Hong Kong Education Reform in the Context of Globalization

1
Hong Kong Education Reform in the Context of
Globalization
International Symposium Globalization Education
Governance Change in East Asia

• Wing-kwong TSANG
• Dept. of Educational Administration Policy
• The Chinese University of Hong Kong

2
What is globalization?

• David Harvey (1989) Time-space compression" as
  The Condition of Postmodernity
• Anthony Giddens (1994) The Consequences of
  ModernityGlobalization is really about the
  transformation of space and time. I would define
  it as action at distance, and relate its growth
  over recent years to the development of means of
  instantaneous global communication and mass
  transportation. (1994, p. 22)
• Manuel Castells (1996) The Network Society
  Globalization as a separation of simultaneous
  social practice from physical contiguity and the
  transformation the traditional notion of space of
  places to space of flows.
• Zygmunt Bauman defines globalization as
  annulment of temporal/spatial distances (1998,
  p.18).

3
Economic consequences Globalization lifts
capitalism to yet another highest stage

• Oil Crisis in the 1970 and the advent of
  post-Fordism
• IT revolution total mobility of financial and
  productive capital
• The advent of the informational/global economy

4
It is informational because the productivity and
competitiveness of units or agents in this
economy (be it firms, regions, or nations)
fundamentally depend upon their capacity to
generate, process, and apply efficiently
knowledge-based information. It is global because
the core activities of production, consumption,
and circulation, as well as their components
(capital, labor, raw materials, management,
information, technology, markets) are organized
on a global scale . (Castell, 1996, P.66)

It is an economy with the capacity to work as a
unit in real time on a planetary scale.
(Castells, 1996, P.92)
5
Economic consequences Globalization lifts
capitalism to yet another highest stage

• Oil Crisis in the 1970 and the advent of
  post-Fordism
• IT revolution total mobility of financial and
  productive capital
• The advent of the informational/global economy
• Transformation of the institution and
  organization of work Flexibility
• New polarization of globally mobile capitalist
  and locally stationed proletarian
• Global-total competitions of every men against
  every men

6
Economic consequences Globalization lifts
capitalism to yet another highest stage

• Global-total competitions of every men against
  every men
• Globally mobile capitalists find themselves in a
  world where no national protectionism nor
  monopoly of technology and resources can
  guarantee their market shares or competitive
  edges in the ephemeral and freewheeling
  informational/global economy.
• Local wages-workers have to internally
  globalizing themselves, in other words,
  flexiblizing themselves to meet with the
  worldwide labor market competition and the demand
  of the knowledge-based informational economy.
• Nation-state must excel the competitiveness of
  their national resources, both natural and human
  resources, within the informational/global
  capitalist system.

7
Political consequences

• Breakdown of economic nationalism
• Dismantle of the post-war welfare state the
  emergence of the competition state
• Dissolve of pot-WWII union-corporation
  corporatist politics
• The influence of the supranational agencies and
  the Washington Consensus

8
Washington Consensus (Williamson, 1993) (1)
fiscal discipline, (2) public expenditure
priorities on fields with high economic returns,
(3) tax reform, (4) financial liberalization, (5)
unified exchange rate, (6) trade liberalization,
(7) foreign direct investment, (8) privatization
of state enterprises, (9) deregulation, and (10)
secure property rights.
9
Political consequences

• Breakdown of economic nationalism
• Dismantle of the post-war welfare state the
  emergence of the competition state
• Dissolve of postWWII union-corporation
  corporatist politics
• The influence of the supranational agencies and
  the Washington Consensus
• The emergence of the New Right

10
Social consequences

• Flexible work

11
Flexible work (Carnoy, 2000, p. 74)

• The notion of time flexible work means less
  employed time than thirty-five- to forty-hour per
  week, full-year job
• The notion of permanency flexible work is based
  explicitly on a fixed-term contract with no
  commitment for future employment
• The notion of location although the vast
  majority of workers still work at business sites,
  increasing numbers of independent contractors
  work not on-site but in their home
• The notion of social contract between employer
  and employee the traditional contract is based
  on reciprocal rights, protections, and
  obligations

