Support and Outlook

With the implementation of the SDA Framework, there has been on-going development and improvement of SSE. ESR and the support given to schools by EMB have also been adjusted and continuously developed according to school contexts and feedback from teachers. In the course of providing education, schools are our close partners. Together we strive to strengthen the quality of evaluation and achieve the objective of providing quality education through SSE, complemented by ESR.

4.5.1 Initiatives of ESR in 2005/06

4.5.1.1 To promote a candid self-reflection in self-evaluation and professional dialogue amongst teachers and other school community members, as well as to address the requests made by schools, the EMB modified the requirements of the ESR process and reporting in 2005, as summarized below (for details, please refer to the letter on SSE and ESR issued to schools on 29 July 2005):

• Schools will no longer be required to provide ratings on the 14 Performance Indicator (PI) areas in their SSA report. Similarly, ESR teams will not provide ratings in their assessment of the 14 PI areas;

• SSA report should not exceed 20 pages;

• Schools are only required to prepare three documents—the SSA report, the stakeholder survey findings and analysis, and the Key Performance Measures (KPM) report;

• There is no need to upload the ESR reports for the first cycle on the EMB homepage;

• The ESR report will provide more specific advice on learning and teaching strategies for schools;

• ESR Dos and Don’ts to facilitate schools to acquire correct information are listed at the Appendix of the letter.

4.5.1.2 Provision of the E-platform for School Development and Accountability (ESDA) (For details, please refer to EMB Circular Memorandum No. 237/2005.)

Launched in November 2005, ESDA is a one-stop solution designed to expedite schools’ collection and management of school data in preparation for SSE and ESR, and could therefore reduce teachers’ workload. Schools can access via ESDA, KPM reference/norm data released by our

formulate their development plans accordingly.

4.5.1.3 Early pre-ESR visits to schools

In June and July 2006, leaders of ESR teams will conduct pre-ESR visits to schools which will receive ESR in the next school year. The purpose of such visits is to inform teachers of the details of ESR and clarify queries to dispel teachers’ worries.

4.5.2 Impact Study on the Effectiveness of External School Review in Hong Kong in Enhancing School Improvement through School Self-evaluation

The above impact study, commissioned by the EMB, was conducted by Professor John MacBeath.

The study confirms that the SDA Framework is effective in providing valuable feedback to guide and support school improvement. The executive summary of the Phase I study report has been uploaded to the EMB homepage. The Report of the Phase II study conducted in the current year will be released in July 2006. EMB will make reference to this report and the views gathered from various sources to evaluate the effectiveness of ESR, so as to explore the direction of future development.

4.5.3 Simplification of PIs and KPM

Based on the practical experience and feedback from schools, and to keep up with the recent development of the local school education, the Bureau has started to simplify PIs and KPM to make them more contextualized and easier to use.

4.5.4 Strengthening of leadership and middle management training

ESR in the past two years revealed that there was still much room for development by the school management and middle managers in schools’ overall planning, empowerment and accountability.

It is therefore necessary to reinforce the relevant pre-job and on-the-job training, with emphasis on self-evaluation, allocation of resources, teacher support, strengthening and deepening curriculum leadership and management and teaching strategies in the domain of learning and teaching.

Besides exploration of theory, more emphasis should be placed on helping trainees master the application of such theories in actual school situations. This will involve making modifications in the light of school contexts to properly plan and empower, so that they can truly play their role as professional leaders in education management.

4.5.5 Sharing of successful experience

More and more schools have put emphasis on professional development for teachers and have realized that the experience of one school does have certain limitations. They know they need to broaden their horizons and gather more views from different sources to gain enlightenment. EMB will continue to promote professional dialogue in the education sector, encourage and support schools, their sponsoring bodies and other educational institutions to hold district-based,

territory-wide and cross-district experience sharing of good practice. With joint efforts, schools can make better progress through resource sharing and mutual professional exchanges and support.

