EDD 5213
Hong Kong Education Policy and Practice
Topic 3 & 4
Understanding the Nature of Education Reform of HKSAR:
The Dialects of Lifelong Learning
A. In Search for the Discursive Theme of the Education Reform of HKSAR
1. What is the nature of HKSAR education reform?
2. What are the factual features of the HKSAR education reform?
3. When did the HKSAR education reform begin?
4. What are the policy documents stipulating the HKSAR education
reform?
B. Lifelong Learning as the Discursive Theme of the Education Reform of
HKSAR
1. Evidence No. 1
In January 1999, in the document entitled Education Blueprint for the
21st Century: Review of Academic System, Aims of Education , the
Education Commission stated that
“As we head into the 21st century, rapid developments in
communication and IT are bringing the world ever closer together.
Hong Kong faces strong competition from neighbouring economies in
many areas, including trade, finance, transportation, communication
and tourism. …In the knowledge-based economy, existing knowledge
is being updated at an everfaster pace. Our young people must be
outward-looking, imbued with a spirit of exploration, able to make the
best use of IT, able to master different kinds of knowledge, and willing
to strive to improve through continuous learning. To enhance our
competitiveness, Hong Kong has to shift to high value-added and
technology-based production and services. We need people who are
creative, versatile, knowledgeable and multi-talented. … In this
competitive world, we are concerned about whether our education
system can enable students constantly to strive for the pursuit of
knowledge, whilst enjoying the fun of learning in the process, and about
whether our students have the room to develop their potential, whilst
bracing themselves for the challenges and competition ahead.”
(Education Commission, 1999a, Pp.9-10)
2. Evidence No. 2
In September 1999, in the document entitled Learning for Life:
Framework for Education Reform, the Education Commission identified
the primary reform agenda is to construct “The lifelong learning
academic structure” (Eductaion Commission, 1999b, p. 19)
3. Evidence No. 3
In September 2000, in the document entitled Learning for Life,
Learning Through Life: Reform Proposals for the Hong Kong Education
System, the Education Commission identified the primary aim of the
reform has been:
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“To build a lifelong learning society: to develop Hong Kong into a
society that values lifelong learning, so that everyone enjoys learning,
has the attitude and ability for lifelong learning, and has access to
diverse channels and opportunities for learning.” (Education
Commission, 2000b, p.5)
4. Evidence No. 4
In June 2001, in the document entitle Learning to learn, Life-long
learning and Whole-person Development ―The way forward in
curriculum development, the Curriculum Development Council
underlined that
“The purpose of this report is to set out the general directions for
curriculum development in Hong Kong for the next 10 years, to fulfil the
version of enabling students to attain all-round development and
life-long learning. (Curriculum Development Council, 2001, p. i)
C. The Myth of Lifelong Learning, Learning Society and Learning Economy
1. Lifelong Learning: Phenomena of global convergence of education
reforms
a. Education Reform in the UK
(i) Lifetime learning: A policy framework (1996)
(ii) The learning age: A renaissance for new Britain (1998)
b. Education Reform in the US
(i) A nation learning: Version for the 21st Century (1997)
(ii) No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
c. Education Reform in Canada
(i) Knowledge Matters: Skills and learning for Canadians (2002)
(ii) Achieving excellence: Investing in people, knowledge and
opportunity (2002)
d. Education Reform in Australia
(i) National Board of Employment, Education and Training (1996)
Lifelong learning ―― Key issues
(ii) Dept. of Education, Science and Training (1998) Learning for life:
Review of higher education financing and policy (1998)
(iii) Dept. of Education, Science and Training (2003) Lifelong
learning in Australia
e. Education Reform in South Korea
Ministry of Education Adapting Education to the Information Age
(2000-2004)
f. Education Reform in Singapore:
Education for Learning Society in the 21st Century (2000)
g. Education Reform in Taiwan
教育改革行動方案, 1998
h. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
(i) OECD (1991) The lifelong learners in the 1990s.
(ii) OECD (1996) Lifelong learning for all.
