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Why Homeschooling is so Undeveloped in Hong Kong
Why Homeschooling in Hong Kong is so Undeveloped
For a myriad of reasons, Hong Kong’s education system is being criticized from all angles. A lot of parents consider that the system, with an examinationdriven curriculum, leads to an overwhelming workload. Whether these accusations are accurate or not, the result is that students are either pressured to work till late at night from a very young age, or, as they are in senior secondary school, have to attend extra-curricular tutorial sessions to catch up on their preparation for the menacing DSE public exam. Looking at this, some parents consider giving their children an alternative. Right now, a substantial number of students are studying abroad or in international schools. So, it should be surprising that homeschooling in Hong Kong is such a small community. Homeschooling is currently a rising trend in the Western world. Right now 2 million students are homeschooled in the US. It also turns out that homeschooled kids tend to do better academically than school kids. In the peer-reviewed Journal of School Choice published at the end of 2017, 14 peerreviewed quantitative studies for inclusion for the topic of academic achievement was conducted. In 11 of the 14 peerreviewed studies on academic achievement, there was a definite positive effect on achievement for the homeschooled students. State-provided data sets showed higher than average academic achievement test scores for the home educated. Whilst in the UK 48,000 pupils were homeschooling between 2016-17, the figure is growing exponentially. By comparison Hong Kong’s education bureau revealed that in 2014 there were only 25 cases of families ‘likely to be able to provide children with all-round education’, and thus legally homeschooling. The number has risen recently, according to the SCMP. In 2018 it ranged between 150- 200. Still, this was a tiny figure compared to the 56,000 DSE exam attendants in 2019, or to some 17,500 international school pupils. “Homeschooling in Hong Kong might be seeds sowed in bad fields”
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One reason homeschooling is so underdeveloped in Hong Kong might be due to the lack of support. In one sense, homeschooling in Hong Kong might be seeds sowed in bad
fields. To begin with the Hong Kong government is unsupportive of homeschooling. In a answering section to the Hong Kong lawmakers in 2014, the Education Bureau made it explicitly clear that they do not encourage home education. Ng Hak-kim, then Secretary of Education, wrote that Hong Kong’s system “provides children with a broader and more structured formal curriculum as well as rich learning experiences,” and that “it is not necessary to set up a task force on homeschooling.” Hence the Hong Kong government seldom promotes or advertises the possibilities of homeschooling. There is also the fear of the social conditions that a homeschooled kid might face. As stated above, Hong Kong’s homeschooling community is extremely small. This brings fear to parents that their children might not be able to socialise as well as their peers who attend normal schooling because homeschooling means that their children are to be exposed to a much smaller social circle. However, this concern should be able to be alleviated across time as the homeschool community gradually increases. Other attributes, which are unique to Hong Kong, may be that Hong Kong people seldom interact with their neighbourhood. This means that Hong Kong kids are less likely to socialise with their neighbours, unlike children from other countries. Hong Kong’s peculiar housing situation relates to homeschooling as well. Parents might be worried that the comparted apartments in Hong Kong would bore their children, compared to schools where students can enjoy playfields and interactive sports such as football and basketball. These are block stones to homeschooling which are particular to Hong Kong. These are difficult to resolve as well, without a large enough homeschooling community or support from the government. Finally, some may point to the workaholic culture in Hong Kong, which might dissuade parents from homeschooling their kids. However, the current women labour participation rate is 50.8% in Hong Kong, which is way lower than the UK’s 70.8%. Although this does not neglect the possibility of a relationship between labour participation and homeschool rate, it does suggest that the effects of labour participation might not be as great as imagined. Another possible reason as to the strangely small number of homeschooling pupils is the lack of awareness on homeschooling. Until this moment lots of Hong Kong parents still hold the misconception that homeschooling is illegal. The reality is actually quite the opposite, and homeschooling, although not encouraged by the government, is not too difficult to apply for. Usually, homeschooling parents are only inspected about once or twice per year by people from the Education Bureau. The task of the parents is mainly to report the progress of their sons and daughters, and to report about the learning material their children are receiving. This is not well-known, however, precisely because the Education Bureau is unwilling to encourage homeschooling. As a consequence, a lot of parents fear that they may have to face a lot of bureaucratic procedures if they teach their children at home. This “The Hong Kong Government seldom promotes or advertises the possibilities of homeschooling”
may dissuade some parents from teaching their children on their own.
There might as well be cultural factors that play behind the scene. Chinese culture might lead some parents to consider that teachers are naturally better than them to teach their students, or that teachers from schools are more capable at guiding their kids morally. Socially there might also be prejudices against homeschooled kids as people might assume that they are unable to socialise with their peers. In terms of the parent’s ability, the parents should be aware that in the age of the internet, a lot of learning material and platforms are already available online, such as the renowned Khan Academy. This should at least alleviate some of the parent’s concerns. In fact, homeschooling might act as a better alternative to students with underprivileged backgrounds who are willing to learn, as otherwise they might be stuck in lower tier schools. As for the prejudices against homeschoolers, this unfortunately takes time for the society to correct their attitudes. Such might as well be the major obstacle that parents would have to face.
Apparently, homeschooling in Hong Kong is lagging behind because of a few major obstacles, including the lack of support especially from the Education Bureau, which as well leads to lack of awareness, and cultural reasons. Yet parents should take the courage to try an alternative system for their kids, especially when they have serious discontentments towards the current system.
