HKIER

摘要

英國割佔香港以後，帶來了西方先進的教育制度。西方人很不滿意中國傳統的華文小學（書塾），從十九世紀四十年代開始，首先是西方傳教士，然後是香港政府官員，一直努力進行改革。可是到了二十世紀三十年代，香港大量華文小學仍在原地踏步，學制與百年前的書塾無異：科目狹窄，只有基本的讀寫訓練；名義上是六年制，實際學習年限只有3–4年。本文的目的在展現香港華文小學的發展歷程，探討華文小學開埠百年而發展停滯不前的原因，並揭示戰後小學學制改革的本質。

Abstract

Ever since Hong Kong became a British colony in 1841, westerners were not satisfied with the traditional vernacular school systems. From the 1840s, western missionaries and the Hong Kong Government had been trying very hard to revise the primary education system. Nevertheless, until the 1930s, many vernacular primary schools remain the same they were 100 years ago. Schools kept providing basic training of reading and writing only. While the number of years set for vernacular primary education was six, but pupils' schooling usually lasted for three to four years only. The aim of this article is thus to reveal the development of the vernacular primary school system in Hong Kong and explore the cause of the stagnancy. The article also inquires into the essence of the reformation of the primary education system in Hong Kong after World War II.