少子化對國民小學的衝擊及其因應策略：香港的經驗與啟示

The Impact of Falling Birth Rate on Elementary Schools and Its Coping Strategies: Experience of Hong Kong and Its Implications

本研究以目前全球生育率最低的香港地區為對象，探討少子化現象對香港小學所造成的衝擊、因應策略、遭遇的困難及其解決之道。本研究除進行文獻探討外，研究者親赴香港進行實地訪談及蒐集相關文件。受訪的人員包括教育局官員三位、學者專家九位及小學教育人員（小學校長、副校長、主任、教師）18位，合計30位。結果發現：一、少子化對香港小學教育造成「學生人數減少」、「學校關閉」、「教師超額」、「校舍閒置」等衝擊；二、香港教育局針對少子化衝擊採取的因應策略主要有「減班殺校」、「跨境招生」、「提供優質教育基金」、「小班教學」、「縮減師資培育員額」、「提早退休計畫」、「編制助理教師專款」、「活用閒置校舍」等；三、香港教育局採行國小少子化因應策略的理由考量主要為：「市場機制」、「提升教育素質」與「重視教師心理感受」等；四、香港教育局推動少子化因應策略遇到的難題主要為「殺校」及「小班教學」方面，香港政府提出聘任助理教師專款及救亡方案加以因應；五、受訪的香港教育人員對其政府少子化政策的評價因其內容而有不同，在殺校方面爭議較大，在提升教育素質及專款補助方案方面較受肯定。根據研究結果，本研究提出實施精緻教育及建立教師評鑑制度等七項啟示性建議供參考。

This study aims to investigate the problems of falling birth rate in Hong Kong， focusing on the impacts of falling birth rate， coping strategies， and difficulties in implementing policies in elementary schools. Literature review， document analysis， and interview method were used for collecting data. Thirty Hong Kong interviewees， including 3 bureaucratic officers， 9 scholars， and 18 elementary school administrators and teachers， provided needed data. Results indicate that the impacts of falling birth rate on elementary schools include the reduction in student enrollment， the closures of schools， a surplus of teachers， and idle school facilities. The coping policies adopted by the Hong Kong government included “reducing classes and closing schools，” “recruiting students outside of Hong Kong，” “providing high-quality educational funds，” “more classes of a smaller size，” “reducing the number of teacher trainees，” “retirement plans for an earlier age，” “hiring assistant teachers，” and “active use of idle facilities.” The rationales behind the coping policies included “marketing mechanism，” “raising the quality of education，” and “valuing teachers’ feelings.” The major problems with the implementation of the coping policies were “closing schools” and “more classes of a smaller size.” “Hiring assistant teachers” and “Salvation Plans” were used to tackle the problems. Based on the findings， some implications， such as implementing elaborate education and establishing teacher evaluation system， are addressed.