Other Learning Experiences is one of the three major components of the Senior Secondary curriculum that complements the core and elective subjects (including Applied Learning courses and other languages) for the whole-person development of students. These experiences include Moral and Civic education, Community Service, Career-related Experiences, Aesthetic Development and Physical Development.
Capable of reading and writing effectively in Standard Written Chinese and English.
An ability to use Cantonese, Putonghua and Spoken English effectively.
The senior secondary curriculum framework is designed to enable students to attain the seven learning goals for whole-person development and stretch the potential of each student (i) to be biliterate and trilingual with adequate proficiency; (ii) to acquire a broad knowledge base, and be able to understand contemporary issues that may impact on their daily life at personal, community, national and global levels; (iii) to be informed and responsible citizen with a sense of global and national identity; (iv) to respect pluralism of cultures and views, and be a critical, reflective and independent thinker; (v) to acquire information technology and other skills as necessary for being a life-long learner; (vi) to understand their own career/ academic aspirations and develop positive attitudes towards work and learning; and (vii) to lead a healthy lifestyle with active participation in aesthetic and physical activities.
It is a way of organising the school curriculum around fundamental concepts of major knowledge domains. It aims at providing a broad, balanced and coherent curriculum for all students through engaging them in a variety of essential learning experiences. The Hong Kong curriculum has eight KLAs, namely, Chinese Language Education, English Language Education, Mathematics Education, Personal, Social and Humanities Education, Science Education, Technology Education, Arts Education and Physical Education.
Values constitute the foundation of the attitudes and beliefs that influence one’s behaviour and way of life. They help to form the principles underlying human conduct and critical judgement, and are qualities that learners should develop. Some examples of values are rights and responsibilities, commitment, honesty and national identity. Closely associated with values are attitudes. The latter supports motivation and cognitive functioning, and affects one’s way of reacting to events or situations. Since both values and attitudes significantly affect the way a student learns, they form an important part of the school curriculum.
ApL is an integral part of the three-year senior secondary curriculum. It takes broad professional and vocational fields as the learning platform to develop students’ foundation skills, thinking skills, people skills, positive values and attitudes and career-related competencies, in order to prepare them for further study/ work as well as life-long learning. ApL courses complement the senior secondary subjects, adding variety to the senior secondary curriculum.
Generic skills are skills, abilities and attributes which are fundamental in helping students to acquire, construct and apply knowledge. They are developed through the learning and teaching that takes place in different subjects or Key Learning Areas, and are transferable to different learning situations. Nine types of generic skills are identified in the Hong Kong school curriculum, i.e. collaboration skills, communication skills, creativity, critical thinking skills, information technology skills, numeracy skills, problem-solving skills, self-management skills and study skills.
A total of 20 senior secondary subjects, a wide range of Applied Learning courses and 6 other languages in the new system from which students may choose to develop their interests and abilities, and they open up a number of pathways into further studies and careers.
HKDSE is the qualification to be awarded to students after completing the three-year senior secondary curriculum (to be implemented in 2009) and subsequently taking the public assessment.
Its purpose is to provide supplementary information on the secondary school leavers’ participation and specialties during senior secondary years, in addition to their academic performance as reported in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education, including the assessment results for Applied Learning courses, thus giving a fuller picture of students’ whole-person development.