(iii) OECD (2001) Education policy analysis 2001.
i. UNESCO (1996) Learning: The Treasure from within.
j. European Commission (1995) Teaching and learning: Towards the
learning society
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2. Conceptual and Methodological problems of Lifelong-Learning
Education Reforms
a. Conceptual problems of lifelong learning
(i) “Lifelong learning has become an all-encompassing concept. Yet
in spite of this scope, or probably because of it, there is no
master concept of lifelong learning to be found among the
many policy documents that have been written in the 1990s,
whether by international organizations…or by national
governments.” (Schuller et al., 2002, p.9)
(ii) Mayo points out that despite the suspiciously unchallengeable
consensus’that appears to surround it, the concept of lifelong
learning has in fact been used in differing ways, as part of
varying agenda.”(Mayo, 2002, p.200)
b. Empirical problems of lifelong learning
As the concept of lifelong learning is used in comparative study of
the policy convergences of education reforms in the context of
globalization, we must take into consideration of Whitty’s caution
that we may decontextualize the cases under study from their
particular national economic, political, social and cultural situations
and forcing "false universalism" onto them (Whitty et al., 1998,
p.32).
c. Stephen Ball’s methodological specification of convergence of
lifelong-learning education reforms (Ball, 1999)
“Education has a complex set of relationships to and within the
processes of globalization. … I do want to suggest that there is a
process of convergence of education and social welfare policies
between countries which have very political and social welfare
histories. I do not mean by this what might be called ‘simple
convergence’, i.e. exactly the same policy being invoked in very
different national settings, but rather a ‘paradigm convergence’, the
invocation of policies with common underlying principles, similar
operational mechanisms and similar first and second order effects:
first order effects in terms of their impacts on practitioners, practice
and institutional procedures and second order effects in terms of
social justice ― patterns of access, opportunities and outcome.”
(i) Simple convergence
(ii) Paradigm convergence
D. The Dialectics of Lifelong Learning Education Reform
1. The fundamental contradiction in capitalistic-democratic society
a. Carnoy and Levin’s Schooling and Work in the Democratic State
(1985)
“The schools are an arena of conflict because they have the dual
role of preparing workers and citizens. The preparation required for
citizenship in a democratic society based on equal opportunity and
human rights is often incompatible with the preparation needed for
job performance in a corporate system of work. On the one hand,
schools must train citizens to know their rights under the law as
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well as their obligations to exercise these rights through political
participation. On the other, school must train workers with the skills
and personality characteristics that enable them to function in an
authoritarian work regime. This requires a negation for the very
political rights that make for good citizens.” (Carnoy & Levin, 1985,
p. 245)
b. The dialectics between the institutional imperatives of capitalism
and liberal democracy
(i) Lifelong learning for instrumental economicism
(ii) Lifelong learning for social inclusion and political empowerment
2. An Analytical framework for lifelong learning education Reform
Underlying
Principles
Operational
Mechanism
Instrumental
Economicism
Inclusion and
Empowerment
(i)
Lifelong Learning for Instrumental Economicism
A. The Underlying Principle of Lifelong Learning for Instrumental
Economicism
1. Under to the institutional imperatives of the global-informational
capitalism, lifelong learning is defined as the vital policy measure by
the competition state to meet the challenges of the global-informational
market.
Within this policy paradigm, the objectives of lifelong learningng and
education have been defined as
a. At individual level, increasing the employability of school-leavers
and upskilling the productivity of the existing labor force to meet the
needs of the globally mobile capital
b. At national level, enhancing the competitiveness of the national
economy in global market
c. Local and intrinsic values of education are replaced by global and
extrinsic value of education, i.e. the dominance of instrumentality
rationality over substantive rationality in education discourse
d. Commodification and globalization of national education, i.e. the
predominant aim of education reform is to meet global economic
imperatives, such as the requirements of the multi-national capital,
the international organizations and the global market mechanism in
general.
