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The curriculum reform is the core component of the education reform.
It aims to motivate students to learn, to enhance their knowledge and
abilities, and develop in them positive values and attitudes to establish
a solid foundation for lifelong learning and whole-person development.
In response to the need for curriculum development
in schools, the Curriculum Development Council (CDC) developed in 2002
a 'Basic Education Curriculum Guide' setting out the themes essential
for whole-school curriculum development.
School curriculum leaders have been appointed to support
primary school heads to lead curriculum development in primary schools
for a period of five years. The initiative is being phased in over three
years from the 2002-03 school year.
In addition, secondary and primary schools, university
academics and curriculum development experts worked together, under a
series of Seed (Research and Development) Projects, to generate useful
knowledge and experiences in the context of learning and teaching for
other schools' reference. Among these projects, the Chinese Language and
English Language projects had an obvious impact on students' reading habits
and communication skills. A range of learning and teaching resources was
also developed to support the new curricula, including packages for reading
and for catering to students' learning diversity, and electronic curriculum
planners.
Through various advisory services, collaborative lesson
preparation, and action research, schools were able to build up their
curriculum reform capacity and adopt more effective practices to enhance
school-based curriculum development, including more flexible time-tabling
and curriculum continuity and assessment.
To ease the workload of teachers, the Government has provided schools
with the Capacity Enhancement Grant starting from the 2000-01 school year.
Schools can make use of the grant to employ additional staff or hire outside
services so as to ease teachers' workload. The feedback from schools confirmed
that the grant had helped ease the workload of teachers and had enhanced
the effectiveness of teaching and learning. Approval was obtained from
the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council in June to refine the
rate structure of the grant with effect from the 2003-04 school year.
The maximum provision to a school is $526,000 for a primary school with
24 or more classes or a special school with 19 or more classes, and $430,000
for a secondary school with 24 or more classes.
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The Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications
released its report entitled Towards A Learning Profession —
The Teacher Competencies Framework and the Continuing Professional
Development of Teachers in November. The report was a landmark
document that laid the foundation for professionalising the teaching
force in Hong Kong. The Advisory Committee recommended, among other
things, to institutionalise the practice of continuing professional
development (CPD) among teachers. As an indicative target for teachers
in a three-year trial period, teachers were encouraged to pursue
150 hours of CPD in meeting school needs and personal development
goals. It was a major step forward in upgrading the quality of education
and students' learning. It also gave due recognition to teachers
who were already engaged in lifelong learning. To facilitate the
planning and review of CPD by teachers and schools, the Advisory
Committee also formulated a Generic Teacher Competencies Framework
that builds upon a set of core professional values indicative of
a teacher's level of professional maturity. |
To provide financial support for worthwhile initiatives in basic education,
the Government established the Quality Education Fund in 1998 with an
allocation of $5 billion. The projects funded include those for the furtherance
of effective learning, all-round education, school-based management, education
research, application of information technology in education and schemes
that recognise excellence in the performance of schools. By year-end,
the fund had made six rounds of grants amounting to $2.9 billion for 4
900 projects, and closed its call for the seventh round with about 800
applications. As a supporting measure for the education reform, the fund
also promotes and disseminates good practices distilled from funded projects
through various means such as experience-sharing sessions, briefings,
seminars and project expositions.
Basic Competency Assessments are being introduced at key stages of learning
for Chinese, English and Mathematics. Under the Basic Competency Assessments,
the Student Assessment helps teachers better understand the learning needs
of students as well as the areas requiring improvement, so that timely
assistance can be provided to enhance their learning effectiveness. The
Territory (System) Assessment provides the Government and school management
with useful information on students' standards at the levels of Primary
3, Primary 6 and Secondary 3 on a territory-wide and school basis.
In June, the Hong Kong Examination Assessment Authority
introduced the computer-aided Student Assessment programme to all primary
schools and connected it to the supportive learning and teaching materials
through the Internet. Views were also collected from schools on the basic
competencies which students were expected to attain for the three subjects
of Chinese, English and Mathematics.
To upgrade Hong Kong's human capital to cope with the requirements of
a knowledge-based economy, the Chief Executive announced in his 2000 Policy
Address that 60 per cent of the 17-20 age group should have access to
post-secondary education by the 2010-11 school year. To provide the impetus,
the Government offers interest-free start-up loans, accreditation grants
and land to providers of post-secondary education and new financial assistance
for students. The overall post-secondary participation rate for the 17-20
age group has increased from 32 per cent in 2000-01 to 48 per cent in
2003-04.
The language policy of the Government is to enable students and the working
population to be biliterate (in Chinese and English) and trilingual (in
Cantonese, Putonghua and English).
In early 2001, the Standing Committee on Language
Education and Research (SCOLAR) began a review of the language education
policy in Hong Kong. The Standing Committee has reviewed academic and
official literature on the subject, conducted school visits and held in-depth
discussions with key stakeholders as well as carrying out a survey of
students' motivation for language learning. In January, the Standing Committee
issued a consultation document entitled Action Plan to Raise Language
Standards in Hong Kong. A total of 193 submissions were received from
education-related bodies, schools, tertiary institutions, political parties,
and individual members of the public.
Having regard to the feedback received, the SCOLAR
finalised and released its recommendations in June, and these were generally
supported by the public. Specifically, it recommended that basic competencies
in Chinese and English expected of students, university graduates and
working professionals should be specified, and that the Hong Kong Examinations
and Assessment Authority should develop standards-referenced public examinations
in Chinese and English for assessing Secondary 5 and Secondary 7 students
from 2007 and 2009, respectively.
The Standing Committee also recommended that school
management, teachers, parents, the mass media, and the Government should
work together to create a more motivating language learning environment
for students and working adults, and that all English Language and Putonghua
teachers should meet the Language Proficiency Requirement within the time
frame specified by the Government.
The Government has supported the Action Plan set out
by the SCOLAR. Two key support measures are being implemented. An incentive
grant scheme will be set up in the first quarter of 2004, to encourage
serving Chinese and English Language teachers to pursue professional development
and upgrade their qualifications. A Task Force on Language Support will
also be formed to provide local schools with on-site and/or district-based
professional support to enhance the curriculum development and pedagogical
capability of the Chinese and English language panels.
In July, the findings of the Programme for International Student Assessment
placed Hong Kong students first in mathematics, third in science and sixth
in reading literacy among 43 economies. More importantly, the study found
that students of different socio-economic backgrounds in Hong Kong have
similar access to, and benefit from, the education system. The study sought
to measure how well 15-year-old students performed when they approached
the end of compulsory education. Tests and background questionnaires were
administered to a large representative sample of students in each of the
43 participating economies. The results were a confidence booster to the
educators and provided evidence-based data on the strengths of Hong Kong's
education system. |