| Booklet 1 |
The Student Programme to Achieve the Vision of the New Academic Structure –
Whole-person Development and Life-long Learning |
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| This is one of a series of 12 booklets in the Senior Secondary Curriculum Guide. Its contents are as follows: |
Contents |
| 1.1 |
Purpose of the Booklet |
| 1.2 |
Aims of the Senior Secondary Curriculum |
| 1.3 |
Seven Learning Goals of the Curriculum Framework |
| 1.4 |
Principles of Design |
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1.4.1 |
Guiding principles |
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1.4.2 |
Emphases in the Second 5-year Plan (2007-2012) building on the First 5-year Plan (2001-2006) |
| 1.5 |
Curriculum and Assessment Framework |
| 1.6 |
Qualifications and Articulation to the Post-secondary Learning Pathways |
| References |
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| 1.1 Purpose of the Booklet |
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To further elaborate on the recommendations of the Report entitled The New Academic Structure for Senior Secondary Education and Higher Education - Action Plan for Investing in the Future of Hong Kong (EMB, 2005) related to curriculum provision for students |
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To help teachers to reflect on the aims of senior secondary (SS) education and its continuity with basic education |
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| 1.2 Aims of the Senior Secondary Curriculum |
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| The explosive growth of knowledge, the advent of information technology and the development of a knowledge-based economy are leading to unprecedented worldwide changes.Hong Kong’s cultural, social and economic developments depend on whether the population can rise to these challenges and make the best of the opportunities ahead. To sustain the development of Hong Kong as an international city amidst the economic restructuring and rapid development in Mainland China, Hong Kong citizens need to develop their adaptability, creativity, independent thinking and life-long learning capabilities.; Hong Kong has become part of China after 1997. It is necessary to enable every student, as a citizen of Hong Kong, to have more in-depth knowledge of modern China and the world (EMB, 2005). |
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| A reform of the curriculum for basic education was launched in 2001 to prepare our students to meet these challenges (CDC, 2001 & CDC, 2002). The SS curriculum reform in 2009 is a necessary final step to realise in full the benefits of changes already underway. It aims to |
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establish a vibrant and flexible education system that will widen the knowledge base of every student, provide an enabling environment for every student to attain all-round development and to achieve life-long learning in a diverse and complex environment; and |
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provide multiple progression pathways for further studies and career development, which articulate well with international higher education and the manpower requirements of the 21st Century. |
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| In this connection, the school curriculum should |
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enable all students to achieve enhanced language and mathematical abilities, a broadened knowledge base, increased competence in critical thinking, independent learning and interpersonal skills, and provide increased exposure to other learning experiences in moral, civic, physical and aesthetic areas; |
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provide students with greater diversity and more choices to suit their needs, interests and abilities; and |
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equip students better for further studies and in meeting the needs of an ever-changing society. |
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| 1.3 Seven Learning Goals of the Curriculum Framework |
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| The SS curriculum framework is designed to enable students to attain the following learning goals for whole-person development and stretch the potential of each student: |
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to be biliterate and trilingual with adequate proficiency |
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to acquire a broad knowledge base, and be able to understand contemporary issues that may impact on their daily life at personal, community, national and global levels |
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to be an informed and responsible citizen with a sense of global and national identity |
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to respect pluralism of cultures and views, and be a critical, reflective and independent thinker |
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to acquire information technology and other skills as necessary for being a life-long learner |
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to understand their own career/ academic aspirations and develop positive attitudes towards work and learning |
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to lead a healthy life-style with active participation in aesthetic and physical activities. |
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Reflective Questions |
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What are the similarities and differences of the above goals compared to those in basic education as described in the Basic Education Curriculum Guide – Building on Strengths (CDC, 2002)? |
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To what extent have the goals in basic education been achieved in your school? |
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| 1.4 Principles of Design |
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| 1.4.1 Guiding principles |
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| To achieve the learning goals and help all students to attain higher standards, changes have been made to the curriculum, building on its existing strengths and taking the local context into consideration. The design of the SS curriculum is based on the following guiding principles: |
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| Prior knowledge |
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| Knowledge is built on our own prior experiences; and development of all SS subjects is based on the prior knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and learning experiences expected of students in basic education to ensure vertical curriculum continuity. Schools should ensure that students are adequately prepared for the SS curriculum at the junior secondary level (S1-3) through balanced study in different Key Learning Areas (KLAs) and cross-curricular opportunities (see Booklet 8). Any bias to cross-curricular activities at the junior secondary level at the expense of KLA knowledge is not encouraged. |
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| Balance between breadth and depth |
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| The SS curriculum widens the knowledge base while at the same time allows in-depth learning in some subjects, broadens the scope of curricular objectives to include positive values and attitudes, and promotes whole-person development (see Booklets 2, 3, 5A and 5B). |
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| Balance between theoretical and applied learning |
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| An appropriate balance between theoretical and applied learning is maintained within each of the SS subjects as far as possible so that the learning of all subjects is characterised by rigour and relevance, and is suited to the needs of the students (see also Booklets 2, 3, 5A, 5B and 7). |