4.5.6 Provision of school-based supportive services

In July 2004, the EMB was allotted $550 million for the establishment of the Education Development Fund to implement School-based Professional Support (SBPS) Programmes. Under the SBPS Programmes, schools are provided with diversified support programmes which fall into five areas, namely the Principal Support Network, School Support Partners, Professional Development Schools, University-School Support Programmes and Collegial Participation in ESR.

In September of the following year, the School-based Support Services Office was set up to further promote and coordinate the various school-based support services provided by the different sections of key learning areas/divisions.

Appendices

1 List of Schools Inspected in 2004/05

2 Statistical Analysis of Post-ESR Questionnaires on ESR 3 Sharing of School Practices

A - 1

Appendix 1

List of schools inspected (ESR) 2004-05

Secondary schools

NEWMAN CATHOLIC COLLEGE CCC ROTARY SECONDARY SCHOOL

YCH WONG WHA SAN SECONDARY SCHOOL POK OI HOSPITAL CHAN KAI MEMORIAL COLL

ST MARY'S CHURCH COLLEGE TWGH YOW KAM YUEN COLLEGE

HENRIETTA SECONDARY SCHOOL HO DAO COLL (SPONSORED BY SIK SIK YUEN)

CHANG PUI CHUNG MEM SC PLK TANG YUK TIEN COLLEGE

LKWFSL LAU WONG FAT SECONDARY SCHOOL PLK YAO LING SUN COLLEGE

TWGHs WONG FUT NAM COLLEGE PRECIOUS BLOOD SECONDARY SCHOOL

SMKMCF MA KO PAN MEM COLLEGE SKH CHAN YOUNG SECONDARY SCHOOL SIR ELLIS KADOORIE SEC SCH (WEST KLN) FDBWA SZETO HO SECONDARY SCHOOL SHAU KEI WAN EAST GOVERNMENT SEC SCH PLK MA KAM MING COLLEGE

PLK CELINE HO YAM TONG COLLEGE SHA TIN GOVERNMENT SECONDARY SCHOOL SKH LEUNG KWAI YEE SECONDARY SCHOOL TWGH LUI YUN CHOY MEMORIAL COLLEGE ST JOSEPH'S ANGLO-CHINESE SCHOOL HKTA THE YUEN YUEN INT NO 3 SEC SCH BUDDHIST MA KAM CHAN MEM ENG SEC SCH YPI&CA LEE LIM MING COLLEGE

CHRISTIAN ALLIANCE S W CHAN MEM COLL PO KOK SECONDARY SCHOOL

SEMPLE MEMORIAL SECONDARY SCHOOL KWOK TAK SENG CATHOLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL SKH HOLY TRINITY CHURCH SECONDARY SCHOOL CONFUCIAN HO KWOK PUI CHUN COLLEGE HKSYC&IA WONG TAI SHAN MEM COLL TAI PO GOVERNMENT SECONDARY SCHOOL STEWARDS POOI TUN SECONDARY SCHOOL HOMANTIN GOVERNMENT SECONDARY SCHOOL HO YU COLLEGE AND PRIMARY SCHOOL (SPONSORED BY SIK SIK

YUEN)

KOWLOON TONG SCHOOL (SECONDARY SECTION)

PO LEUNG KUK TONG NAI KAN COLLEGE STFA LEE SHAU KEE COLLEGE

VALTORTA COLLEGE CARMEL HOLY WORD SECONDARY SCHOOL

LINGNAN HANG YEE MEMORIAL SECONDARY SCH CCC FUNG LEUNG KIT MEMORIAL SEC SCH

PUI YING SECONDARY SCHOOL QUEEN'S COLLEGE

ST ROSE OF LIMA'S COLLEGE YUEN LONG MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION SEC SCH

YING WA GIRLS' SCHOOL QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL

PO ON COMM ASSN WONG SIU CHING SEC SCH CHIU LUT SAU MEMORIAL SECONDARY SCHOOL

CCC HEEP WOH COLLEGE NTHYK YUEN LONG DISTRICT SECONDARY SCH

NLSI LUI KWOK PAT FONG COLLEGE YUEN LONG PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL SIR ELLIS KADOORIE SEC SCH (SHATIN) CLEMENTI SECONDARY SCHOOL

Appendix 1