2. Example from UK
“If we are to be internationally competitive, improve our standard of
living and succeed in the world, we must do much more to ensure that
we are a learning nation. The skill revolution is now underway, but we
need to intensify it. We need a concerted, continuous effort. Enhancing
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our education and training performance is the single most important
ingredient in ensuring our success. …The UK faces a global economic
challenge. Its future prosperity depends on the skills and ability of its
people. The key to success is learning. Only by learning throughout life
can individuals maintain their employability, and organizations their
competitive advantage.”Confederation of British Industry (1998) The
Skill Revolution for a Learning Nation
3. Examples from HK
a. As regards language proficiency, there is no doubt in our mind that
this is important on two levels. On the micro level, language
proficiency is essential to the cognitive development of a child, as
affect his or her ability to assimilate and interpret information. On
the macro level, language proficiency is import to maintain Hong
Kong leading position in the financial, commercial and industrial
development of China and the Pacific rim. We believe that there is
an urgent need to enhance the level of proficiency in both Chinese
(including Putonghua) and English in Hong Kong. We are alive to
the community concern that there should be an adequate supply of
school leavers with language skills good enough to satisfy the
demand arising from the recent expansion in tertiary education and
the restructuring of the economy. The community in general, an
employers in particular, feel that there is need to act quickly in
order to maintain Hong Kong’s competitive edge over other
Southern Asian centres as the hub of international trading and
commercial activities and as a window on China. (EC Report No. 6,
paragraph 2.2)
b. Concern about quality of school education is an international trend.
Many advanced countries and regions such as Australia,
Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States have been
studying ways and carrying out reform to improve the quality of
school education. Like them, Hong Kong has to face new
challenges and demands. Our education system should adapt to
these changes and meet the demand of a dynamic world. We have
to rely on quality education to contribute to the personal growth of
our students, to build a competent workforce to promote social,
economic and cultural development and to increase our
competitiveness in the international market. (EC Report No. 7, p.3)
c “As we head into the 21st century, rapid developments in
communication and IT are bringing the world ever closer together.
Hong Kong faces strong competition from neighbouring economies
in many areas, including trade, finance, transportation,
communication and tourism. …In the knowledge-based economy,
existing knowledge is being updated at an everfaster pace. Our
young people must be outward-looking, imbued with a spirit of
exploration, able to make the best use of IT, able to master different
kinds of knowledge, and willing to strive to improve through
continuous learning. To enhance our competitiveness, Hong Kong
has to shift to high value-added and technology-based production
and services. We need people who are creative, versatile,
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d.
knowledgeable and multi-talented. … In this competitive world, we
are concerned about whether our education system can enable
students constantly to strive for the pursuit of knowledge, whilst
enjoying the fun of learning in the process, and about whether our
students have the room to develop their potential, whilst bracing
themselves for the challenges and competition ahead.” (Education
Commission, 1999a, Pp.9-10)
In the report we can find the reiteration of the importance of English
in terms of its instrumental and economic function in global market.
“Hong Kong does have a practical need for a workforce with high
level of English proficiency in order to maintain her
competitiveness as an international commercial and financial
centre.” (EC, 2005, Review of Medium of Instruction for Secondary
Schools and Secondary School Place Allocation, p.ii-iii)
B. The Operational Mechanism of Quasi-Market Education Reform
1. The concept quasi-market signifies the process of restructuring the
mechanism of social-policy provisions of the post-WWII welfare states.
It aims to reform the public sectors, which have been characterized as
"state-controlled", "bureaucrat/professional-dominated" or
"providers-led", and to align them with the neo-liberals' free-market
ideal. However, due to the structural inertia of the public sectors,
especially in public schooling, the free-market ideal could not be fully
materialized and as the result it could only constitute a quasi-market.
