Session Information
WERA SES 07 C, International Study on School Autonomy and 21st Century Learning--Symposium B: Hong Kong, Israel, & Singapore
Symposium
Contribution
This paper will review the context, development, progress, and impact of school-based management (SBM) or school autonomy (SA) implemented in the last 25 years in Hong Kong, with aim to draw implications for future international research. In the context of systemic educational reforms since 2000s, how SBM/SA can facilitate the paradigm shift in education towards 21st century learning became a key worldwide issue in research and policy. To address this issue, the paper will review the nature and conceptualization of SBM/SA and related issues and impacts in research, development and implementation in these years. Based on the existing research data, four outlier schools have also been chosen for in-depth case studies to complement and interpret the review findings, and facilitate the further research conceptualization and instrumentation for quantitative and qualitative studies in Phase 3 of the International Study with other 6 education systems. Some findings of the comprehensive review and case studies will be reported in this symposium paper. •It was found that two key aspects of SBM/SA conceptualization and implementation including Autonomy Structures and Autonomy Cultures both drive its impact and effectiveness on school performance (including student learning and teacher performance), resources management (use and acquisition), quality assurance and accountability, staff development, curriculum reform, and adaptation to external changes. •In the past research, policy formulation, and practice of SBM/SA, the emphasis was too much on the autonomy structures concerning the structural arrangements and practices of authority decentralization from higher level (central or district) to lower level (site level) partially in some key domains of school work, but often ignoring the role and development of autonomy cultures at different levels in generating, synergizing and sustaining positive impacts of SBM/SA. Therefore, the practice of SBM/SA was often fragmented without coherent, synergic and sustainable effects. •To different research or policy analysis, the conceptualization and focus of SBM/SA might be different in terms of domains, extents and levels of autonomy structures as well as autonomy cultures, across schools, districts and systems. •Therefore, it echoes the findings of Grattan Institute Report (2013): both within-country and cross-country quantitative research at a broader level showed no strong evidence on the direct gain in school performance produced by increased autonomy. Implications will be presented for future developments of international research and policy review of school autonomy in linking with leadership, accountability and 21st century learning.
References
Cheng, Y. C. (1996). School effectiveness and school-based management: A mechanism for development. London: Falmer Press. Cheng, Y.C. (2003). New vision of school-based management. In A. Volansky & I. Friedman (eds.). School-based management: International perspectives (pp.31-56). Jerusalem, Israel: Ministry of Education. Cheng, Y.C. (2005). New paradigm for re-engineering education: Globalization, localization and individualization. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer. Cheng, Y.C. (2015). Hong Kong educational reforms in context of globalization. In J. Zajda (ed.) International handbook on globalization, education and policy research (2nd edition). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer. Cheng, Y.C. (2015). Paradigm shift in education: Towards the third wave research. In L. Hill and F. Levine (eds.), World Education Research Association Year Book 2014. New York. NY: Routledge. Cheng, Y. C., & Mok, M. M. C. (2007). School-based management and paradigm shift in education: an empirical study. International Journal of Educational Management, 21(6), 517 542. Grattan Institute Report (2013), The myth of markets in school education. Victoria Australia: Grattan Institute. Hanushek, E.A., Link, S. & Woessmann, L. (2013), Does school autonomy make sense everywhere? Panel estimates from PISA. Journal of Development Economics, 104, 212-232. PISA in Focus (2011). School autonomy and accountability: Are they related to student performance? OECD Publishing.
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