12
Social consequences

• Flexible work
• Individualization of labor in the labor process

13
Workers are individualized?separated from the
social institutions that grew up around
guaranteed, stable, long-term jobs. This
institutions included the internal labor market
in the firm itself, the neighborhoods that
developed around firms and industries, and labor
unions." (Carnoy, 2000, p.100)
14
Social consequences

• Flexible work
• Individualization of labor in the labor process
• Flexibilization of family for flexible workers

15
More and more families are made up of working
couples, who are working on flexible schedules
and in flexible locations, it basically makes it
difficult to sustain family lives. In Carnoy's
own words, "two separate individual projects and
two separate work schedules make the
compatibility of the individual work projects and
the family project more difficult in the long
run." (Carnoy, 2000, p.116)
16
What result is a serious social contradiction
the new workplace requires even more investment
in knowledge than in the past, and family are
crucial to such knowledge formation, especially
for children but also for adults. The new
workplace, however, contributes to greater
instability in the child-centered nuclear family,
degrading the very institution crucial to further
economic development. (Carnoy, 2000, p.
110)
17
Social consequences

• Flexible work
• Individualization of labor in the labor process
• Flexibilization of family for flexible workers
• Transformation of close-knit communities of yore
  to virtual, flexible or cyber-communities

18
Within the "space of flow", in which
instantaneous social practices are separated from
physical contiguity, the traditional face-to-face
and time-consuming communications, which are the
cornerstone of primary association, have given
way to fast, cheap and forgetting communications
(Benedikt, 1995, quoted from Bauman, 1998, p.16).
19
Social consequences

• Flexible work
• Individualization of labor in the labor process
• Flexibilization of family for flexible workers
• Transformation of close-knit communities of yore
  to virtual, flexible or cyber-communities
• Individualization of the social

20
Cultural consequences

• Compression of symbolic universes (Berger
  Luckman, 1966)

21
Cultural consequences

• Compression of symbolic universes (Berger
  Luckman, 1966)
• Reflexitivity and Process of de-traditionalization
  (Giddens, 1994)

22
A post-tradition social orderis not one in
which tradition disappears - far from it. It is
one in which tradition changes its status.
Traditions have to explain themselves, to become
open to interrogation or discourse. In a
globalizing, culturally cosmopolitan society,
traditions become forced into open view reasons
or justifications have to be offered for
them. (Giddens, 1994, p. 23)
23
The rise of fundamentalism has to be seen
against the backdrop of the emergence of the
post-traditional society. What is
fundamentalism? It is, so I shall argue, nothing
other than tradition defended in the tradition
way - but where that mode of defence has become
widely called into question. In a globally
cosmopolitan order such a defence become
dangerous, because essentially it is a refusal of
dialogue. (1994b, p.23) It is within Giddens'
conceptual framework of post-traditional society
and fundamentalism that it become apparent that
the September 11 tragedy is one example of this
defense of tradition in the traditional way but
by means of most modernized devastating tools.
24
Cultural consequences

• Compression of symbolic universes (Berger
  Luckman, 1966)
• Process of de-traditionalization (Giddens, 1994)
• New cultural identities of modern man (Bauman,
  1998 1996)
• Pilgrim as cultural identity of modern man
  Pilgrimage of producer and soldier, worker and
  citizen, or breadwinners, husband and wife,
  father and mother
• Postmodern cultural identity Stroller, vagabond,
  tourist and players

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Three Methodological Qualifications

• Caustion of decontextualization and false
  universalism in comparative education study
  (Whitty et al., 1998)
• Q1 Paradigm convergence of education reforms
  rather than simple convergence of education
  reforms (Ball, 1999)

