Implementation of School Self-evaluation in Secondary Schools: Teachers' Perspective

The study investigates how teacher administrators and teachers in Hong Kong secondary schools experienced the implementation process of School Self-Evaluation (SSE), perceived the effects of SSE and described the implementation approach of SSE from the perspectives of policy implementation within the policy studies in education. Given that this area is under-researched in Hong Kong context, the study aims to add to the knowledge base of implementation process, perceived effects and implementation approach of SSE and inform policy administrators of SSE in the government and the schools.;The purpose of this research is three-folded. First, it aims to study the complex and organic interaction of SSE in the school contexts with reference to uniqueness of Policy, Place and People. Second, it intends to provide a new perspective for the theoretical debate between the managerialists and the critical performativists on the perceived effects of SSE on school improvement or managerial control. Third, it aims at providing an answer to the theoretical debate on the implementation approach of SSE from the top-down, bottom-up or hybrid approaches in policy studies. In this regard, this study presents three research questions: 1. From the perspective of teacher administrators and teachers, how was SSE implemented in the three sample schools? 2. From the perspective of teacher administrators and teachers, what were the perceived effects and/or consequences of SSE? 3. Given these implementation experiences and perceptions, how could the implementation of SSE be accounted for from the perspectives of policy implementation within the policy studies in education? This study was qualitative in nature. Only 3 selected secondary schools experiencing a complete cycle of External School Review (ESR) or Quality Assurance Inspection (QAI) and SSE were studied. The use of descriptive and exploratory approach was adopted. Qualitative design of the study provided a platform for closer exploration into their description of implementation process, perceived effects and implementation approaches of SSE.;There were three arguments made in this study. First, it argued that the implementation of SSE was an organic and complex interaction of the Policy to be implemented, Place where the policy embedded, and the People who implemented the policy. Second, this study argued that the debate between the managerialists and critical performativists might not be applicable to the Hong Kong context. Instead, it was found that the implementation situation of the school, the biographical and professional background of teachers in which they grew up and socialised and the position of a teacher shaped the perception lens of teachers, through which they perceived the effects of SSE on school improvement or managerial control. The last contribution of this study was to provide interpretations to account for the implementation of SSE. It was argued that the implementation of SSE was neither accounted by the top-down, bottom-up or hybrid approaches, but the complexity of the implementation context including the Policy to be implemented, the Place and the People who implemented the policy.;The research has theoretical implications for the literature of policy implementation, literature of school administration, literature of perceived effects of SSE. Furthermore, this research has policy implications for policy instrumentalisations, policy alienation and instrumental rationalism and policy localisation at schools. Finally, this research ends with practical implications for school administrators.