published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

In the recent decade or so, the phenomenon of enrollment decline of secondary schools has been clearly observed in Hong Kong. The significance of this phenomenon has grown over time such that the number of public sector schools has had to be reduced. Meanwhile, an alternative to school closure is to reduce the class size of schools which is however not less controversial. On the surface, the arguments against class size reduction include perceived extra cost per student and ineffectiveness of small class teaching in secondary schools. Hidden in the agenda of the Government could be, arguably, the political difficulty to reverse such class size reduction trend when the enrollment rebounds eventually. This dissertation reviews how the Government has reacted to the changing situation and developing public concern on the issue, and cautiously evaluates the effectiveness of the Government’s responses. Then, this dissertation explores the literature in public administration in relation to school retrenchment policies, and hence addresses the Hong Kong case accordingly. Finally, recommendations are made along with rationale for the betterment of managing enrollment decline by means of controlled class size subject to a mechanism to be agreed on. In making these recommendations, it is hoped that the policy direction should point to the future, with an aim to look for positive management opportunities while solving problematic phenomenon at the same time. / published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Master / Master of Education

This study focused on the relationship between classroom interaction and small class teaching in a Hong Kong secondary school, an issue which has long been recognized in a range of international and local studies. The observation of one teacher teaching two S.1 classes of different class size (n=34 and n=23) and another teacher teaching two S.7 classes of different class size (n=23 and n=12) over a period of time has revealed key differences between teaching and learning in large and small classes. This study draws on both quantitative and qualitative data. The study includes a pilot case study which comprised of three-hour lesson observations in each of the two S.1 (grade 7) classrooms, an action research study which consisted of 20-hour lesson observations in each of my two S.7 classes (grade 13), interview with the S.1 (grade 7) teacher participant and a total of 15 students, writing from my S.7 students, and my own teacher journal reflections from my S.7 classes. Findings from both the case study and the action research reveal that students in the small classes have more opportunities for participation and classroom interaction after they were offered more group work, discussion, scaffolding and open-ended questions. It was found that small classes were more conducive to the fostering of dialogic teaching as well as the formation of communities of practice. Implications for pedagogy and further research are included. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education