191
From our analysis of the data, it is discovered that the standpoints of the principals are most obvious. Table 4 shows that the principals tend to put 'service to the society' and 'education for the whole person' as the first priorities, and 'evangelization' and 'providing Christian nurture among students' as of secondary importance. This also reflects the fact that, unlike supervisors or RE teachers, a school principal has to see and understand objectives of involvement in education from the societal and educational points of view.
Conclusion
The findings of this study indicate that there are different emphases in the perception of objectives of church involvement in education among supervisors, principals and RE teachers, though the differences are not statistically significant. However, there are significant differences indicated from the perceptions among the various denominations. These obviously different perceptions are sure to create great differences in their implementation of education in schools. In fact, in this study, we also discover that different perceptions of objectives exhibit close relationships to perceptions on other issues such as 'the employment of Christian teachers in schools', 'the relationship between school and the sponsoring church', 'the aims of setting Religious Education or Biblical Knowledge as a school subject' and 'the organization of religious activities in schools'.12
Today, the question of church involvement in education is no longer an issue to be faced squarely by individual Christian denominations or organizations alone. The issue should not be overlooked by educators too. It is hoped that the information gathered in this study can arouse the concern of all educators and stimulate further and deeper investigation by those who are concerned with church involvement in education in Hong Kong.
164