The ‘no loser’ principle in Hong Kong’s education reform: Does it apply to ethnic minority students?

An important feature of Hong Kong’s education reform over the past decade has been the articulation of the ‘no loser principle.’ It was meant to signal that all students are valuable and will benefit from both basic and senior secondary education. Yet barriers remain for the 2.9% of students under age 15 who can be classified as ethnic minorities. There is a declining participating rate as students move from primary to tertiary level, the medium of instruction remains alien to most of these students, and there are no curriculum provisions to meet their special needs. This paper will examine both the policy context in which provisions for ethnic minority students have been made in Hong Kong schools and also classroom practice that operationalises this policy on a daily basis. The purpose is to make an assessment of the extent to which the ‘no loser principle’ can be said to apply to ethnic minority students.
香港教育改革在過去十年的一項要點，乃明言以「人人皆可成才」為宗旨，意即每個學生都有其價值，他們將受惠於基礎和高中教育的改革。然而，對於教育制度中僅佔百分之二、被歸類為少數族裔的學生來說，障礙仍然存在。在小學至專上教育的過程中，他們的整體參與率逐步下降；教學方面始終存在語言隔閡，亦未能提供切合他們需要的課程。本文將檢視香港少數族裔教育的政策背景和課堂實務，旨在評估這「人人皆可成才」的原則對少數族裔學生的適用程度。 Copyright © 2012 The Hong Kong Teachers’ Centre.