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This paper analyses educational change and development in Hong Kong since the 1970s and examines the related trends in education reforms.

The paper identifies three waves of education reforms in both Hong Kong and internationally, each representing different paradigms of educational effectiveness. The first wave, in the 1970s focused on internal effectiveness, with efforts made to improve school performance, particularly teaching processes and methods. The second wave of reforms, in the 1990s, emphasized ‘interface effectiveness’ in terms of education quality and reflected concerns about accountability to the public and to stakeholders in the education system. Issues such as quality assurance, school monitoring and review, parental choice, parental and community involvement in governance, and performance based funding were raised during this phase.

Globalization and the rapid spread of information technology have created new challenges for the education system. The paper notes that the third or current wave of education reforms focuses on future effectiveness in terms of the relevance of the education system to these emerging challenges.

The paper suggests that in the third wave, education reforms should move towards ‘triplization’. Triplization (triple + izations) refers to the process which includes three trends in education:

• globalization (maximizing the global relevance of education, through internet based or web-based learning)
• localization (such as community and parental involvement, school based management and community related curriculum)
• individualization (maximizing the motivation, initiative and creativity of students through measures such as individualized education programs)

In the context of globalization, the paper notes that individuals and society need multiple intelligences to address different functions: technological, economic, social, political, cultural and learning. Education reforms, therefore, need to support students in building these multiple intelligences.

The paper concludes that education reforms in Hong Kong should aim not only at effectiveness and quality, but also at relevance to the future. The paper recommends that reforms should ensure that the education system is relevant to the development needs of individuals and society in the era of globalization and information. This implies a move towards ‘triplization’, and educational practices that support the development of multiple intelligences.

Summary originally provided by GDNet, an Eldis content partner

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