26
By simple convergence, Ball refers to "exactly
the same policies being invoked in very different
national settings." (Ball, 1999, p. 198) As for
paradigm convergence of education reform, it
refers to "invocation of policies with common
underlying principles, similar operational
mechanism and similar first and second order
effects first order effects in terms of their
impact on practitioners, practice and
institutional procedures and second order effects
in terms of social justicepatterns of access,
opportunity and outcome." (Ball, 1999, p. 198)
27
Three Methodological Qualifications

• Caustion of decontextualization and false
  universalism in comparative education study
  (Whitty et al., 1998)
• Q1 Paradigm convergence of education reforms
  rather than simple convergence of education
  reforms (Ball, 1999)
• Q2 Conditional or function causality rather than
  deterministic causality

28
For deterministic causality, Williams refers to
"the notion of an external cause which totally
predicts or prefigures, indeed totally controls a
subsequent activities." (p. 202) Applying to the
base-superstructure relation, it implies that the
superstructure is the inevitable result of the
base. As for conditional causality, it refers to
the relation in which some external forces are
"setting limits and exerting pressures" (p. 202)
to a subsequent activities.
29
Three Methodological Qualifications

• Caustion of decontextualization and false
  universalism in comparative education study
  (Whitty et al., 1998)
• Q1 Paradigm convergence of education reforms
  rather than simple convergence of education
  reforms (Ball, 1999)
• Q2 Conditional or function causality rather than
  deterministic causality
• Q3 Specification framework of global effect on
  education reform

30
Dale has identified seven mechanisms of external
effect on national policy. Two of them are what
Dale characterized as 'traditional' or 'orthodox'
mechanism. They are 'policy borrowing' and
policy learning'. The other five are mechanism
"could be seen to be associated, though not
exclusively, with globalization." (Dale, 1999,
p.5) These mechanisms are 'harmonization',
'dissemination', 'standardization', 'installing
interdependence' and 'imposition'.
31
Education Crisis or Legitimation Crisis The
Cause of Reform Education

• Rhetoric of Crisis in Public Education
• A Nation at Risk in the US
• The UK fares badly. Confederation of British
  Industry
• Dual legitimation crisis of post-WWII welfare
  state
• Democratic legitimation imperative
• Capital accumulation imperative
• Dual legitimation crisis of competitive state in
  Information/global economy
• Rising demand from globally mobile capitalist on
  accumulation imperative
• Dislocated local citizen, consumer-right
  politics, and democracy for consumerism and
  private good - local democratic legitimation
  imperative in disarray

32
Instrumental Economicism The ideology of the
convergence of education reforms

• Carnoy financially driven, free-market ideology
• Morrow Torres Commodification
• Apple Neoliberalism-Neoconservativism
• Marginson Economic Rationalsim
• Ball Economicism

33
Educational provisions itself increasingly made
susceptible to profit and education processes
play their part in the creation of the enterprise
culture and the cultivation of enterprising
subjects. Schools become more like business and
more business-like. Educational knowledge is
reworked in terms of skills, competencies and
dispositions required by the economy. Parents
and students are positioned as consumers and
entreated to compare schools in terms of
published performance indicators. Competition
between school for market share is encouraged.
In each respect education is increasingly subject
to 'the normative assumptions and perscription
(Linguard et al., 1998) of 'economicism'. (Ball,
1999, p. 198, my emphasis)
34
Instrumental Economicism The ideology of the
convergence of education reforms

• Carnoy financially driven, free-market ideology
• Morrow Torres Commodification
• Apple Neoliberalism-Neoconservativism
• Marginson Economic Rationalsim
• Ball Economicism
• Instrumental economicism
• Instrumental rationality Extrinsic/instrumental
  value of competitiveness replaces
  intrinsic/substantive value of education
• Economicsim Education is subject to the
  prescription of economism in all aspects