The policy mechanism can be categorized into three constituents
a. The demand-side of the quasi-market
(i) Enhancement of parental choice
(ii) Privatization of public-school sector
(iii) Amalgamation of private- and public-school sectors
(iv) Establishment of consumer sovereignty in school management
b. The supply-side of the quasi-market
(i) Standardization of school process: Performance indicators of
schools
(ii) Devolution and deregulation of school administration
(iii) Quality-assurance inspection and auditing
c. The medium of exchange of the quasi-market
(i) Performance-based accountability
(ii) Standard test for all students
(iv) Publicizing results of standardized tests in the form of school
ranking, School League Table, School Report Card
(v) Failing schools are required to improve within a designated
period or facing the prospect of shut down
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(ii)
Lifelong Learning for Social Inclusion and Political Empowerment
A. The Underlying Principle of Lifelong Learning for Inclusion and
empowerment
1. Lifelong learning for social inclusion: The primary objective of lifelong
learning is to constitute social inclusion and to provide all citizens with
continuous and equal opportunities for education.
a. Authentic learning opportunity for all: Lifelong learning experiences
are provided in such open, diversified, and flexible fashions that all
citizens can make authentic use of them to suite their various
needs and capacities.
b. Substantively equal learning opportunity for all: No citizens will be
deprived of their substantive lifelong learning opportunities by their
culturally and socially disadvantageous situations and be provided
with positively discriminative learning opportunities.
c. Scholars have characterizes such lifelong learning model as the
open learning networks (Edwards, 1995) In this model, lifelong
learning is a project striving for “the equalitarian, democratic ideal of
expanding educational institutions and opening them to everyone”
(Alheit, 2002, p. 31).
2. Lifelong learning for political empowerment: The fundamental objective
of lifelong learning is in this regard is to nurture and build up of active
citizenship. Accordingly lifelong learning is defined as continuous
learning project of empowerment, through which citizens will equip
themselves with relevant knowledge, skills, orientations and courage
and efficaciously participate in democratic deliberations on political
and public affairs.
a. Young’s educative model of learning society: In educative model
of learning society, lifelong learning will take the form of “expansive
learning, in which the learner questions and begins to transform
the context of ‘community of practice’ where the learning begins.”
(Young, 1998, p.203)
b. Kenway (2002) defines, lifelong learning as learning for
emancipatory and life politics.
(i) By emancipatory politics, it refers to political actions striving
for liberating individuals and group from exploitation, inequality,
oppression, and marginalization and exclusion. (Kenway, 2002,
p. 165)
(ii) As for life politics, it “is concerned with how we are able to
understand our existence and how we are to live in the
post-traditional, globally interdependent order. It recognizes
that what was once fixed by nature and tradition is now subject
to decision. …A certain autonomy of action and of capacities to
choose are the ingredients of life politics” (p. 187-68) an
lifelong learning.
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B. The Operational Mechanism of Lifelong Learning for Inclusion and
Empowerment
1. Brown and Lauder’s conception of collective intelligence model
a. Collective intelligence: “Collective intelligence can be defined as
empowerment through the development and pooling of intelligence
to attain common goals or resolve common problems. It is inspired
by a spirit of co-operation rather a Darwinian survival of the
fittest. …It involves making a virtue of our mutual dependence and
sociability which we will need to make a dominant feature of
post-industrial society based on information, knowledge and
lifelong learning.” (Brown & Lauder, 2001, p. 218-19)
b. Two constituents of collective intelligence model
(i) The capacity for intelligence: “The capacity for intelligence
describes the raw materials on which the development of
intelligence depends. It refers to the state of knowledge,
scientific discovery, technology and learning techniques, on
which societies can draw. It includes the knowledge and
technological resources amassed in society in the form of
books, journals, databases, computers and laboratories, and
super-highways to name but a few.” (Brown & Lauder, 2001, p.
