LC Paper No. CB(4)365/20-21(01)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
LC Paper No. CB(4)365/20-21(01) For discussion on 19 January 2021 Legislative Council Panel on Education Review Report of the Task Force on Review of School Curriculum Purpose This paper briefs Members on the recommendations as set out in the review report of the Task Force on Review of School Curriculum (Task Force) and the follow-up work of the Government. Background 2. It was announced in the Chief Executive’s 2017 Policy Address that reviews led by educational professionals on eight key areas would be conducted. The Task Force, chaired by Dr Anissa CHAN WONG Lai-kuen, was thus set up by the Education Bureau (EDB) in November 2017 to holistically review the primary and secondary curricula so as to make the school curricula rigorous and forward-looking in enhancing students’ capability to learn and nurturing their values and qualities which are desired for learners of the 21st century to meet future challenges and the needs of society. Student learning lies at the heart of this review. Given students’ diverse learning and development needs across different key stages and domains, the Task Force had to consider the recommendations in a holistic manner to allow for progressive development from the primary to secondary school levels. 3. During the course of the review spanning nearly three years, the Task Force held over 40 focus group meetings to hear the views from different stakeholders (including the school sector, the business sector, admission offices of universities, parents and students). Also, four sub-groups were set up under 1 the Task Force to deliberate on issues in four domains, viz. whole-person development, catering for learner diversity, multiple pathways and STEM 1 education. The Task Force held in total over 20 meetings, which were attended by relevant experts/academics, to extensively gather information during the review. The initial recommendations under six directions were firmed up in mid- 2019, following which a three-month public consultation was conducted between June and October 2019 and briefing sessions for schools were also organised. The Task Force also met with the representatives from the eight University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities to enlist their support for the School Nominations Direct Admission Scheme (SNDAS) 2 during the consultation period. The Task Force received a total of over 112 000 written submissions through various means by the close of the three-month public consultation. Subsequently, the Task Force, at the request of the Secretary for Education, extended the work period of the review to take into consideration the impact of “suspending classes without suspending learning” on learning and teaching and the curriculum during the outbreak of COVID-19. After consolidating the views collected through various channels, the Task Force firmed up six directional recommendations, which included reinforcing the importance of whole-person development, according higher priority to values education, creating space and catering for learner diversity, further promoting Applied Learning (ApL), enhancing the flexibility in university admissions, and strengthening STEM education. The Task Force submitted its review report, entitled “Optimise the curriculum for the future, Foster whole-person development and diverse talents”, to the EDB in September 2020. The report has already been uploaded to www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum-development/renewal/taskforce_cur.html. Please see the Annex for the full report. 1 STEM refers to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. 2 It was tentatively titled as the School Principal’s Nominations (SPN) 2.0 Direct Admission Scheme in the Consultation Document. 2 Summary of the Task Force’s Recommendations 4. The recommendations of the Task Force are underpinned by its wish to cater for students’ learning needs, attributes, abilities and strengths, as well as to equip students with the necessary knowledge, skills, attitudes and attributes to meet challenges in their future endeavours. The recommendations are summarised in the ensuing paragraphs. (a) Whole-person Development 5. The Task Force considers it necessary to reinforce the importance of whole-person development and create space for students’ balanced development. Recommendations in this regard include enhancing the curriculum planning capability of school leaders (e.g. organising school leaders’ workshops) and adopting support measures (including the provision of exemplars and more sharing sessions on the implementation of life-wide learning activities during normal school days and school breaks) to enable school leaders and teachers to understand the notion of “learning time” vis-à-vis “lesson time”, as well as facilitate a paradigm shift of learning and teaching and concept transformation; providing support to schools in reviewing, reflecting on and fine- tuning their whole-school curriculum plans as well as fostering students’ whole- person development by considering the use of new modes of learning beyond the classroom; and advising schools to adopt appropriate measures to broaden students’ exposure and cater for their balanced development, with due consideration given to their physical and social development needs as well as the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. Besides, the Task Force also recommends enhancing teachers’ assessment literacy and advising schools to review the formulation and implementation of school-based homework and assessment policy for the purposes of creating space and facilitating the transformation of the modes of homework and assessment. To tie in with these recommendations, it is necessary to step up home-school co-operation and parent education. 3 (b) Values Education and Life Planning Education 6. The Task Force opines that schools should accord higher priority to values education, including strengthening life education and moral, civic and national education. The Task Force recommends that the EDB should update the existing Moral and Civic Education Curriculum Framework (2008), provide multifarious learning experiences related to values education in the curriculum to broaden students’ perspective, organise different modes of professional development activities to enhance teachers’ grasp of the goals and objectives of different facets of values education, and prepare more “life events” exemplars and resource materials to support teachers in helping students develop the universal core values underpinning Chinese morals and culture. 7. The Task Force considers it necessary to commence life planning education (not as career guidance per se) early at the upper primary and junior secondary levels to help students better understand their own aspirations, needs, interests and abilities; acquire some basic knowledge of work ethics and the dynamics of the work scene; and develop good attitudes essential for future study and work. The Task Force recommends that the EDB should clearly spell out the expectations of student learning in implementing life planning education at the primary and junior secondary levels, step up the professional training for principals and teachers, and provide relevant information to parents. (c) Creating Space and Catering for Learner Diversity 8. The Task Force recommends that the status of the four core subjects (namely, Chinese Language, English Language, Mathematics and Liberal Studies (LS)) at the senior secondary level should be kept intact whereas curriculum and assessment differentiation should be implemented without jeopardising the curriculum integrity. These include trimming and/or differentiating the curricula 4 and assessments of the four core subjects at the senior secondary level to cater for students’ diverse interests, abilities and career aspirations. The Task Force further recommends that the EDB may consider, at a later stage, extending the curriculum and assessment differentiation arrangements to elective subjects at the senior secondary level. While it is necessary to differentiate the curricula and assessments of the four subjects, the arrangements should vary with the subject nature. A brief summary of the recommendations is as follows: Chinese Language review the modes of assessment, including but not limited to removing/streamlining/combining the present speaking and listening examination papers; further cultivate in students early an appreciation of Chinese literature and classics; form an expert group to enhance the learning of Chinese literature and classics in the curriculum and the appreciation of classical articles and masterpieces; and examine the learning needs of non-Chinese speaking students. English Language further streamline the School-based Assessment arrangement and review how the Elective Part could be better assessed in the Writing Paper of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination; offer vocational English as an ApL course; enrich the existing curriculum, with more emphasis on the academic and creative use of the language; and 5 provide more opportunities for students to enhance their language competency through Language across the Curriculum and Reading across the Curriculum. Mathematics better utilise the current demarcation between Foundation Topics and Non-foundation Topics of the Compulsory Part of the curriculum in teaching, learning, and assessment; and explore the viability of replacing the existing Extended Part of Mathematics with a separate “Advanced Mathematics” subject (name to be confirmed) in the long run. Liberal Studies (Note: Please read in conjunction