Hong Kong primary students' perceptions of schooling: A preliminary study

Sending children to school is a big issue to thousands of parents. In order to enroll a ‘desirable’ primary school, parents spend plenty of time in getting an application form and to prepare their children to take the grade one admission test. It seems that going to school is very significant in the eye of the parents; however, what is school really meant to children? This study which aims at describing the feelings and thoughts of children about school, interviewed with 54 students in three primary schools. Results show that most children like going to school due to the variety of school lives like meting friends during recesses. Lessons like physical education, arts and craft were very attractive. They also felt that going to school is necessary. Some children believed that the aim of study and the main role of being students was to achieve good results. As educators, we need to listen to children’s voices and examine their perspectives and opinions carefully because they would provide us with a remarkable reflection of how to run an ideal school. Copyright © 2000 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.