219)
(ii) Relations of trust: “Trust is used …to refer to whether the
development and pooling of intelligence is reflected in the
relationship between individuals, groups, and social classes
that are embedded in classrooms, offices, shopfloors,
household, neighborhoods, welfare policies and taxation
system.” (Brown & Lauder, 2001, p.220)
c. Education policy measures for lifelong learning for collective
intelligence
(i) Re-defining criteria for educational achievement
- Moving away from methodological individualism of I.Q. test as
sole measure of intelligence
- Conceptualization of educational achievement with reference
to multiple intelligences
- Conceptualization of educational achievement with reference
to collective intelligence
(ii) Re-designing curriculum and evaluation with reference to the
conception of multiple intelligences and collective intelligence
(iii) Re-structuring for multi-cultural education system
- Replacing suppressive-common school system with
inclusive-common school system
- Replacing segregating and stratifying school system with
comprehensive school system
- Education for knowledge as well as identity
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(iv) Restructuring for “attested mobility” educational selection
system
- Replacing both “sponsored mobility” and “contest mobility”
educational selection systems
- Replacing with “attested mobility” educational selection system
“”The challenge in a pluralist system of education is to juggle
the need to pay attention to the particularity of cultural
identity and yet create rules of competition which are fair for
all groups. The need for fairness across groups is necessary
because at the end of the day educational credentials will still
be a prime determinant of career opportunities. For this
reason we believe a new concept, that of attested mobility
should be introduced into the discussion. To attest is to affirm
or bear witness. In this context it draws attention to the link
between a person’s cultural identity and educational
performance.” (Brown & Lauder, 2001, p. 247)
- Replacing principle of praise with principle of respect
(v) Restructuring for education system of equality of opportunity
- Means-regarding equality of opportunity
- Equality of access to education
- Equality of education process
- Prospect-regarding equality of opportunity
- Equality of education result
- Equality of education outcome
(vi) Restructuring higher education for lifelong learning for
collective intelligence
- Replacing upward spiral and stratification in higher education
- Restructuring an open, inclusive, accommodating, flexible and
affordable higher educational system
2. Ranson and Stewart’s conception of Learning Democracy Model
a. The political issue dismantling of the “public domain”: Ranson and
Stewart underline that
“The predicaments of our time are public (collective) problems and
require public solutions, yet the public institutions required to support
the resolutions have all but eroded; our society has developed
institutions that are not constituted for an active public domain. The
characteristics of structural change in society (fragmentation,
privatism, and sectionism) and the qualities of the neo-liberal polity
(competitive individualism) mutually reinforce the erosion of public
life and thus the conditions for personal development as well as
collective well-being.” (1998, p. 257-58)
b. The solution:
“If the task for the time is to re-create a public domain that can
support society through an historic transition, then the challenge will
be to help citizens to learn two indispensable capacities: the capacity
for co-operative action and the capacity for action, for agency.”
(Ranson and Stewart, 1998, p. 258)
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c. Building the two capacities
(i) Capacity for co-operative action: it indicates that in post-traditional
and risk society (Beck, 1992; Giddens, 1994), citizens of any
nationality must learn to live and act co-operatively at both
intra-national and international levels. Nussbaum underlined, “if
we are so much as to survive as a species … we clearly need to
think about well-being and justice internationally, and together.”
(Nussbaum, 1990, quoted in Ranson and Steward, 1998, p. 258)
(ii) Capacity for action and agency: In contrast to the passive
citizenship nurtured by post-World War II welfare state and that of
consumer-oriented citizenship constituted by neo-liberal state in
the 1980s, citizen are expect to learn develop the feeling,
imagination, empathy, and practical and social skills to carry out
agencies (i.e. actions and projects) of their own choosing in public
domain.
Additional Readings
Curriculum Development Council (2001). Learning to learn, Life-long Learning
and Whole-person Development – The way forward in curriculum
development. Hong Kong: Printing Department., HKSAR Government.
Education Commission (1999a) Review of academic system: Aim of Education.
Hong Kong: Printing Department, HKSAR Government.
Education Commission (1999b) Learning for Life: Framework for Education
Reform. Hong Kong: Printing Department, HKSAR Government.
Education Commission (2000a) Excel and Grow: Reform Proposasl. Hong
Kong: Printing Department, HKSAR Government.
Education Commission (2000b) Learning for Life, Learning Through Life:
Reform Proposals for the Hong Kong Education System. Hong Kong:
Printing Department, HKSAR Government.
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