I'm currently teaching English a few days a week in a local kindergarten and I have two sons in a local primary school (P1 & P3).
I have taught English at several local kindergartens and primary schools across the territory and have observed the following:
Teachers spend a great deal of time every day grading and preparing homework. When we (specialist teachers...English/Putonghua/etc.) go to a classroom the local teacher is supposed to support us, more often than not she will spend the whole lesson grading and/or preparing homework.
It is normal for teachers to sit with children and hold the pen in the kid's hand and 'do' the homework with them...it's very odd but very common.
Teachers have to spend a disproportionate amount of time dealing with what seems to be an increasing number of S.E.N. students...this is not a problem limited to Hong but...it's in the mix...
Teachers will often stick on a video...Peppa Pig or whatever, so they can catch up on homework/grading...the point being, a lot of the time absorbed dealing with homework grading and preparation and testing should be actual teaching time...it's NUTS.
I want you to be very careful with studies that show increased homework results in increased test results. Homework, at least in local schools, is very narrowly focused towards passing tests...the quality of the material and the tests is often low...imo...
I first noticed this at a teacher/parent meeting...discussing grades I realised that the lowest grade in the year was something like 79 and the highest was something like 83. I couldn't get his teacher to understand why I thought that was a problem in itself...
I know personally dozens of children who are very high achievers in English tests but can't communicate in the language...the reverse is also true...in fact, most of the children I know who communicate well in English, who read a lot (proper books, not graded readers or the shit that's provided by local schools) often aren't getting the highest grades...
I have spoken to colleagues, especially colleagues who are both teachers and parents and most agree that the homework burden is too high...so who wants this? The answer is local parents...they demand it.....interestingly, I've asked lots of local parents and most have said to me they don't like the homework...but they're scared the kid's results will suffer....so
We have the vicious cycle which is based on fear...
Parent fear drives schools to provide more homework which is targeted to tests....rote learning, unnecessary pressure on teachers resulting in poor quality 'in-classroom' lessons...in a way, the teaching duties are delegated to the parents...teachers don't have time to teach...
Bright kids, nice kids are told they're failures, emotionally stunted little Poindexters are held up as successes, I'm talking children who cry if they see a picture of a dog or whatever.
I used to be very vocal in my support of local schools...I thought it was a sin to let a child grow up here not speaking Canto. You know what? Get them lessons...let them do Kung Fu at an all Cantonese school...avoid local schools....I'm pulling both my boys out at the end of this year.
It's insidious...the homework increases year by year....gradually you're not going to the park every evening...there's no more Uno, no more Jumpin' Gym...
The first words out of your mouth when you see them..."How much homework do you have today?", because the whole fucking evening will hang on that point...
And then, if they are not in the mood and it takes them until 10:30 to get it done...even the dog is crying.
Sorry if this sounds disjointed, I've shoveled a fry up while typing this....
My recommendation (and others have different experiences and mine might be different from yours), if you can afford it, avoid the local system....I was wrong and I'm man enough to admit it...I made a huge mistake and really I can't wait to get my sons out of it...I never do 'regrets', but I do regret it...I do regret all the fucking lost evenings...I'm very sorry about it.
P.S. I just want to add...most of the teachers I know are good, they are good teachers and it's bullshit that they are forced to 'teach' like this too...it's a bloody shame and it's bad leadership...parents don't always know best...but what a sea-change it would be, what a cultural shift to move away from all this bloody testing and rote learning...