香港教育委員會於一九九五年成立學校教育檢討小組，負責評估實施了近二十年的強迫教育政策，為發展世紀的教育作好準備。教統會更於一九九九年提出『終身學習、自強不息』的教育改革建議，其中有關普及礎教育方面的原則，更是落實政策方向的先聲。本文以訪談形式，探究多位在大學任職的教育工作者，有關普及基礎教育的個人經驗和看法，對九年強迫教育政策，特別在課程管理、社會因素等問題提出獨特的意見。大多數受訪者認為政策重量不重質、目標不明確、課程改革不能切合社會需要等。其批評和實用的建議，對認識、分析和探究今後香港課程發展，有重大的啟示。
The Board of Education formed a committee in 1995 to review about school education after the introduction of 9-year compulsory education policy for nearly 20 years. This is a preparation for the development of education in the new millenium. The Education Commission proposed the idea of 'Learning for Life' as a major trend of the education reform in 1999. The guidelines in compulsory school education are among the forefront of the policy proposal. This is a report of the interviews with 7 curriculum scholars about their views in 9-year compulsory school education, especially in the area of curriculum management and social factors. These scholars generally felt that past policy was biased in the direction of quantity rather than quality, had no clear aims and objectives and could not fit the need of the society. Their criticism and suggestions were in depth and practical. It would shed important light to the understanding and analysis of curriculum development in the coming years.
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]

One of the dilemmas in educational policy is how to reconcile individual rights with social demands and ease of administration. In 1978 the Hong Kong Department of Education introduced a competitive secondary school allocation procedure (SSPA) based on Internal Assessment (IA) in primary schools. It was designed to match pupils to appropriate secondary schools. Every year the girls performed better than the boys. At first the Education Department solved this "problem" by taking marks away from the girls and subsequently by employing separate gender ranking, gender banding, and gender quotas for co-educational schools. In 1995 a Sex Discrimination Ordinance was passed and an Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) set up. Complaints from girls soon came to the EOC and the department's policy was judged by judicial review. Documents presented in court will be used to illustrate the arguments about gender and cognition.
[Copyright of Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) at http://www.aare.edu.au]