Dion Chen () (1979 –
) is an educator in Hong Kong. He is the principal of
Ying Wa College
Ying Wa College (also referred to as YWC, Anglo-Chinese College, ) is a direct subsidised boys' secondary school in Kowloon, Hong Kong near Nam Cheong station. It was established (as the Anglo-Chinese College) in Malacca in 1818 by the first P ...
, who assumed office on 1 September 2021.
Chen is well known for his effort on the alternative learning profile of students in the
Direct Subsidy Scheme
The Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) is instituted by the Education Bureau of Hong Kong to enhance the quality of private schools at the primary and secondary levels. The Hong Kong government has been encouraging non-government secondary schools ...
Schools (DSS)
as well as his view on the second language teaching in Hong Kong.
He was the principal of
YMCA of Hong Kong Christian College
YMCA of Hong Kong Christian College (), abbreviated as YHKCC, is a secondary school located at Tung Chung, Lantau Island, Hong Kong operated under the Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) of the Education Bureau. It is the first secondary school sponso ...
,
chairman of Hong Kong Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools Council, district commissioner of New Territories Region Lantau Island District,
Scout Association of Hong Kong
The Scout Association of Hong Kong is the largest scouting organisation in Hong Kong. Scout training was first introduced in Hong Kong in 1909 and 1910 by the Protestant based Boys' Brigade, Chums Scout Patrols and British Boy Scouts. The Cath ...
and deputy school supervisor of
San Wui Commercial Society YMCA of Hong Kong Christian School.
Early life and education
Chen's given names in both
Chinese language
Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the ...
and
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...
were assigned by his father as they were pronounced similarly in both languages.
Chen was educated in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and Australia. He graduated from
Tang Shiu Kin Victoria Government Secondary School
Tang Shiu Kin Victoria Government Secondary School (鄧肇堅維多利亞官立中學) was founded by the Hong Kong Government in 1933. Named the Junior Technical School (初級工業學校) initially, and then the Victoria Technical School ( ...
(formerly named ''Tang Shiu Kin Victoria Technical School'') in 1998.
He obtained his bachelor's degree in Accounting and
Financial Analysis from the
Newcastle University, UK. He had a gap year between Year 2 and Year 3 of his study, and deferred his graduation.
While Chen was studying in the UK, because he didn't like to stop, he actively worked part-time. Chen shared seven part-time jobs in the UK as a helper cleaning the
kitchen
A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running wate ...
in a restaurant etc. Chen and his friends took care of business and helped people
drain cleaning the
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...
s and cleaned the kitchen, and experienced a different study abroad life. He later changed to contribute to the education sector.
Later he obtained a master's degree in Business from
University of Newcastle, Australia. He also had a Post-graduate Diploma in Education and a Professional Diploma in ECA Management from the
University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the f ...
.
He is married and has two daughters.
Career
Chen started his career in education in a special school in 2002.
This brought him an understanding about teaching and learning to accommodate student's different learning needs. He joined the
YMCA of Hong Kong Christian College
YMCA of Hong Kong Christian College (), abbreviated as YHKCC, is a secondary school located at Tung Chung, Lantau Island, Hong Kong operated under the Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) of the Education Bureau. It is the first secondary school sponso ...
in 2004 as a Business teacher mainly teaching the
Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination
The Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE, 香港高級程度會考), or more commonly known as the A-level, conducted by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), was taken by senior students at the end of their matricu ...
(HKALE) programme. He was appointed as a HKALE marker by the Hong Kong Examination and Assessment Authority.
Chen became a member of the leadership team of his serving school since 2009. His works included continuing and sustaining the international curriculum (UK
IGCSE
The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based examination similar to GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising prior attain ...
and
GCE A/AS-Level syllabuses)
and a number of school campus development projects. During his tenure as a principal since 2013, the school has achieved its best academic results with excellent public examination results obtained. 43% of the students achieved A to A*, and 80% of the students achieved C or above, with a pass rate of 100%.
40% to 50% of the graduates were enrolled into universities for further studies every year.
To continue building a local school with
international-style education,
Chen managed to admit 73% of the students in the school from international students, who come from over 40 countries.
He also continued to hire over 40% of the school's teachers from overseas.
