Overall aims of the school curriculum and KLA curriculum, and guiding principles
for school-based curriculum development in accordance with the central curriculum
Overall aims of the school curriculum
The statements below refer to the aims of the school curriculum that schools
should achieve within 10 years:
Students will |
|
recognize their roles and responsibilities as members of the family,
society and the nation; and show concern for their well-being; |
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understand their national identity and be committed to contributing
to the nation and society; |
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develop a habit of reading independently; |
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engage in discussion actively and confidently in English and Chinese
(including Putonghua); |
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develop creative thinking and master independent learning skills (e.g.
critical thinking, information technology, and self-management); |
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possess a breadth and foundation of knowledge in the eight Key Learning
Areas; and |
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lead a healthy lifestyle and develop an interest in, and appreciation
of aesthetic and physical activities.
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All groups were asked how far they agreed
with the aims on a 5-point scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree.
Tables 3 and 4 show the percentage of primary and secondary school respondents
who agreed or strongly agreed with the aims of school curriculum. It is
worth noting that 97.6% of primary school heads and 92.8% of secondary
school heads agreed or strongly agreed with the overall aims. As for the
KLA/subject heads and teachers, the percentages for the primary school
respondents were in the range 80.0% - 90.8% and for the secondary school
respondents 67.9% - 96.3%. In general, then, a large majority of respondents
subscribed to the overall aims of the school curriculum. A general pattern
was observed in both primary and secondary school data. School headsˇ¦
responses were more positive than that of the KLA/subject heads, and the
KLA/subject headsˇ¦ responses were more positive than those of the corresponding
KLA/subject teachers.
Table 3: Agreement
on the Aims of School Curriculum ˇX Primary School |
Aims of School Curriculum |
Primary school (%) |
School Head |
Chi |
Eng |
Math |
Arts |
PE |
GS |
KLA Head |
Teacher |
KLA Head |
Teacher |
KLA Head |
Teacher |
KLA Head |
Teacher |
KLA Head |
Teacher |
Subject Head |
Teacher |
Agree / strongly agree |
97.6 |
90.8 |
83.9 |
89.2 |
81.6 |
90.5 |
81.8 |
82.0 |
82.5 |
82.2 |
80.0 |
88.2 |
83.4 |
Table 4: Agreement
on the Aims of School Curriculum ˇX Secondary School |
Aims
of School Curriculum |
Secondary school (%) |
School
Head |
Chi |
Eng |
Math |
PSHE |
Sci |
TE |
Arts |
PE |
KLA Head |
Teacher |
KLA Head |
Teacher |
KLA Head |
Teacher |
KLA Head |
Teacher |
KLA Head |
Teacher |
Subject Head |
Teacher |
KLA Head |
Teacher |
KLA Head |
Teacher |
Agree / strongly agree |
92.8 |
90.6 |
81.1 |
79.0 |
79.4 |
82.5 |
73.6 |
96.3 |
88.3 |
82.3 |
81.6 |
87.5 |
73.9 |
82.9 |
83.2 |
76.7 |
67.9 |
Aims of the KLA/Subject curriculum
The aims of each KLA/subject curriculum vary (see Appendix
C). KLA/subject heads and teachers were asked how far they agreed with
them. Table 5 and 6 present the views of different respondent groups.
Results indicate that 89.3% - 97.9% of primary school respondents and
86.5% - 97.6% of secondary school respondents agreed or strongly agreed
with the aims of the relevant KLA/subject curriculum. In general KLA/subject
headsˇ¦ responses were more positive than those of KLA/subject teachers
for both primary and secondary schools.
Table 5: Agreement
on the Aims of the relevant KLA/subject Curriculum ˇX Primary School |
Aims
of KLA Curriculum |
Primary
school (%) |
Chi |
Eng |
Math |
Arts |
PE |
GS |
KLA
Head |
Teacher |
KLA
Head |
Teacher |
KLA
Head |
Teacher |
KLA
Head |
Teacher |
KLA
Head |
Teacher |
Subject
Head |
Teacher |
Agree / strongly agree |
95.3 |
93.0 |
92.8 |
89.3 |
94.4 |
91.4 |
91.9 |
92.6 |
94.6 |
93.2 |
97.9 |
93.1 |
Table 6: Agreement
on the Aims of the relevant KLA/subject Curriculum ˇX Secondary School |
Aims
of KLA Curriculum |
Secondary
school (%) |
Chi |
Eng |
Math |
PSHE |
Sci |
TE |
Arts |
PE |
KLA
Head |
Teacher |
KLA
Head |
Teacher |
KLA
Head |
Teacher |
KLA
Head |
Teacher |
KLA
Head |
Teacher |
Subject
Head |
Teacher |
KLA
Head |
Teacher |
KLA
Head |
Teacher |
Agree / strongly agree |
94.2 |
93.6 |
91.5 |
92.9 |
95.4 |
86.5 |
94.0 |
91.2 |
97.4 |
92.4 |
96.3 |
87.3 |
96.4 |
97.3 |
97.6 |
95.0 |
Guiding Principles
As set out in the curriculum guides, the central curriculum
and school-based curriculum adaptations should be based on the following
guiding principles:
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The overarching principle is to help students learn how to learn. |
|
All students have the ability to learn and in order to do so they
should be offered essential learning experiences. |
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A learner-focused approach should be used to make decisions in the
best interests of students. |
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Diversified learning, teaching and assessment strategies should be
used to suit the different needs of students. |
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Development strategies should be built on the strengths of students,
teachers, schools and the wider community of Hong Kong. |
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The implementation of curriculum should achieve a balance across the
academic, social and economic goals of the curriculum. |
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Schools can flexibly draw up their own school-based curriculum to
meet the needs of their students so long as the requirements set out
in the central curriculum framework are fulfilled. |
According to the responses from school heads, 99.2% of
the primary school group and 95.2% of the secondary school group agreed
or strongly agreed with these guiding principles.
|