This chapter aims to examine the unique challenging policy environment confronting Hong Kong schools from the perspective of neoliberal discourse and to reveal the reactive, as well as strategic responses of school leaders and teachers in coping with these challenges. As we argue, driven by the global trend of striving for international competitiveness in education and economy, Hong Kong's schooling is no exception to other systems that manifest signs of neoliberal normalization. Based on a systematic and critical analysis of the history and socio-political context of Hong Kong's public schools, this chapter discusses the major challenges faced by these schools which are inflicted by neoliberal discourses of reform, namely school governance, privatization, budget cuts, and performativity. The results of our analysis show that Hong Kong has not followed suit the western trajectory of neoliberal development but has developed its own path in response to its unique historical, cultural, and economic context. Copyright © 2021 Taylor & Francis.

自2001年起，香港特別行政區政府推出一系列大型課程改革，至今已近二十年。現在正是適切時間檢討，以尋找未來的改革方向。校長和教師是重要的持份者，他們同時掌握具體的前線情況，因此了解他們對課程改革現狀及未來發展的看法非常重要。本研究採用聚焦訪談及問卷調查方法，收集了超過1,000名教師和校長的觀感及看法。研究發現，課程改革帶來了教學法、學校自評文化和觀課文化的改變，但未能全面達致改革的大部分目標。改革亦帶來了一系列問題，例如教師工作量增加和學習差異擴闊等。如要為將來尋找更好的發展方向和策略，教育當局必須進行更全面、更有系統及深入的研究，而本研究展示的數據和理據可作這全面檢討的起點。Copyright © 香港中文大學. 香港教育研究所.

In alignment with the New Academic Structure, the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) was launched in 2012 to replace the former Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) as certification for completion of secondary education, and the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE) as the main credentials for university admission in Hong Kong. Standards-referenced reporting is adopted for the HKDSE with the objective of reporting candidates' results against a set of prescribed levels of achievement based on typical performances at those levels. Clearly defined standards facilitate learning and teaching as well as enable users of the qualification, including tertiary institutions and employers, to set appropriate entrance/job requirements. The standards are set and maintained by expert judgement supported by psychometric data to ensure fairness and consistency of standards across subjects and across cohorts. Systemic and implementation issues and their resolutions are discussed in the context of the education reform in Hong Kong. Copyright ©Routledge.

Little research has been conducted to gain deeper understandings of policy change of piloting special educational need coordinators (SENCO) in a Chinese education community. In response to the change in policy towards regularisation of the SENCO, we examined a trajectory of policymaking for SEN support in Hong Kong's integrated education. Critical discourse analysis as a discursive method of analysing the local SEN practices in relation to the international policy development was adopted. The key questions are: What is the difference between this Chinese integrated education and international policy development for inclusion? What effects of the pilot SENCO have emerged in the policy and media texts in the Chinese integrated education? What recommendations can be derived to inform the regularisation of SENCOs in ordinary public schools? The findings shed light on the conceptual discrepancy between integrated and inclusive education in the policymaking. The economic considerations and administration accountability of the pilot SENCO affected the regularisation. As reflected in this Chinese integrated education, we also discuss the implications of changing the SENCO policy for quality SEN support in schools. Copyright ©Routledge.

This paper provides an overview of English language education policies and practices in Hong Kong. It examines changes and developments in policymaking and implementation across the education system. Based on a qualitative analysis of government documents and empirical studies, this review utilizes a sociocultural framework in characterizing language policy decision making processes and implementation strategies in colonial and post-colonial Hong Kong. Findings revealed a multilayered context within which English language education policies and practices are enacted, highlighting the interplay among political, social, economic and educational agendas in policy formulation and implementation. The incongruence between policy recommendations and actual classroom practices, as well as the relationship between government responsiveness and public preferences suggested the power and agency of multiple stakeholders (e.g. parents, teachers and community members) in the interpretation and appropriation of language education policies. This review provides additional insights to understanding the status of English against the backdrop of changing local conditions and to identifying forces of continuity and change in the development of language education policies and practices in Hong Kong. Implications for practice, policy and research are discussed. Copyright ©Routledge.