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| Balance between essential learning and a flexible and diversified curriculum |
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| The curriculum caters for a wide spectrum of student interests, needs and abilities through a comprehensive range of subjects and Applied Learning (ApL1) courses. It is constructed to meet individual students’ needs. This includes meeting the needs of students with learning difficulties and those who are exceptionally gifted (see Booklets 2, 3, 5A, 5B and 7). |
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| 1ApL was formerly named “Career-oriented Studies”. Readers may refer to the report “Action for the Future – Career-oriented Studies and the New Senior Secondary Academic Structure for Special Schools” (EMB, 2006) for details. |
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Reflective Questions |
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How would you describe your school’s provision/ curriculum planning taking into consideration the prior knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and learning experiences expected of students at the junior secondary level according to the Basic Education Curriculum Guide – Building on Strengths (CDC, 2002)? |
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How would you explore the interests and potential of each student in your school? |
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Do your students have more diverse needs, and if so, what is your strategy for handling these diverse needs? |
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Which area of knowledge application is increasingly important in your professional curriculum area? |
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| Learning how to learn and enquiry-based learning |
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| The curriculum aims to develop students’ capacities for self-directed and life-long learning by embedding elements of independent learning and generic skills into all subjects (see Booklet 3). In line with the reform in basic education, communication, critical thinking and creativity remain the priority generic skills in SS education. |
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| Progression |
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| The curriculum enables students to explore their interests as far as possible in S4, and then progress smoothly in their chosen studies (including ApL courses) in S5 and S6 (see Booklet 2). |
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| Smoother articulation to multiple progression pathways |
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| The curriculum enables students to pursue academic and vocational/ professional education and training through articulating to a range of post-secondary tertiary institutions or to seek employment (see Booklet 8). |
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| Greater coherence |
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| The curriculum has avoided including too many subjects with duplication possibilities, and made connections across subjects including ApL. It has also introduced other cross-curricular elements to ensure better coherence in the curriculum as a whole (see Booklet 2). |
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Reflective Questions |
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What has your school achieved in helping students to “learn how to learn” at the junior secondary level? |
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How do you understand lateral coherence of the different subjects in your school? |
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How do you assess your school’s practice in embracing the above secondary school curriculum principles? |
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| 1.4.2 Emphases in the Second 5-year Plan (2007 – 2012) building on the First 5-year Plan (2001-2006) |
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| As suggested in the curriculum reform of basic education, schools are encouraged to develop short-term targets (a first 5-year plan) to achieve the seven learning goals (Please refer to the Basic Education Curriculum Guide – Building on Strengths (CDC, 2002), Section 1.7). |
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| While sustaining the strengths of the first 5-year plan by including priority generic skills (i.e. critical thinking, creativity and communication skills) in learning and teaching and adopting the four key tasks (Moral and Civic Education, Reading to Learn, Project Learning, Information Technology for Interactive Learning) as a means of achieving the learning goals and learning targets in the KLA curricula, together with school-based adaptations to cater for the diverse needs of students, schools are required to place the following emphases on their mid-term targets (second 5-year plan), to provide a broad and balanced curriculum for students’ whole-person development: |
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Strengthen moral and civic education and values development in KLAs by giving priority to the development of positive values and attitudes such as Care for Others and Integrity in addition to National Identity, Respect for Others, Responsibility, Commitment and Perseverance |
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Promote Reading to Learn and Reading across the Curriculum to enable students to acquire and construct knowledge, as well as to widen their exposure, mind and vision to diverse interests and qualities |
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Enhance Assessment for Learning including: |
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emphasising students’ self-directed learning in order to help learners to understand how they learn and pave the way for life-long learning; |
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adopting more flexible and diversified assessment methods to recognise the different potentials and abilities of students; |
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providing appropriate and clear feedback; and |
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allowing students’ active participation in assessment activities and prompting them to adopt quality reflective thinking. |
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Reflective Questions |
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What has your school achieved in the first 5-year plan? |
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Which areas require further strengthening in your school? |
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| 1.5 Curriculum and Assessment Framework |
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| The SS curriculum is an extension of the curriculum in basic education. It promotes students’ Learning to Learn capabilities. It is broad and balanced, and is developed from prior knowledge of the eight KLAs and the learning experiences of students gained in their basic education with an emphasis on positive values and attitudes (see Figure 1.1). |
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Figure 1.1 Building on Strengths of Basic Education |
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| Please refer to the Basic Education Curriculum Guide – Building on Strengths (CDC, 2002) for the structure of the Junior Secondary Curriculum Framework. |
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Reflective Questions |
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Are there effective cross-curricular learning opportunities in the junior secondary curriculum of your school? |
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Has pedagogical practice been changed in your school to develop students’ generic skills? |
