Two waves of educational reform in Hong Kong: Towards the new millennium

This paper describes the features of education system and the context of educational reform in Hong Kong and reviews the major initiatives for educational effectiveness, quality, and relevance, particularly in school contexts in the new century. Responding to the challenges from economic and social developments, Hong Kong people have shown their strong commitment and effort to educational reforms. Since the last 1970s, a number of important policies have been issued to improve educational practice and school management. These educational changes can be classified into two waves of reform, representing two different paradigms of policy conception: External Intervention Approach and School-based Approach. Effectiveness, quality, and relevance in education should be the key concerns in these reforms. Even though some drawbacks and difficulties have inevitably been encountered in policy formulation and implementation, obviously numerous good opportunities have been created for policy-makers, school practitioners, and effectiveness research. The ongoing education experiments, reform experiences, and improvement practices at both the system and school levels may not only benefit Hong Kong people, but also furnish a basis for making a contribution to the international concern for effectiveness, quality, and relevance in education in the new millennium. Copyright © 2000 香港教師中心教育研究小組.