We were honoured to have Dr Chan Chi Wai and Dr Kenneth Lee, from the Hong Kong Centre for the Development of Education Leadership, ChineseUniversity of Hong Kong, to analyze with us the results of a survey recently conducted in the school on self-evaluation and whole-school development.

A series of questionnaires was given to all students, teachers and parents on issues of learning, teaching, school management and family support. The results show that our school has a number of strengths to make further use of. When compared to other secondary schools in Hong Kong which have done the same survey, the school is running effectively above the average levels in terms of school management and leadership, quality and effectiveness of teaching, and support for students. However, the results reveal common problems among teenagers concerning self image, social relationships, family support, motivation, and learning strategies, which are all areas demanding action to be taken as soon as possible.

Dr Chan and Dr Lee further explained to all teachers the implications of the results from a theoretical level, and divided teachers into groups to look at the findings in detail, discuss their views and share their suggestions.

It was concluded that with the reforms in secondary education, the school needs to put as many resources as possible into helping students to derive pleasure and satisfaction from their learning, while keeping good communication with parents to inform them of the development of their children.