The ‘no loser’ principle in Hong Kong’s education reform: Does it apply to ethnic minority students?

An important feature of Hong Kong’s education reform over the past decade has been the articulation of the ‘no loser principle.’ It was meant to signal that all students are valuable and will benefit from both basic and senior secondary education. Yet barriers remain for the 2.9% of students under age 15 who can be classified as ethnic minorities. There is a declining participating rate as students move from primary to tertiary level, the medium of instruction remains alien to most of these students, and there are no curriculum provisions to meet their special needs. This paper will examine both the policy context in which provisions for ethnic minority students have been made in Hong Kong schools and also classroom practice that operationalises this policy on a daily basis. The purpose is to make an assessment of the extent to which the ‘no loser principle’ can be said to apply to ethnic minority students. 1 The research to be reported here is drawn from the General Research Fund project, Exploring Cultural Diversity in Chinese Classrooms: Can Assessment Environments Cater for the Needs of Ethnic Minority Students in Hong Kong, [GRF-HKIEd840809] funded by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council. The views expressed here are those of the author.