近年來香港政府制訂政策鼓勵學校開發校本教材，但是教科書仍 然是香港教師最常用的教學材料。這種現象的背後，是教師們沒有時 間或缺乏專業的技能來設計高質量的校本教材。與香港政府在經濟上 的「自由不干預」政策相適應，政府將教科書出版視為一種商業活動。 出版商之間的競爭促進教科書質量的不斷提高。這一教科書出版系統 並不意味著政府角色的缺失，教科書出版商多會將教科書送交政府進 行審查，這成為香港教科書質量保證系統的重要組成部分。除此之 外，教師選擇教科書的專業性也是保證教科書市場化營運成功的重要 元素。

Textbooks are still widely used in schools in Hong Kong despite the Government policy of encouraging the development of school-based teaching and learning materials. Behind this situation lies the fact that teachers have neither the time nor the expertise to design high-quality school-based learning materials. The Hong Kong Government, in line with its laissez-faire economic policy, has treated textbook publishing as a commercial activity. The competition among publishers has led to continuous improvement efforts. However, this system does not imply that the Government has no part to play. Textbook publishers usually submit their products to the Government for review. This is a major part of the quality assurance system of textbook publishing. In addition, teacher professionalism in selecting textbooks is an essential condition of the success of the textbook marketization mechanism.