Gender, school management and educational reforms: a case study of a primary school in Hong Kong

Abstract

Across the globe, many countries have incorporated new managerialism and marketization to reform their education systems. Feminist studies have already pointed out that these changes are gendered and masculinized and have documented their impacts on women teachers in secondary, higher and further education. Yet interestingly, while primary teaching is a feminized occupation, the ways that these changes and the associated practices are gendered and affected women teachers are relatively under‐researched . This article, based on a case school in Hong Kong, attempts to fill this gap. By teasing out the gendered assumptions embedded in management strategies, it will show how an entrepreneurial school has attempted to succeed in a competitive educational market by exploiting young women, discriminating motherhood and forging competition among women of different educational qualifications. While making visible the patriarchal interests and masculine norms of the school, the article also aims to illuminate the contradictions and tensions inherent in, or generated, by those strategies.

Notes

Department of Sociology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Email: [email protected]

Bi‐sessional schooling was an exigent measure introduced in the 1950s to expand the capacity of schools. Because of a sudden increase of population and consequently an enormous demand of education, two schools were allowed to use the same premises, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. The morning school usually starts at about seven‐thirty and ends at twelve‐thirty whereas the afternoon will begin at about one o'clock and finish at six.

Since the introduction of compulsory primary education in 1971 more than 90% of primary schools in Hong Kong are either owned or subsidized by the Government, which have to follow the directives of the Education Department.

In January 1997, i.e., three months after it was opened, the number of classes expanded from six to nine and then in September 1997, the new academic year, it doubled to 18 classes.

In April 1998 when I conducted my second fieldtrip, the school had 26 teaching staff: 20 women and 6 men (including the principal). I interviewed 20 of them, including all the male teachers. Each interview lasted for about one‐and‐a‐half to four hours. They were all taped, transcribed and translated.

According to the principal, the remarkable success of Champion School has already inspired some schools to emulate its strategies.

Assistant Master/Mistress is a senior position in Hong Kong's primary schools.

‘Ci‐nai’ is a derogatory term used to refer to women, especially those who are married, who are home‐based and petty‐minded. As I cannot think of any better term in English, I retain the usage here.

This appeared to be the fate of one married woman teacher. At the end of my research period, I was told that the principal was not satisfied with her performance and she was advised to leave.

At the end of my fieldwork in 1998, Mr Kwok had decided to resign.

For example, if a class can perform particularly well in the subject of English but not others, then the English teacher will be praised. Or if a class performs reasonably consistently in most subjects except English, then the English teacher will be regarded as a problem.

Cultural subjects in primary education include Physical Education, Art, Music and Putonghua.