Educational Provision for
Ethnic Minority in Hong Kong
香港少數族裔學童的教育服務

Research Plan

Using Alexander's (2001) 'macro-micro' approach to
studying educational phenomena, document analysis,
surveys, focused interviews and classroom observation will be
used as the main methods in this research. The research plan
has been designed to collect data from a broad range of
sources including policy documents at system and school level,
policy makers, Principals, teachers, students and their families as
well as direct observation in classrooms. This variety of data
sources will provide a multi-dimensional perspective on the
adequacy of educational provision for ethnic minority students in
Hong Kong.

In the first stage of the study, it is intended to examine
relevant system level policy documents, including the proposed
Racial Discrimination Bill in order to establish any
discrepancies between existing policy and the requirements
of the RDB. At the same time a range of international
policy approaches to provisions for minority students will
also be examined. ?The purpose is to compare local Hong Kong
policy with international best practice in the provision of education
for ethnic minority students. The results of this comparison
will provide the broad framework for successive stages of the
project and it will specifically address research question 1
(see p.3).

In the second stage of the study, a stratified sample of schools
will be surveyed to understand school decision-makers' and
school teachers' views on educational provision for ethnic
minority schools. The sample will stratified according to
school districts and schools within districts will be chosen
based on the percentage of ethnic minority students in the
school population. A sub-sample of school decision makers
will be selected for interview in order to follow up in more
detail the issues raised in the questionnaire. In the same
sample of schools, an analysis on school related documents
will be carried out to establish independently from the interviews
how the school policy on ethnic minority students conforms to
central policy and the requirements of the proposed
Racial Discrimination Bill The purpose of interviews and
document analysis is to understand how schools have responded
to the central policy initiatives and the RDB. At this stage, the
data collected will help to address the research question 2 (see p.3).

In the third stage of the study, a sample of teachers within the
sample schools will be selected for interview, observations
will be carried out in their classrooms and interviews will
also be conducted with the parents of students and
students themselves within those classrooms. This is a
complex technical task that will seek to link teachers, students
and parents. The purpose of linking teachers, students and
parents is to develop a more holistic understanding of issues
related to educational provision for ethnic minority students.
If this is not done, there is a danger the research project will
examine only surface features of the issue rather than deep
issues concerned with the lived experiences of the key
participants. Policy can be informed as much by this
holistic perspective as it can from policy analysis. The data
thus collected will contribute significantly to the research questions
3.

 

Project Objective Background Plan Methodolgy

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