SHIRLEY ZHAOshirley.zhao@scmp.com
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 07 October, 2015, 3:04am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 07 October, 2015, 5:37am
Students, Kelvin Lo Man-yu, Kitty Kwok Ching-yi and teacher, Lai Sui-ping share about small class education at San Wui Commercial Society Secondary School in Leung King Estate, Tuen Mun. Photo: Franke Tsang
When Kitty Kwok Ching-yi entered her secondary school in Tuen Mun two years ago, she was not quite used to the attention she received from her teachers.
Her class then had only 22 pupils, compared to 45 in her primary school class.
"In primary school, our teachers only let classmates who had high academic scores ask questions because there were so many people in the classroom," says Kwok, 14.
"Students like me who did not do very well didn't have many chances to raise questions, so we fell even further behind."
Now Kwok is among the top students in her class.
She is studying at San Wui Commercial Society Secondary School. The school has seen a continuous decline in enrolment because of the city's low birth rate. Last year, it opened only two Form 1 classes with fewer than 25 pupils in each class.
"New students feel our classrooms are very spacious and comfortable," says principal Wong Tong-pak. "The small class sizes also allow our teachers to arrange different activities and bring more changes to everyday teaching."
Wong is one of the supporters of a small-class education policy. Some believe secondary schools want such a policy just to maintain the number of their classes so they can keep resources and prevent their teachers from being fired.
But Wong says the move is more about catering to children's different abilities and potential.
Kwok says her teachers have been spending a lot of time communicating with her, guiding her to find her interests. She is now learning to be a master of ceremonies and a radio show host.
"I used to be ignored by my classmates and teachers in primary school because I didn't have good scores," she says. "Now our teachers are taking very good care of every one of us. They know our abilities and they are willing to help us discover our potential."
Her classmate, 14-year-old Kelvin Lo Man-yu, agrees. He likes the fact that everyone in his class can take part in games and competitions in class.
But a spokesman for the Education Bureau says the government has no plans to officially recognise small-class education in secondary schools.
"Small-class teaching is more of a teaching strategy," the spokesman says.
A 'small class' at G.T. (Ellen Yeung) College, Tseung Kwan O. Photo: Steve Cray
"International studies have suggested that small-class teaching is more effective when students are of a younger age, and its effectiveness tends to wane as students age."
He adds that a lengthy period of study is needed on whether to implement small-class education in secondary schools, especially when the number of children entering these institutions is expected to rebound in 2017.
However, Lai Sui-ping, San Wui's assistant principal and an English teacher, believes such teaching is effective. She says in 2013, only seven out of the school's 26 pupils who took economics passed the exam, while last year, all 14 pupils passed.
She says even though there has been no overall academic improvement, the quality of teaching has been improving, as pupils have become more involved in classes and more willing to raise questions. She hopes there will be a long-term small-class policy even after the student population rebounds.
"It's not about how many scores your students can get," she says. "It's about how happy they are during studies."
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1864767/small-classes-leads-focused-teachers-leading
