Page 10 - Mini-Module 7

Case Study

The case study school is a well-established aided secondary school in
an old district. The district can be characterised as one of lower
socio-economic status. Located on the periphery of the district, the
school still looks tall even though the old buildings around it have been
demolished and replaced by much taller ones. This perhaps reflects
the good reputation held by the school for many decades. Students
mostly come from nearby public housing estates. With a large number
of parents being uneducated and more parents commuting to work in
the Chinese mainland in recent years, most students enjoy much less
social capital from their families as compared with their counterparts
in other districts of Hong Kong. As such, the school has played a
dominant role in student learning, where students, if motivated and
given the opportunity to stretch their potential, can always excel.
Given this, the leadership capacity of the school is geared toward
enhancing student learning.

Nevertheless, teacher morale in the school is declining. Micropolitics
has adversely affected the relationships among teachers, a “blame
culture” prevails. Except in some subject departments, there is very
little professional trust and collegiality. While many teachers have
given up revitalising the school, there remains a group of teachers who
sustain their school improvement efforts despite the barriers and
frustrations. Sometimes, the toxic culture also demoralises them very
much. Luckily, they have never forgotten their core educational values
as teacher leaders — everything aims at student learning outcomes.
The teacher leaders are actually the school’s most valuable assert, and
have sustained school improvement through influencing and
motivating other teachers. The four teacher participants in this case
study were selected because they are recognised as teacher leaders in
the school.

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