Following the international trend in education towards democracy and decentralization, the Hong Kong government introduced a school-based management (SBM) system about two decades ago. It is widely recognized in the literature that decentralization, empowering school level management and marginalizing the influence of the intermediate level of governance, can result in better deployment of school resources and better meet the demands of various stakeholders. However, in the unique historical and cultural context of Hong Kong, the advantages of decentralization claimed in the literature have yet to be fully realized. This paper discusses the contextual factors affecting the implementation of SBM in Hong Kong, and examines their impact on four major stakeholders, namely the government, the principals, the teachers, and the parents in the wake of reform.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2015.1056592]

Recently, the school and co-operating teachers have an increasingly important role, by offering stronger support during the teaching practice. Being congruent with similar developments in teacher education programmes in other countries, this development in Hong Kong is strengthened by research studies examining the process of learning to teach. By arguing that the process of learning to teach can be examined from a personal constructivist view of learning, this paper examines the experience from the student-teachers' perspective. The finding reports on the problems perceived by the student-teachers during the student teaching practice and the support provided by the co-operating teachers. The problems encountered and the support obtained were compared and contrasted to reveal the possible roles of the co-operating teachers. The process of learning to teach is extended from a personal view to include support from the social milieu. This paper proposes to consider the process from a social constructivist view of learning. Drawing on the findings, it concludes with implications on how the school and the teacher education institute can collaborate and support the student-teachers from a social constructivist view of learning.
[Copyright © Nanyang Technological University & National Institute of Education.]

This pilot study examined the use of portfolios for assessment purposes in the context of initial teacher education. Specifically, the study set out to identify the impact of the use of portfolios on teaching and learning outcomes. Reported here are the findings, the constraints and initial results, and learning outcomes for pre-service teachers and their lecturers. The significant implications for teacher educators are that they need to continue to develop and implement assessment for learning and devote more time and effort to this form of evaluation for formative purposes. Staff must understand that the implementation of portfolio use requires corresponding changes to pedagogy and the curriculum. The use of portfolios for assessment purposes in teacher education can enhance reflective practice if teacher educators understand their role in developing a structured environment where their students are given support and guidance to attain the skills of critical self-reflection and independence in their learning.
[Copyright © 1998 Routledge.]

This paper aims to identify the characteristics of principal leadership in Hong Kong. More specifically, it analyzes and integrates a number of studies to identify the consistency of principal leadership across the years and samples using a number of different leadership conceptions. These conceptions include both traditional and alternate approaches to educational leadership. The paper shows how societal culture and context combine with the principals’ personal attributes to shape their school leadership. Findings indicate considerable diversity among Hong Kong principals even through they operate within the same social system. The paper stresses the importance of understanding culture and context if worthwhile leadership development programmes are to be developed.
[Copyright © 2000 Routledge.]

With the return of its sovereignty to the People's Republic of China (PRC) on 1 July 1997, Hong Kong attained a new political status as a Special Administrative Region. Hong Kong students, under British rule, had long been received de-politicised education, and a sense of belonging to China was limited to the cognitive domain of Chinese history. The ideal of promoting national identity, underpinned in the current civic education curriculum, is proving to be a difficult task. While much literature has documented how curriculum-based educational practices fail to instil students with such an identity, little study has been undertaken to suggest effective alternatives and to examine how they work. This paper reports a study investigating the impact of study trips on developing students' national identity. Through observation and interviews, it takes an in-depth look into students' experience, into how they identify with a Chinese identity. Results indicate that though the study trips help to nurture the cognitive and affective dimensions of national identity, there are limits and possibilities involved. This paper concludes with reminders which teachers should have taken into account when thinking of using co-curricular activities to address the legitimate need of fostering nationalistic education.
[Copyright © Nanyang Technological University & National Institute of Education.]

Though the notion of a mentor or cooperating teacher in initial teacher education has been implemented in other countries for many years (Haberman, 1971; Spillane & Levenson, 1976), it was first attempted in initial primary teacher education in Hong Kong only in 1994. The present study aims to investigate this new attempt by the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) to foster supporting relationships in teacher education. The paper focuses on the Cooperating Teacher Scheme (CTS) as a learning experience for student-teachers and the different roles of the school, cooperating teachers, and HKIEd lecturers. The study includes a quantitative component and a qualitative component. Eighty schools were selected randomly from a list of 130 schools participating in the Scheme in 1995-96. Four agents, viz. school heads, co-operating teachers, lecturers and student-teachers involved in the CTS were invited to complete a questionnaire and representatives from each category were interviewed. The findings consider student-teachers' learning as well as varying perceptions of the roles of the four agents in the scheme. Based on the findings, implications of the CTS in initial and further teacher education as well as the collaboration between schools and the Institute are drawn.
[Copyright © 1998 Routledge.]

This article argues that the development of civic education in Hong Kong can be divided into three phases chronologically: (1) before 1984: “depoliticization” by the state and the school; (2) 1984-1997: “politicization” of the intended curriculum; and (3) 1997 onwards: “re-depoliticization” of civic education and official confirmation of nationalistic education. In general, for phases one and two, the development is described as moving from de-politicization to politicization, in response to the political development of Hong Kong from a British colony towards the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of People's Republic of China. The article continues by exploring the third phase in detail with reference to the official document: Learning to Learn: Life-long Learning and Whole-person Development and the official speeches of the Chief Executive, Tung Chee Hwa. A phenomenon of re-depoliticization of civic education is identified, together with a strong upheaval of nationalistic education. This leads civic education “back to square one"—"re-depoliticized”. The article concludes by highlighting that the development of civic education in Hong Kong is a typical example of how civic education reflects the political context of the society.
[Copyright © Nanyang Technological University & National Institute of Education.]

This paper presents a case study of a Hong Kong primary school undergoing curriculum change and the role of the principal in that process. Its justification as a case study rests on the weak existing knowledge base of such studies in Asian settings; the mix of Chinese and Western cultures which characterize Hong Kong; and the principal as an enthusiastic change agent who puts the school at the forefront of restructuring in primary education in Hong Kong. Qualitative methods involving inductive analysis of the case school were employed to address five research questions aimed at eliciting the principal's role in curriculum reform. The findings reveal that many sources of change coalesce to yield multiple innovations that are managed simultaneously; that the principal is primarily an instructional and transformational leader; and that values is placed on staff development through a collaborative culture. While the principal eagerly embraces many of the reforms, most of which emanate from Western (Anglo-American) system below the apparent surface harmony are feelings of tension among the teachers. While they feel means innovation overload, the respect for hierarchy and seniority so characteristic of Chinese culture means that they feel unable to approach the principal. The study thus explores the phenomenon of a Hong Kong Chinese principal adopting 'Western-style' reforms while implementing them in ways reflecting her Chinese culture.
[Copyright © 2001 Routledge.]

This paper provides an analysis of recent educational reforms in Hong Kong that aim to transform the ideological basis of the curriculum, teaching and learning. While the reforms appear compatible with current international developments in higher education and school curriculum—movements, for example, towards standards-based accountability, the development of technological expertise and meeting the needs of diverse learners—major aspects of the reforms appear to contradict one another. The implications of current reforms for teacher education, in particular, are discussed together with issues related to the politicisa-tion of reforms and teacher education pedagogy. The discussion highlights the need for an alternative approach to educating and preparing both new and in-service teachers in Hong Kong to cope with the current and future educational reforms.
[Copyright © Nanyang Technological University & National Institute of Education.]