The Hong Kong appraisal system: problems and issues in its implementation and perceived impacts in Government-funded secondary schools

Abstract

The Education and Manpower Bureau (henceforth EMB) requested that all government and aided schools have an open and fair staff appraisal system put in place by the end of the 2001-02 school year, with a view to enhancing the professional development of teachers. This research was conducted to explore the problems and issues in its implementation and to assess the perceived impacts of the scheme in terms of exactly how the attitudes and behaviours of teachers have altered under the mandatory teacher appraisal scheme. Also, as teacher appraisal is an educational practice lifted from Western societies, whose culture is significantly different from that of Hong Kong, this research attempted to explore how Chinese culture might affect the implementation and practice of teacher appraisal in Hong Kong. In this research, a total of 21 problems was identified. They can be classified into three overlapping categories, namely, problems associated with the accuracy of assessment, problems associated with personnel, and problems associated with the appraisal scheme itself. Three of the Chinese cultural dimensions; low uncertainty avoidance, possessing neither masculinity nor femininity, and high power distance, were perceived to produce a negative impact on the appraisal process. The fourth cultural dimension, collectivism, was perceived to produce a neutral impact on the appraisal process. Among the six Chinese cultural values studied, only the concept of trust between friends was perceived to produce a positive impact on the process of appraisal. The concept of maintaining harmonious relationships and conflict avoidance was perceived to produce a neutral impact on the process of appraisal. The other four Chinese cultural values; the concept of face saving, connection and human feelings, the concept of reciprocation, and respect for age and seniority, were perceived to produce a negative impact on the process of appraisal. The research concluded that the implementation of a teacher appraisal scheme was perceived to produce a positive impact on all aspects of teaching behaviours, teacher relationships, teacher knowledge, teacher attitudes, and summative outcomes.