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| Three components in the senior secondary curriculum |
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| The SS curriculum is made up of 3 components, namely Core subjects, Elective subjects and Other Learning Experiences (OLE). It provides a student programme for whole-person development which aims to develop the potential of each student. |
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Figure 1.2 Senior Secondary Student Programme |
| Components of the Senior Secondary Student Programme |
% of Time Allocation |
| Core Subjects |
Chinese Language, English Language, Mathematics and Liberal Studies as core subjects for ALL students |
45-55% |
| Elective Subjects |
2 or 3 subjects chosen from 20 elective subjects, a range of ApL courses and other languages |
20-30% |
Other Learning Experiences |
Moral & civic education, community service, aesthetic development, physical development, career-related experiences |
15-35% |
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| Core subjects |
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| Chinese Language and English Language |
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| The Chinese Language and English Language curricula include the Compulsory and Elective Parts: |
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Figure 1.3 Chinese Language and English Language Curricula |
Subject |
Suggested Time Allocation |
Compulsory Part |
Elective Part |
| Chinese Language |
12.5% - 15%
(338 - 405 hours) |
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67% - 75% of the total lesson time
(225 – 304 hours) |
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Nine strands: |
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- Reading
- Writing
- Listening
- Speaking
- Literature
- Moral & Affection
- Chinese Culture
- Thinking
- Independent Language Learning
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25% - 33% of the total lesson time
(85 – 135 hours) |
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3 to 4 elective modules chosen from the ten proposed modules (a self-designed module can be one of them) |
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approximately 28 hours per module |
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| English Language |
12.5% - 15%
(338 - 405 hours) |
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Up to 75% of the total lesson time
(approximately 305 hours) |
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Three strands: |
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- Interpersonal
- Knowledge
- Experience
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9 suggested modules comprising 19 units |
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Taking up about 25% of the lesson time
(approximately 100 hours) |
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3 elective modules chosen from two groups, namely Language Arts and Non-Language Arts, and at least one module from each group |
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32 – 36 hours per module |
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| Schools are encouraged to offer the elective modules in S5 taking into consideration students’ needs, interests and abilities, teachers’ preferences and readiness, as well as the school context. |
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| Mathematics |
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| The Mathematics curriculum comprises a Compulsory Part and an Extended Part. Students may take the Compulsory Part only, or the Compulsory Part with either Module 1 (Calculus and Statistics) or Module 2 (Algebra and Calculus) from the Extended Part. |
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Figure 1.4 Mathematics Curriculum |
Subject |
Suggested Time Allocation |
Compulsory Part |
Elective Part |
| Mathematics |
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10% - 12.5%
(270 – 338 hours) for the Compulsory Part |
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15% (405 hours)
for the Compulsory Part with one module from Extended Part |
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Three strands: |
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Categorised into Foundation Topics and Non-foundation Topics |
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One of the two modules, namely Module 1 (Calculus and Statistics) or Module 2 (Algebra and Calculus) |
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| Liberal Studies |
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| To ensure that students experience a broad education in their SS years, all students are required to take the subject Liberal Studies. The Liberal Studies curriculum comprises three Areas of Study (six modules) and an Independent Enquiry Study. The design of Liberal Studies is to enable students to make connections across knowledge areas and see things from different perspectives, and to expand their knowledge. This will lead to a better understanding of the Hong Kong society, the development of China and its place in the modern world, globalisation, and citizenship at the community, national and global levels, and help students to develop Learning to Learn skills and become independent thinkers. |
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Figure 1.5 Liberal Studies Curriculum |
Subject |
Suggested Time Allocation |
The Six Modules |
Independent Enquiry Study |
| Liberal Studies |
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Minimum 10%
(270 hours) |
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30 hours per module |
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Personal Development and Interpersonal Relationships |
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Hong Kong Today |
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Modern China |
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Globalisation |
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Public Health |
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Energy Technology & the Environment |
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Reflective Questions |
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Do your students have the required language proficiency to study the SS curriculum effectively? If not, what measures can you take to improve their language proficiency? |
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Is the suggested percentage of time allocation similar to the existing practice in your school? If not, how would you change your existing practice to meet the requirement? |
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| Elective subjects |
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| SS elective subjects |
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| Twenty elective subjects for the SS academic system have been developed based on a balance of interrelated factors, such as content rigour, relevance to users and lateral coherence across the subjects. Students should not be narrowly streamed into arts, science, commercial or technical studies as before. On the contrary, they should be helped to choose a range of subjects that will develop their interests and abilities, and open up a number of pathways to further studies and careers. Schools are therefore encouraged to provide such opportunities for students by offering more subjects and allowing free choice to students as far as possible by adopting flexible time-tabling arrangements. |
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Reflective Question |
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Do your students have a learning programme covering all the KLAs at both the junior secondary and SS levels? |
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| A summary of all the SS elective subjects is found in Figure 1.6. |
