Keywords
kindergarten, leadership practice, managerial change, principal
The context of managerial changes in Hong Kong schools
Schools in Hong Kong have inevitably been influenced by traditional Chinese cultural values,
although Hong Kong was ruled by the British for more than 150 years. Individualism gives way to
collectivism in a traditional Chinese society: individuals act according to collective expectations and
in line with the hierarchical relationships in a family and organization (Fei, 1947). According to
Hofstede (2001), there is a large power distance between people of different ranks in a Chinese
society. It was therefore expected by both principals and teachers that a type of strong, almost autocratic,
leadership was to be practised by principals in Hong Kong schools. Teachers’ involvement
in school management tended to be hierarchically bounded, and school principals had almost absolute
authority over staff selection and promotion. If principals did not display strong leadership, they were
regarded as having neglected their leadership role(Walker, 2004). In discussing teacher education and
empowerment, Lo (2002) also suggests thatHongKong schools should be understood in the context of
hierarchy. Thus, we can understand why ‘little emperors with dictatorial powers’ was used as a metaphor
to describe theHongKong school principals in the SchoolManagement Initiative (SMI), a policy
Keywordskindergarten, leadership practice, managerial change, principalThe context of managerial changes in Hong Kong schoolsSchools in Hong Kong have inevitably been influenced by traditional Chinese cultural values,although Hong Kong was ruled by the British for more than 150 years. Individualism gives way tocollectivism in a traditional Chinese society: individuals act according to collective expectations andin line with the hierarchical relationships in a family and organization (Fei, 1947). According toHofstede (2001), there is a large power distance between people of different ranks in a Chinesesociety. It was therefore expected by both principals and teachers that a type of strong, almost autocratic,leadership was to be practised by principals in Hong Kong schools. Teachers’ involvementin school management tended to be hierarchically bounded, and school principals had almost absoluteauthority over staff selection and promotion. If principals did not display strong leadership, they wereregarded as having neglected their leadership role(Walker, 2004). In discussing teacher education andempowerment, Lo (2002) also suggests thatHongKong schools should be understood in the context ofhierarchy. Thus, we can understand why ‘little emperors with dictatorial powers’ was used as a metaphorto describe theHongKong school principals in the SchoolManagement Initiative (SMI), a policy
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