In 2000, the principal of St. Margaret Mary's Catholic Kindergarten, Eugenia Ng, faced a problem. Having conducted a survey of her teachers and identified three areas for improvement, she needed guidance in how to proceed. "We did not know what to do with the data and how to make use of the performance indicators for preschools which the Education Department provided us with," recalls Ms Ng.

"With a venturing mind, we joined the SECE project in 2001." Through workshops conducted by the research team from SECE and monthly consultative meetings, Ms Ng and her staff built up a solid understanding of how to conduct self-assessment using the performance indicators and identified areas for improvement in learning and teaching. "We completed the self-assessment in mid-2002. We identified our strengths and weaknesses and this helped us prioritise our tasks into a five-year development plan with short-term and long-term goals."

"The process of self-assessment is a challenging and time-consuming journey of growth. We are glad that we have embraced this opportunity which has indeed transformed us into a learning organisation with a clear direction and assessment mechanism. Our staff have become more proactive and united as a result of the involvement. What's more, we know more about learning and teaching which is vital to our everyday work," concluded Ms Ng.