Sustained School Improvement in a Turbulent Reform Environment: Case Studies of Four Primary Schools' Nine-year Trajectories in Hong Kong

This study aims to understand the processes and dynamics of sustainable school improvement. To do so, it examined the nine-year improvement trajectories (1999-2008) of four Hong Kong primary schools that had received initial intensive support from a school improvement program in the context of educational reform. The government sponsors education reform aimed at developing life-long learners. However, little is known about how schools improve in the current reform environment, especially beyond the initial stage of intensive support. This study seeks to fill these gaps.;The study employed a longitudinal multiple-case design. Four primary schools with initial reform success were purposefully chosen. Schools' improvement trajectories were traced using data gathered from two time periods (2001-2003 and 2007-2008)'. Data collected include interviews of key stakeholders and external partners; observations of classes, student-activities, staff development activities, and meetings at different levels; and review of documents.;The study found that after a decade of conscientious reform efforts, the four schools underwent transformational changes in four areas of practice: Teaching and learning, organization and management, professional development, and parental involvement. The improved practice in these four areas synergistically supported students' active learning. However, the schools also faced daunting challenges posed by the changing educational environment. The leaders' collective problem-solving ability determined how well the schools could address these new challenges.;The study uncovered six common processes that led to the schools' deep qualitative changes of practice. These processes are: Focus and Build, Manage Resistance, Skills Transfer, Scale Up, Deepen and Broaden Reform, and Cope with New Challenges. The processes mark the critical issues and challenges across the schools' different stages of improvement, and how different actors addressed these issues. The processes also show how improvement advanced in the schools, from when new practice took root in a group of teacher leaders, to gradual involvement of the whole faculty.;The study further found that school leadership worked synergistically with external support, new school structures, and external influences to drive school improvement. Specifically, mediated by school leadership, policy mandates and various external resources provided the needed direction, pressure and support for improvement. The synergistic interplay and adaptation of leadership, external support and school structures to the schools' changing needs was also vital. Last but not least, empowered by the principal, external support and organization redesign, the emerged senior and mid-level leaders not only helped the schools deepen and broaden reform, but also increased their capacity to address new challenges.;The study contributes to the knowledge of school improvement in three ways. First, it reveals the previously undescribed processes of successful school transformation and what is needed to sustain improvement. Second, it deepens the understandings of school leadership's r01e in school improvement. Third, it makes explicit the pathways of government policies in changing school practice. Based on the findings, the study suggests that policymakers and support providers should invest in several key levers to effect school improvement, take school leadership into account in designing and funding support programs, and adjust interventions according to schools' developmental needs. The study also makes several recommendations for school leaders to lead and manage change.