He promoted the school through the public events like ''Family Fun Fair'',
the ''International Night''
and the ''International Fun Fair'' (IFF) which promoted the school with the participation of the
ethnic groups,
featuring the songs and dances of different countries worldwide.
In management of his serving school, Chen invested from the school's budget on more teaching staffs. The teacher to student ratio is 1:10 and he claimed this causes examination results steadily improving. He required that the teachers in the school are capable with both local and international curriculum.
His team cooperated with an
ICT company to invent a
VLE to facilitate the teaching and learning.
He also hired a full-time
registered nurse, a career & higher education counsellor,
two
full-time social workers, a full-time
educational psychologist
An educational psychologist is a psychologist whose differentiating functions may include diagnostic and psycho-educational assessment, psychological counseling in educational communities ( students, teachers, parents, and academic authoriti ...
and a full-time librarian etc.
In September 2016, Chen's school provided new
school uniform for boys and girls. Teachers have been told by Chen to keep an eye out for students with incorrect school uniforms. Girls wearing
socks of the wrong length are forced to wait hours at the school office and miss class time; they are turned away even before school and sent home for showing an inch of their skin. This led the media to believe that Chen was depriving girls of their
right to education
The right to education has been recognized as a human right in a number of international conventions, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which recognizes a right to free, compulsory primary education for ...
, shamed girls for showing their ankles, and accused them of distracting boys and teachers. Teachers are told by Chen to enforce this little rule on a regular basis, devoting the time and energy they could use to prepare or make up lessons on it.
During the
2019–2020 Hong Kong protests
The Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement, also known as the 2019 Hong Kong protests, or the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, were a series of demonstrations from 15 March 2019 in response to the introduction by the Hong Kong government ...
, Chen's secondary school issued a notice in November 2019 announcing the resumption of classes. The article mentioned that the school was notified that
games and
social networking platforms were recently used to "entice, pressure and intimidate students into participating in protests in return for payment". The notice stated that no students were involved in the school, but parents and students were reminded to be vigilant when going online. Chen received an inquiry from
Apple Daily
''Apple Daily'' ( zh, link=no, 蘋果日報) was a popular tabloid published in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2021. Founded by Jimmy Lai, it was one of the best-selling Chinese language newspapers in Hong Kong. and said that the above news was notified by a staff member of the
Education Bureau. The staff suggested that the school should remind parents and students to pay attention. Chen stated that the school did not receive any reports from students or parents of the relevant situation. Because the Education Bureau is an official institution, Chen trusted them, so he did not question the authenticity of the information.
In 2020, during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, classes of the schools are suspended and students are confined to
distance education
Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...
. While the epidemic situation hinders parents' livelihood, Chen governed the school to help bail out the tuition fees for next academic year.
In February 2021, Chen arranged for teachers to be forced
COVID-19 testing and change the whole school to resume classes, as the
COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong
The COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Hong Kong on 23 January 2020. Con ...
has fallen after the
Lunar New Year.
On 8 February 2021, Chen announced he would not be renewing his contract at the end of the school year. He stated “I will be moving on to another school in Hong Kong at the end of this school year.” On 19 March 2021,
Ying Wa College
Ying Wa College (also referred to as YWC, Anglo-Chinese College, ) is a direct subsidised boys' secondary school in Kowloon, Hong Kong near Nam Cheong station. It was established (as the Anglo-Chinese College) in Malacca in 1818 by the first P ...
sent an e-notice to students stating that Chen would be taking over as principal of the school.
Community services
Chen became the chairman of Hong Kong Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools Council, the chairman of Association of School Heads of Islands District, the councilor of Hong Kong Principals' Institute, the deputy school supervisor of
San Wui Commercial Society YMCA of Hong Kong Christian School,
the vice-chairman of
Hong Kong Schools Sports Federation
The Hong Kong Schools Sports Federation (HKSSF, ) is a non-profit schools sports organisation based in Hong Kong. Formed in 1 September 1997, it is the sports governing body of different major school sports events, organising local secondary and ...
