Kong and international contexts. The tendencies are: (1) Towards multiple school functions from simplistic purposes; (2) Towards school autonomy and self-initiative through school-based management; (3) Towards school healthy functioning through a knowledge-based profile; (4) Towards school continuous learning and development through strategic management; (5) Towards human initiative through multi-level self management in school; (6) Towards school multiple effectiveness through a dynamic process; (7) Towards holistic education in school through layer management; (8) Towards synergy and effectiveness through congruence in school; (9) Towards total home-school collaboration and community support for resources, ideas, and legitimacy; (10) Towards school driving force through transformational leadership. The educational reforms in this new direction can support schools to facilitate continuous development of students and staff, increase support of parents and community, improve technology in education and management, and pursue multiple functions more effectively at different levels of our society. Hopefully, all those concerned particularly our students and teachers can benefit from the coming educational reforms.