Traditional Values and Western Ideas: Hong Kong's Dilemmas in Education

Abstract

The rapid expansion of Hong Kong's education system has given rise to new social dilemmas which have disturbed the balance between traditional values and Western ideas. These dilemmas have been apparent in three critical areas. First, the relationship between the territory's economic needs for stratified manpower on the one hand, and the social demand for more formal education on the other, has created problems which have intensified as more educational opportunities have become available. Second, the rapid expansion has materialized by maximizing the efficient use of resources. Such a premium on efficiency is attained at the expense of equity. When, however, educational opportunities increase, questions of equity again come to the fore. Finally, with the spread of education to a larger population, the pressure to consider individual needs increases. Such a pressure runs counter to the tradition of conformity in educational practice. None of these dilemmas is unique to Hong Kong. But the exceptionally rapid and recent growth in educational provisions has brought these conflicting values to the surface and has posed new and unexpected problems for those who make and implement policy in the territory. This article focuses, initially, on the expansion of the educational system in the 1970s and then concentrates, specifically, on the dilemmas which have accompanied this expansion. Education now receives the largest amount of public money of any social policy sector.1 It is a major employer in government and government-subvented organizations and it caters for a large segment of the population. It is appropriate, in this light, to examine the ways and means whereby value conflicts are resolved. This relates to the extent the government relies on expertise and consultation. The paper argues that such a reliance provides the colonial government with the legitimacy to formulate educational policies. The changing political context demands special attention be paid to this issue of legitimacy.