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Figure 1.6 Senior Secondary Elective Subjects |
Key Learning Areas |
Subjects |
| Chinese Language Education |
Chinese Literature |
| English Language Education |
Literature in English |
Personal, Social and Humanities Education |
Chinese History
Economic
Ethics and Religious Studies
Geography
History
Tourism and Hospitality Studies |
| Science Education |
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Science (Integrated Science; Combined Science) |
| Technology Education |
Business, Accounting and Financial Studies
Design and Applied Technology
Health Management and Social Care
Technology and Living (formerly Home Economics)
Information and Communication Technology |
| Arts Education |
Music
Visual Arts |
| Physical Education |
Physical Education |
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| Applied Learning |
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| ApL is developed in accordance with the curriculum design principle that there should be a balance of theoretical and applied learning in the school curriculum to enable every student to develop their potential. These ApL courses will complement the 24 SS subjects, and have a status comparable to the SS elective subjects. ApL courses will be designed to challenge students and provide progression in both academic and career directions. |
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| ApL courses cover six areas, namely, (1) Applied Science; (2) Business, Management and Law; (3) Creative Studies; (4) Engineering and Production; (5) Media and Communication; and (6) Services. They aim to develop students’ basic skills, thinking abilities, interpersonal relationships, values, attitudes and career-related abilities necessary to prepare them for further studies, work and life-long learning. |
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| The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) will record the learning outcomes of ApL course(s) and give recognition to students’ level of performance by two levels, i.e. ‘attained’ and ‘attained with distinction’. Achievement of ‘attained with distinction’ will be deemed comparable to Level 3 or above of the HKDSE’s standards-referenced reporting system. For more details, please refer to Action for the Future – Career-oriented Studies and the New Senior Secondary Academic Structure for Special Schools (EMB, 2006). |
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| Other languages |
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| Students can take other languages (e.g. French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Hindu and Urdu) as their elective subjects and sit for the international examinations on these languages jointly administered by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) and overseas examination bodies. Results obtained by students in international examinations in other languages will be reported in their HKDSE certificates. |
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Reflective Questions |
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How much do you know about ApL? Are they helpful to your students? |
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Would you consider offering one of the said foreign languages (apart from English) to your students? How would you arrange the lessons? |
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| Other Learning Experiences |
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| In order to meet the important non-academic goals of the curriculum for whole-person development, students are entitled to moral and civic education, community service, aesthetic development, physical development and career-related experiences. These learning experiences complement the examination subjects and ApL and ensure that learning leads to informed and responsible citizenship, respect for plural values and healthy living style and the development of career aspirations (see Booklets 5A and 5B). |
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| 1.6 Qualifications and Articulation to the Post-secondary Learning Pathways |
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| New public assessment |
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| A typical student will take the assessment and examinations for HKDSE at the end of their third year of SS education. The new system will be ‘standards-referenced’, i.e. students’ performance will be compared to a pre-defined standard. There will be five levels and each level will be accompanied by descriptors that make it clear what a typical student at a given level is able to do. |
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| Student Learning Profile |
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| A wider range of student outcomes particularly in activities and achievements other than academic performance in public examinations will be recognised through an SS student learning profile (SLP). Every student is encouraged to build an SLP that gives a fuller picture of the student throughout the years of SS schooling. The SLP will be issued by schools and it could serve as a school-based 'transcript' of the student's achievements (in addition to HKDSE) for tertiary education institutions and future employers if necessary (see Booklet 5B). |
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| Articulation to post-secondary learning pathways |
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| Proper guidance on the available progression pathways should be given to students (see Figure 1.7). |
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| Schools need to be familiar with various pathways which may be chosen by students. Relevant information should be made available in the school library for the reference of students (see Booklet 8). |
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Figure 1.7 Multiple Pathways |
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Reflective Questions |
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How would you describe the needs of students of your school? |
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How would you help your students to achieve the seven learning goals of SS education? What emphases will suit your students? |
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To what extent are the curriculum design principles realised in secondary education in your school? |
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Are students encouraged to develop their own interests and pursue different pathways to success? |
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| References |
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| Curriculum Development Council. (2001). Learning to Learn: The Way Forward in Curriculum Development. Hong Kong: Curriculum Development Council. |
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| Curriculum Development Council. (2002). Basic Education Curriculum Guide – Building on Strengths (Primary 1 – Secondary 3). Hong Kong: Education Department. |
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| Education and Manpower Bureau. (2005). The New Academic Structure for Senior Secondary Education and Higher Education – Action Plan for Investigating in the Future of Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Education and Manpower Bureau. |
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| Education and Manpower Bureau. (2006). Action for the Future – Career-oriented Studies and the New Senior Secondary Academic Structure for Special Schools. Hong Kong: Education and Manpower Bureau. |
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| Education Commission. (2000). Learning for Life, Learning through Life: Reform Proposals for the Education System in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Education Commission. |
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