IMPACT OF CULTURE & HISTORY IN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM
The British missionaries were the first to arrive to Hong Kong in 1843. Although there is no evidence to prove this, it is believed that the first village school was built in Shek Pai Wan. From that time henceforth, the missionaries started to put up schools all over Hong Kong in the pretext of building churches. By 1980, Hong Kong had more than 20 schools located mostly in the urban areas. Prior to the arrival of the missionaries, education was a reserve of the elite. Wealthy citizens in Hong Kong used to send their children to big cities in China to get a proper education (Anthony, 1990).
To begin with, the Catholic priests were charged with the responsibility of dispensing the gospel to the people of Hong Kong, nonetheless, this did not stop them from being teachers in schools. Later on, the Protestants joined in and set boys-only schools for the British and Chinese children in Hong Kong. In 1861, Frederick Stewart became the founder of Hong Kong’s education after he managed to incorporate the traditional Chinese education system with the colonial one (Edward, 2003).
Due to its close relationship with China, the mentality of citizens in Hong Kong had not changed completely. There still were elements of the Confucian culture, which claimed that only boys could have an education meanwhile women were meant to stay at home and help with household chores. The Confucian culture also demanded that education was only meant to be dispensed to the rich and wealthy individuals in society. This influence of the Chinese culture made it very difficult for the missionaries to sensitize the importance of education to the people of Hong Kong. There were still reservations by the elders in taking their girls to school (Huashan, 2000).
In 1887, the London Missionary Society and Sir James Cantile built the first medical college in Hong Kong. The success of this college (Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese) served as a floodgate for other colleges to open up. In fact, this success led to the opening up of Ying Wa Girls’ School in 1900. During this period, there were contentions between the locals and the missionary about incorporating the Chinese language in the curriculum. However, this issue was ignored by the British administration until 1919 when there was the May Fourth Movement. This movement brought about a new social awareness and led to the inclusion of the Chinese language and culture to the educational system (Anthony, 1990).
By 1970, the majority of the citizens in Hong Kong had received an education. Nonetheless, there was still one more issue - education of poor people. However, this was possible to be resolved with the help of a complete census to enable the government to account for the population. Today, all the schools in Hong Kong are run on a western system; it is no wonder that Hong Kong has been ranked among the top 10 countries with good education systems (Huashan, 2000).
To begin with, the Catholic priests were charged with the responsibility of dispensing the gospel to the people of Hong Kong, nonetheless, this did not stop them from being teachers in schools. Later on, the Protestants joined in and set boys-only schools for the British and Chinese children in Hong Kong. In 1861, Frederick Stewart became the founder of Hong Kong’s education after he managed to incorporate the traditional Chinese education system with the colonial one (Edward, 2003).
Due to its close relationship with China, the mentality of citizens in Hong Kong had not changed completely. There still were elements of the Confucian culture, which claimed that only boys could have an education meanwhile women were meant to stay at home and help with household chores. The Confucian culture also demanded that education was only meant to be dispensed to the rich and wealthy individuals in society. This influence of the Chinese culture made it very difficult for the missionaries to sensitize the importance of education to the people of Hong Kong. There were still reservations by the elders in taking their girls to school (Huashan, 2000).
In 1887, the London Missionary Society and Sir James Cantile built the first medical college in Hong Kong. The success of this college (Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese) served as a floodgate for other colleges to open up. In fact, this success led to the opening up of Ying Wa Girls’ School in 1900. During this period, there were contentions between the locals and the missionary about incorporating the Chinese language in the curriculum. However, this issue was ignored by the British administration until 1919 when there was the May Fourth Movement. This movement brought about a new social awareness and led to the inclusion of the Chinese language and culture to the educational system (Anthony, 1990).
By 1970, the majority of the citizens in Hong Kong had received an education. Nonetheless, there was still one more issue - education of poor people. However, this was possible to be resolved with the help of a complete census to enable the government to account for the population. Today, all the schools in Hong Kong are run on a western system; it is no wonder that Hong Kong has been ranked among the top 10 countries with good education systems (Huashan, 2000).