In recent years, there has been a general outcry about the decline in the quality of school education in Hong Kong. The Education Commission has in its Report No.7 expressed its concern on the quality in school education. The Commission noticed that there are constraints of the present school system on the promotion of quality education. It recommends to inculcate a quality culture in the school system; to provide a practical framework for key players in the school system to achieve the aims of education in an effective, efficient and accountable manner; to establish a mechanism for quality assurance; and to provide incentives for performance. At the very centre of the Education Commission's recommendations is the introduction of a market culture into the Hong Kong Education System. The creation of a language of "output", "performance indicators", "valued-added" and "measurable product" has constituted the curriculum as an entity to be "delivered" and the parents and pupils as the "consumers" of educational products. These, according to Grace (1995), are discourse in Markets in Education and part of the "commodification process" that brings the market forces into education. This paper will briefly review some of the recent educational reforms in Hong Kong, and will discuss the wider issues concerning the appropriateness and impacts of the application of the market model to school education. A model of the education market place adapted from Ball (1990) will be used as a basis for analysing the recent market-oriented educational reforms in Hong Kong.

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the use of performance indicators in higher education for quality assessment and assurance in the UK, the USA, Australia, and other European countries. This is due to an increased emphasis on accountability of the higher education institutions to stake holders, and the continuing desire of all involved in higher education to improve the quality of teaching and learning. This article describes the developmental stage of an indicator system for an in-service "refresher" training course at a teacher education institution in Hong Kong. The article examines the role of performance indicators as a means of quality assurance in in-service teacher education and training at the course level. It also outlines key performance indicators and associated data collection methods for the evaluation of programme quality. In this article, it will be argued that monitoring change through in-service teacher education and training is likely to be a long process of continuous evolution or development.
[Copyright © 2000 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]

One of the principles adopted in the Review of Education System in Hong Kong is to give more room and flexibility for students to be masters of their own learning. (Education Commission, 1999). This is particularly important in teacher education programmes which aim to prepare student teachers who, in turn, will influence the learning approach of their students. Problem Based Learning (PBL) is generally a student centered learning approach in which students are encouraged to participate in the learning process. Two groups of students, one group studying the Technical Teacher Certificate Course and the other on Certificate of Education Course, form the subjects of this research project. A real contextual problem was posed to the students and the lecturers act as facilitators during the whole learning process. Students feedback and their attitudes were solicited after the first cycle of implementing PBL. The first week of the PBL process was most crucial and it is important that students fully understand what PBL is and what are the roles of lecturers and students in the learning process. The second phase of the project was administered with reference to the comments from staff and students made after the completion of the first cycle. Follow-up interviews were conducted to report on the needs of the students in the learning process. It is anticipated that this study can foster more student involvement in the learning process and that deep learning is encouraged and supported.

As a subject in Hong Kong secondary schools, Design & Technology (D&T) is influenced by four factors. First, for many years, the subject of Design & Technology was offered almost exclusively to boys, with girls only being allowed to take Home Economics. Recently however, girls are now having the opportunity to take D&T as a required subject in schools. Second, although some schools have allowed girls to take D&T for several years, some have only just started this practice. As a result, some girls have studied D&T from secondary one to three, while others may only be having their initial experience as a secondary three student. Third, the content and teaching of D&T varies from school to school, and depends on the type of syllabus followed and facilities available. Fourth, not all secondary schools in Hong Kong offer D&T, meaning a large number of both boys and girls have never experienced the subject.
To examine Hong Kong pupils' attitudes toward technology, a Pupils' Attitudes Toward Technology (PATT2-HK) study was conducted with over 2,800 students in 22 secondary schools. This study duplicated the first PATTHK research conducted earlier (Volk & Yip, 1999), and the findings were compared. More specifically, given the immense changes that occurred in just a few short years relating to D&T program availability, facilities, and subject content, this study was undertaken to determine whether or not the proactive measures to ensure that all students have the opportunity to participate in D&T were in fact having a positive impact on pupils' attitudes toward technology. From this PATT2-HK study and examination made of current factors, recommendations as to the impact and future direction of D&T in Hong Kong are made.
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