Teachers’ perceptions of Incorporated Management Committees as a form of school-based management in Hong Kong

The policy of the registration of School Management Committees (SMCs) as Incorporated Management Committees (IMCs) has led to a dispute between the School Sponsoring Bodies (SSBs) and the Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB, renamed Education Bureau, EDB in July 2007) and has caused great tension between the two parties. However, in this heated debate, little has been heard about teachers’ opinions on this important issue. Therefore, this study aims at finding out teachers’ perceptions of the newly proposed school management system and whether they are willing to participate in IMCs. In this study, 585 questionnaires were collected from a total of 652 which had been distributed to 25 schools (19 secondary schools and 9 primary schools), and five teacher representatives from five schools were involved in post-survey interviews. Findings from this study show that while the teachers were generally in favour of working hand in hand with the public (e.g. parents, alumni and members of the local community) for the betterment of schools, they had reservations about the registration of SMCs as IMCs because there would be legal implications of the Committees. Second, the teachers saw the IMCs as an administrative tool to improve school management, rather than as a means of enhancing students’ learning outcomes. Third, teachers were hesitant about taking up the posts of teacher managers due to the unpredictable workload and legal liability involved. Finally, teachers from Christian schools were generally much less in favour of including representatives from the public and the registration of the SMCs as IMCs. The findings imply that the EMB has a responsibility to clarify the legal implications of IMCs and the ways in which school representatives’ interests can be safeguarded. At the same time, SSBs need to regulate their management pattern and allow more transparency and accountability in managing their schools.