Dion Chen
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Dion Chen () (1979 –) is an educator in Hong Kong. He is the principal of
Ying Wa College Ying Wa College (YWC, ), formerly known as Anglo-Chinese College, is a direct subsidized boys' secondary school in Kowloon, Hong Kong, near Nam Cheong station. Established in 1818 in Malacca as the Anglo-Chinese College by Rev. Robert Morr ...
, 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 wh ...
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, chairman of Hong Kong Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools Council, district commissioner of New Territories Region Lantau Island District, Scout Association of Hong Kong 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 ( or ) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and List of ethnic groups in China, many minority ethnic groups in China, as well as by various communities of the Chinese diaspora. Approximately 1.39& ...
and
English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
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 (formerly named ''Tang Shiu Kin Victoria Technical School'') in 1998. He obtained his bachelor's degree in Accounting and
Financial Analysis Financial analysis (also known as financial statement analysis, accounting analysis, or analysis of finance) refers to an assessment of the viability, stability, and profitability of a business, sub-business, project or investment. It is per ...
from the
Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...
, 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 (architecture), 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 Kitchen stove, stove, a sink ...
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 ...
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) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...
. 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 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 matric ...
(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 secondary qualification similar to the GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising ...
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 group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...
s, 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 registered nurse (RN) is a healthcare professional who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized ...
, 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 authorit ...
and a full-time librarian etc. In September 2016, Chen's school provided new
school uniform A school uniform is a uniform worn by students primarily for a school or otherwise an educational institution. They are common in primary school, primary and secondary schools in various countries and are generally widespread in Africa, Asia, O ...
for boys and girls. Teachers have been told by Chen to keep an eye out for students with incorrect school uniforms. Girls wearing
sock A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the Calf (leg), calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. ...
s 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 rights, human right in a number of international conventions, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which recognizes a right to free education, free, pr ...
, 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 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests (also known by other names) were a series of demonstrations against the Hong Kong government's introduction of a bill to amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance in regard to extradition. It was the largest ...
, Chen's secondary school issued a notice in November 2019 announcing the resumption of classes. The article mentioned that the school was notified that
game A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...
s 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, t=蘋果日報, j=ping4 gwo2 jat6 bou3) was a Chinese-language newspaper published in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2021. Founded by Jimmy Lai and part of Next Media, ''Apple Daily'' was known for its sensational headlines, ...
and said that the above news was notified by a staff member of the
Education Bureau The Education Bureau (EDB) is a policy bureau responsible for formulating and implementing education policies in Hong Kong. The bureau is headed by the Secretary for Education and oversees agencies including University Grants Committee ...
. 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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, 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 school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...
. 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 COVID-19 testing involves analyzing samples to assess the current or past presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that cases COVID-19 and is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The two main types of tests detect either the presence of the viru ...
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 COVID-19 pandemic, 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 ...
has fallen after the
Lunar New Year Lunar New Year is the beginning of a new year based on lunar calendars or, informally, lunisolar calendars. Lunar calendar years begin with a new moon and have a fixed number of lunar months, usually twelve, in contrast to lunisolar calendar ye ...
. 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 (YWC, ), formerly known as Anglo-Chinese College, is a direct subsidized boys' secondary school in Kowloon, Hong Kong, near Nam Cheong station. Established in 1818 in Malacca as the Anglo-Chinese College by Rev. Robert Morr ...
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 (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 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 affiliated ...
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 wh ...
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 scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...
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 Retailing, retailer or public service that provides travel and tourism-related Service (economics), services to the general public on behalf of accommodation or travel supply chain, suppliers to offer different kin ...
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 COVID-19 pandemic, 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 ...
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 exercise, physical activity. It can be performed to motivate s ...
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. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
,
Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
,
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
,
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
,
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
and
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
. Cultural exchange programmes are also organised every year. Destinations include
Foshan Foshan (, ; Chinese: 佛山) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the Pearl River Delta m ...
, 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 secondary qualification similar to the GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognisin ...
(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 the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...
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