This article presents the finding of an interim evaluation survey commissioned by the Education Bureau of Hong Kong on the effectiveness of the curriculum reform initiated in 2001. Drawing upon change theories for analysis of the study, the article examines the perceptions of both principals and teachers on the effectiveness of short-term curriculum development in schools from 2001 to 2006 through self-administered questionnaire survey as well as focus group interviews. The quantitative survey shows that evaluations from principals were more positive than those of frontline teachers in many aspects of the reform. Data collected from focus group interviews help explain the discrepancy in attitudes of these two stakeholder groups towards the reform. Insufficient knowledge, lack of support and consensus, and top-down initiation of the reform are the reasons accounting for the different responses to the reform. Strengthening professional development programs and developing a culture of collegiality and collaboration are the strategies recommended to improve the implementation of the curriculum reform in the medium-term phase (2007-2011).
[Copyright of Teacher Development is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13664530903335558]

This paper reports on a study undertaken in Hong Kong, addressing the way that resources are deployed in grammar schools to provide a curriculum for sixth-form students. The crucial resource in this analysis is time. An analytical technique that allows modelling of the allocational effects of alternative educational decisions is used. This technique also permits the direction and magnitude of cross-subsidizational flows among school activities to be identified The results of this analysis and their implications for Hong Kong schooling are discussed.
[Copyright of Education Economics is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09645299700000002 ]

One component of the curriculum reform in Hong Kong focuses on the use of homework in consolidating learning, deepening understanding and constructing knowledge. This study examines the profile of Hong Kong primary school students' homework involvement, and investigates the relationships between time involvement and academic attributes, namely interest in homework, interest in academic subjects, academic efficacy, and efficacy for self-regulated learning. The sample comprised 2,361 primary school students representing all six grade levels in Hong Kong. Data was collected using questionnaires and homework diaries. Results showed heavy homework involvement among primary school students in Hong Kong, especially at the senior primary level. Differential patterns across levels were observed for the relationship between homework involvement and academic attributes. Specifically, junior primary students' study-related interests and efficacies were found to decline with increasing time involvement, whereas inverted U-shape relationships were observed among senior primary students. There was concern for students with high time involvement as they received more homework and they worked slower. They were less likely to perceive the positive functions of homework, and showed poorer study-related interests and efficacy beliefs. The findings of this study provide crucial information for school personnel and educators in Hong Kong in developing homework strategies and policies that enhance teaching and learning.
[Copyright of Asia Pacific Journal of Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02188790902859004]

Research Findings: This article describes research into leadership practice for school improvement in Hong Kong preschools at a time when there was a move toward increased accountability. Two schools were selected for study, both of which were rated as excellent in the quality assurance inspections of the Education Bureau. Leadership practice for school improvement and related factors were investigated from the perspectives of various school stakeholders.
Practice or Policy: The findings indicate that the 2 case study schools adopted different approaches to the process of change. One school principal delegated more to her subordinates and sought a radical change in the curriculum. In contrast, the other school principal imposed more restrictions on the exercise of authority in decision making and delegation and tended to follow the logic of a quick-fix approach. Overall, though the 2 schools adopted different approaches to curriculum change, the exercise of leadership in both schools was still highly centralized. The characteristics of leadership practice as perceived by various school stakeholders were different from the concepts of distributed leadership documented in the Western literature.
[Copyright of Early Education & Development is the property of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10409280903582835]

This paper explores whether any of the traditional aspects of Chinese culture discussed in the marketing and cross-cultural literature still apply to today's generation of Chinese students in the seemingly westernized location of Hong Kong. It finds that most of the traditional cultural beliefs are still endorsed although Hong Kong students also felt that they were quite independent, individual and creative-within the framework of respecting traditional values. The paper then discusses (on the basis of presenting the same set of students with the findings of this part of the research) how foreign universities might adapt their courses and programs to meet the cultural needs of Hong Kong students. It was found that universities need to adopt a delicate balance between respecting traditional Chinese values and concepts, and encompassing more westernized beliefs and attitudes which enable the students to learn in an environment which enables them to express their creativity and individualism, within a fundamentally quite conservative cultural environment. The value of the research is that it will help foreign universities position their programs and courses for this quite complex and subtle market.
[Copyright of Journal of Marketing for Higher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J050v13n01_09]