(HKSSF) Tsuen Wan & Islands Secondary School Areas Committee, the member of District Fight Crime Committee (Islands District) and Islands Youth Programme Committee, the district commissioner of New Territories Region and Lantau Island District,
Scout Association of Hong Kong
The Scout Association of Hong Kong is the largest scouting organisation in Hong Kong. Scout training was first introduced in Hong Kong in 1909 and 1910 by the Protestant based Boys' Brigade, Chums Scout Patrols and British Boy Scouts. The Cath ...
, the committee Member of Canoe Polo Committee of
International Canoe Federation
The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is the umbrella organization of all national canoe organizations worldwide. It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and administers all aspects of canoe sport worldwide. 157 countries are affiliate ...
and the treasurer of E-club of Lantau,
Rotary District 3450.
As the chairman of Hong Kong
Direct Subsidy Scheme
The Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) is instituted by the Education Bureau of Hong Kong to enhance the quality of private schools at the primary and secondary levels. The Hong Kong government has been encouraging non-government secondary schools ...
Schools Council, Chen took the responsibility of coordination of the DSS schools.
Chen helped organising academic trips in summer holidays. Every year students who preferably study
Physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
can be selected through an interview to participate in the ''Future Pilot Training Programme'' organized by the ''Hong Kong Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools Council''. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many DSS schools have paid or promised to pay more than HK$700,000 deposits to
travel agencies
A travel agency is a private retailer or public service that provides travel and tourism-related services to the general public on behalf of accommodation or travel suppliers to offer different kinds of travelling packages for each destinatio ...
for the purpose of organising study tours, although the tours were all cancelled for the year. However, when the government decided to issue red tourism warnings during the
COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong
The COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Hong Kong on 23 January 2020. Con ...
to all overseas countries, travel agencies and airlines took the initiative to contact Chen and the schools to discuss compensation arrangements.
The IGCSE and GCE examinations were cancelled, though Chen claimed that the DSS schools were not too worried about the impact on further education of students, as most of them have already obtained conditional offers by that time.
View and impact on alternative learning profiles
Chen emphasised that students could benefit from their study if they had alternative daily assessment, alternative curriculum and examination scope, and alternative path of further study.
Chen led his serving school with various learning activities outside classroom for the students throughout the years.
With the large range of meaningful alternative learning profile, the school provides flexible homework to students.
Students in his school were encouraged to take challenges in inter-school competitions.
Chen encouraged the development of the school's own
cheerleading
Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...
team.
Chen and his team launched the ''Enrichment Week'' since 2010. Students could join the ''Service Outreach Scheme''
or ''Work placement''.
Destinations include China,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
,
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
,
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
,
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
and
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
.
Cultural exchange programmes are also organised every year. Destinations include
Foshan, Spain, France etc.
Chen is familiar with DSE and GCE A-Level. He thinks GCE is more professional.
Chen's serving school offers both the Hong Kong and British National Curriculum.
The Hong Kong curriculum consists the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE). The British National Curriculum comprises the
International General Certificate of Secondary Education
The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based examination similar to GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising prior attainm ...
(IGCSE) and
GCE A/AS-Level, so that students could find the curriculum suit them most.
View on second language teaching
As a school in Hong Kong being subsidised by the government, it has the responsibility to conduct classes of Chinese language. In Chen's serving school, all subjects at the
school
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...
are taught in English, except second languages. Chinese language is for all students, in which the classes are divided into different level of difficulties according to the students' language background.
Chen stated in the media that most of the students in his serving school came from upper-level families.
They are mainly children of management staff at the airport,
as well as children of senior staff of large banks
and even consuls.
They are not permanent residents of Hong Kong.
They have lack of motivation of learning Chinese, and have insufficient ability to handle the knowledge and skill of this second language. Chen tried to bargain with the government that the school could provide other second languages in the normal curriculum which include Spanish language and French language, but he failed.
To cater the learner's differences in the school with many international students, Chen does not use Chinese or English classes to distinguish between local students and non-Chinese speaking students, but mixes all students. Each level will only be divided into small classes in Chinese, English and Mathematics according to the level of students.
Having a large number of international students, Chen built up connections and understandings with other educational institutes to strengthen the collaboration in providing articulation opportunities for non-Chinese speaking secondary school students.
References
External links
About the Principal: YHKCC official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Dion
Hong Kong educators
Living people
Heads of schools in Hong Kong
1979 births