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Following is a question by the Hon Regina Ip and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, in the Legislative Council today (October 29):
Question:
At the meeting of the Panel on Education of this Council on May 30, 2013, an official from the Education Bureau said that about 85 per cent of secondary schools taught Chinese History as an independent and compulsory subject at the junior secondary level. Moreover, among the day school first attempters in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSEE), both the number and percentage of candidates taking the examination on the Chinese History subject have been declining continuously since 2012. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of secondary schools currently teaching Chinese History as an independent subject throughout the junior secondary level (i.e. Secondary One to Three), and the percentage of such number in the total number of secondary schools;
(2) whether there is any requirement on secondary schools regarding the number of hours and sessions to be allocated for the Chinese History subject per week at junior secondary level; if there is, of the details; and
(3) given that among the day school first attempters in the HKDSEE, the number and percentage of candidates taking the examination on the Chinese History subject have been declining continuously since 2012, whether the authorities will consider requiring secondary schools to teach Chinese History as an independent subject at the junior secondary level so as to foster students' knowledge and interest in Chinese history, thereby encouraging more students to elect the Chinese History subject at the senior secondary level?
Reply:
President,
(1) The Education Bureau (EDB) attaches great importance to Chinese history education. In the curriculum guide Learning to learn: The Way Forward in Curriculum Development promulgated by the Curriculum Development Council in 2001, it is stated clearly that Chinese history and culture is the essential learning content in primary and secondary basic education. At present, Chinese history is taught in all secondary schools in Hong Kong at junior secondary level, though schools may adopt different curriculum modes. At the meeting of the Panel on Education of this Council on May 30, 2013, the Education Bureau stated that about 85 per cent (in the 2013/14 school year (Note 1), it was 87.63 per cent) of secondary schools taught Chinese History as an independent subject at the junior secondary level, and by the 2013/14 school year, 390 secondary schools representing 87.63 per cent of all the secondary schools (Note 2) offered Chinese History as an independent subject in junior secondary level. This includes:
(i) 350 secondary schools teaching Chinese History as an independent subject throughout the junior secondary level (i.e. Secondary One to Three), representing 78.65 per cent of all the secondary schools, and
(ii) 40 secondary schools teaching Chinese History as an independent subject in any one or two years of the junior secondary level, representing 8.98 per cent of all the secondary schools, e.g.
* Schools that offered Chinese History in S3 as an independent subject, but linked world history with Chinese history in S1 and S2, and
* Schools, for improving teaching effectiveness, that offered Chinese History in either S1 or S2 with double lesson time to meet the minimum lesson time requirement set by the EDB.
In the 2013/14 school year, 55 schools adopted other curriculum modes to offer Chinese history in lower secondary level, amounting to 12.36 per cent of all secondary schools. Among them,
(i) 22 schools (4.94 per cent) offered Chinese History and Culture (linking world history with Chinese history) throughout S1 to S3. The development of Chinese history served as the backbone, making cross references to world history;
(ii) Another 33 school (7.41 per cent) offered Integrated Humanities throughout S1 to S3. They adopted a topical approach to organise the contents of Chinese history and culture.
(2) Currently, the EDB requests that secondary schools should, in the junior secondary level, devote one quarter of the total curriculum time spent on Personal, Social and Humanities Education to the learning and teaching of Chinese history. On average, the time spent amounts to two periods per week.
(3) Chinese History will remain as independent subjects in both junior and senior secondary levels. This arrangement will not be changed. Since the curriculum reform in 2002, the EDB has stipulated that all students will study Chinese history in junior secondary level, and has listed essential learning contents in curriculum documents to ensure that students studying in all types of schools will enjoy their learning entitlements. Some schools have attempted to adopt different curriculum modes to organise the contents of Chinese history in accordance with the whole-school curriculum arrangement, the different learning needs of their students and the expertise of their teachers, for example integrating or making reference to topics in world history in the development of Chinese history, with an aim to broaden students' perspective and enhance their learning interest. Different curriculum modes have different merits, and schools can choose flexibly.
At the same time, since the curriculum reform started in 2002, General Studies for Primary Schools has systematically incorporated learning contents of Chinese history in the two key stages of lower primary and upper primary education, helping students understand Chinese history and culture progressively. Among the six strands in General Studies for Primary Schools, "National Identity and Chinese Culture", which includes historical figures, dynasties and stories, aims at cultivating students' interest in Chinese history and building up their foundation so as to facilitate and consolidate their learning in junior secondary level.
In the new senior secondary academic structure, since students usually take only two to three electives, and the fact that the whole student population keeps declining, the numbers of students enrolled in each elective subject reduce proportionally, including those enrolled in Chinese History. To enhance students' interest in learning Chinese history, and to encourage more students to choose Chinese History as their elective in senior secondary level, on the one hand the Curriculum Development Council has set up an ad hoc Committee in May this year to review the junior secondary curricula of Chinese History and History. Its members include academics in the tertiary sector, practicing teachers and professionals of relevant subjects, and personnel from the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority and the EDB. It is expected that the committee will come up with short, medium and long term reform proposals in the middle of next year, to be followed by public consultations. At the same time, the EDB is collaborating with different stakeholders to organise more teacher training programmes to enliven the learning and teaching strategies in the Chinese history classrooms, and to provide more teaching resources to improve the learning and teaching of Chinese history. These aim to enhance students' knowledge and interest in Chinese history, so as to encourage more to choose Chinese History in the senior secondary level.
Note 1: In October every year, all schools are required to submit to the EDB information on the subjects offered at each year of secondary education. The latest data on hand is that of the 2013/14 school year. Such statistics has remained steady for years.
Note 2: In the 2013/14 school year, there were 445 secondary schools (including Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools, but not including special schools, private independent schools, private independent schools [non-local curriculum], private schools, international schools, senior secondary schools) offering mainstream school curriculum.
Ends/Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Issued at HKT 15:24
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