Hong Kong as a Source for Education Policy in England: Rhetoric and Reality

In 2007 the Principal Investigator returned to London after working for 31 years in Faculties / Institutes of Education in Hong Kong and specialising in East Asian education systems. As political parties in England competed to promote their vision of schooling, he was constantly bemused as to the extent to which their plans for reform were based on the claim that what they were proposing was a feature of one or all of the high performing East Asian societies that do well on international tests of pupil achievement e.g. the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The 2010 Schools White Paper in England and the ongoing review of the National Curriculum extensively cite practices in Hong Kong to support their policies. Also, agencies now bidding to get contracts to examine the New Baccalaureate have to demonstrate that they will follow the best practices of high performing nations.

Some of these claims seem far removed from the reality that the Principal Investigator had experienced both as an academic, and as someone heavily engaged in policy making in Hong Kong. What is more worrying is that these claims are largely unchallenged in England. The claims are accepted partly because people generally have limited knowledge of foreign education systems, and comparative educators have tended to avoid engagement in the public debates relating to ongoing policy making about how schools should be reformed. The purpose of this study is to help address that situation.

We plan to focus on how policy makers in England portray features of Hong Kong's education system to promote domestic reforms. We examine the nature of these features in Hong Kong by finding out what the relevant laws or rules are, and by interviewing people who are directly involved with these education features. This will allow us to find out the extent to which the claims made in England are valid and accurate. It will also allow us to contribute to the ongoing debates in comparative education as to the influence of global and local factors on education reform.

Major education reforms have been proposed based on claims as to what works in 'high performing' education systems. For example, recent proposals in England premised on what 'works' in East Asia have included a reform of the National Curriculum and examination systems, a restructuring of teacher education towards more accelerated and school-based systems, and an increase in school autonomy. If implemented, these reforms will have a major impact on various stakeholders, including examination boards, teacher educators, schools, parents, and pupils. Other stakeholders include those more directly engaged in policy making, viz. government officials, political parties, civic groups, and other groups involved in policy advocacy.

At the same time, the public debate is dominated by an international network of consultancies and think tanks (e.g. the McKinsey consulting company, and the Pearson education group) that promote education reform based on their interpretation of comparative data drawn from international tests of pupil achievement.
However, the process of external policy referencing is akin to a black hole because stakeholders lack familiarity with the various 'high performing' systems that are cited. In addition, the international data on which reform is advocated is vast, and open to multiple interpretations. Consequently, the capacity of stakeholders to evaluate the advocated proposals is very limited. Therefore, by subjecting the process of policy advocacy and borrowing to critical scrutiny, we will demonstrate the extent to which the claims made are valid inferences from the evidence.

The need for such scrutiny is indicated in the recent response to a journal article written by the Principal Investigator (Morris 2012) which queried many of the claims about overseas education systems made by 2010 Education White Paper in England. This is currently the most downloaded article in the journal published this year. This interest has led the British Education Research Association to commission the Principal Investigator to write an opinion piece for their publication Research Intelligence. In addition, key stakeholders - such as assessment agencies, who believe that their role will be substantially affected by the implementation of the advocated reforms - have also expressed an interest in the writings of the Principal Investigator, and have requested talks/ seminars by him, and sought advice from him.

Our study therefore has the potential to inform academic debates in both comparative education and national policy analysis. It will also make a significant contribution to the various stakeholders who contribute to, and are affected by, education reform, but do not have the expertise to evaluate or assess the claims that underpin these reforms.

To maximise the impact of our research, we will set up reference and contact groups. The reference group will provide input in the research process and the dissemination of the findings. It will meet twice during the life of the project, and comprise academics, members of high commissions, political advisers (especially those involved in select committee work), and key journalists. The contact group will comprise potential beneficiaries. As the project progresses, we will identify the significant findings and the main beneficiaries, and communicate the former to the latter.

We will engage with stakeholders in two stakeholders' workshops. The first will be held mid-point into the project, and obtain feedback from stakeholders on the initial findings, the impact on them, as well as the project itself. At the second, we will disseminate the overall findings, and seek the views of the stakeholders as to how the findings can be used to benefit them and other stakeholders. In addition, we will also offer to present our findings to interested stakeholders at their organisation, and will publicise our findings through releases, summaries, and reports to the media.