Hong Kong 2003
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Key Achievements in 2003

Curriculum Reform

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.

Enhancing the Capacity of Teachers

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.

Professional Development

The Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications released its report entitled Towards A Learning ProfessionThe 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.

Quality Education Fund

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.

Improvement in Assessment Mechanism

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.

Increase in Post-secondary Opportunities

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.

Improvement in Language Education

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.

International Recognition

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.

     
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