35
Quasi Market Mechanism The paradigmic features
of education reforms

• Decentralization, privatization, less government
  spending, commodification, consumerisation,
  manageralisation, commercialisation,
  centralization, prescription, devolution
  choice, .
• In search for a paradigmic schema
• Quasi-market as core concept Halfway house from
  state-controlled to neoliberal free market
• Demand-side of the quasi market Enahancing
  choice
• Amalgamation of private and public sector
• Public schools Privatization and opting-out
• Private schools Incorporation

36
Quasi Market Mechanism The paradigmic features
of education reforms

• In search for a paradigmic schema
• Demand-side of the quasi market Enahancing
  choice
• Amalgamation of private and public sector
• Public sector Privatization and opting- out
• Private sector Incorporation
• Supply side of the quasi market
• Devolution and de-regulation of public schools
• Re-regulation of incorporated private schools
• Medium of exchange of the quasi-market Hegemony
  of Performativeity
• Standardization National Curriculum, National
  Standard, performance indicators, benchmark, ...
• Normalization School League Table, School Report
  Cards...
• Accountability/Disciple Punish Output-driven
  evaluative state

37
HK Education Reform in Global Context

• Which education reform?
• HKSAR Education Reform (January 1999 -
• Education Commission Report (1984-
• Education crisis or Legitimation Crisis
• The rhetoric of decline of English standard

38
We did hear again and again from interviewees who
perceived a decline in the quality of Hong Kong's
primary and secondary education, especially the
inadequacy of English and to some extent also
Chinese language skills among school leavers.
Many employers expressed dissatisfaction with the
language skills of their recruits, and compared
Hong Kong unfavorably on this score with other
Asian countries, notably including Singapore but
also, increasingly, China itself. As one Western
banker observed, 'if you want someone who writes
good English, hire him from Beijing University,
not Hong Kong U.'
39
As regards the standards at S5 level, the Hong
Kong Examinations Authority maintains that, based
on the results of the 'Test Monitoring the
Standards of Hong Kong Certificate of Education
Examination Control Group', there is no evidence
of a significant change in recent years in the
overall standard in English for the top third of
students. Standard of the bottom third students
however, have been declining. At S3 level and
below, ED has also been monitoring the standards
to the performance of a random sample of students
in the Hong Kong Attainment Tests administered by
schools in June each year. The findings suggest
that there has been a slight upward trend since
1987 in the standard of English at S1 and S2
level whilst the standard of S3 has been stable.
(paragraph 2.13)
40
HK Education Reform in Global Context

• Which education reform?
• HKSAR Education Reform (January 1999 -
• Education Commission Report (1984-
• Education crisis or Legitimation Crisis
• The rhetoric of decline of English standard
• The legitimation crisis of the retreating
  colonial state 1997 effect on migration and
  brain drain
• The legitimation crisis of the HKSAR government
  
• Grand design of Building HK for a New Era
• Housing and welfare project in disarray after the
  Asian financial crisis
• Education reform as the last resort to the
  legitimation crisis

41
HK Education Reform in Global Context

• Instrumental Economicism
• Rhetoric of enhancing competitiveness in
  informational/global economy
• Mr. Tein assertion on employability
• ELSA (English Language Standard Assessment)
• ...

42
HK Education Reform in Global Context

• Quasi-market mechanism
• Reform on the demand side of education
  Privatization and choice
• New elitism speech and the new Direct Subsidy
  Scheme
• Report of the UGC Proposal for transfer of
  credit and/or students
• Reform on the supply side of education
  Devolution, decentralization and
  managerialization
• SMI, ECR7, SBM
• Reform on the unit of account in education
  Performativity and Commodification
• Publication Performance Indicators
• Release of public examinations Value-added
  measures on School Profile,
• Publicize QAI result
• Published number of Benchmarked Teachers in
  each school
• Funding by credit number rather than by student
  number in UGC

43
ThanksQuestions and comments are welcome
International Symposium Globalization Education
Governance Change in East Asia

• Wing-kwong TSANG
• Dept. of Educational Administration Policy
• The Chinese University of Hong Kong