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The Education Bureau held a consultation session today (April 17) to introduce the proposed minor revision to the junior secondary Chinese History curriculum. Schools and stakeholders are welcome to put forward their views regarding the curriculum arrangement, implementation strategy and support measures on or before May 18. The consultation questionnaire has been uploaded to www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum-development/kla/pshe/whats-new.html.¡@
A spokesman for the Education Bureau said, "The main purposes of the minor revision are: (1) to, without changing the current curriculum content, adjust the allocation of lesson time so that the Secondary One curriculum will cover until the Tang Dynasty as well as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, Secondary Two will cover until the attempts to save the Qing Dynasty, and Secondary Three will cover the Internal Policy and External Affairs of the People's Republic of China, so as to help schools to deliver a comprehensive Chinese history education and achieve better alignment with the senior secondary Chinese History curriculum; (2) to encourage schools to enliven their learning and teaching strategies by adopting new teaching practices, enriching the learning experiences of students and enhancing their learning interest so that more students will choose to study Chinese History in the senior secondary level; and (3) to continue using current textbooks so that schools can implement the recommendation as soon as possible to benefit more students."
The Curriculum Development Council set up an Ad Hoc Committee to conduct a comprehensive review of the current Secondary One to Three Chinese History curriculum. The Ad Hoc Committee has held a number of meetings to discuss the matter since May 2014. It expects that its proposed minor adjustment of the curriculum will enable students to develop a comprehensive understanding of the development of Chinese history.
The next immediate task for the Ad Hoc Committee is to deliberate further on ways to revise and improve the Chinese History curriculum, such as increasing the proportion of cultural and social history and incorporating more elements that students may be interested in, like war history, history of science and technology and art history. This will broaden students' scope of knowledge, and further align with the senior secondary curriculum, which has become steady. As such proposals will involve textbook revision when implemented, they cannot be implemented in the short term.
The spokesman said the Education Bureau would continue to consult widely on the opinions of different stakeholders so as to improve the Chinese History curriculum and the quality of its learning and teaching, and to consult front-line teachers on their views on different professional support measures.
The Education Bureau issued a curricular memorandum today to introduce the content of the recommendation and call on schools to express their views during the consultation period and collaborate with the bureau in improving the teaching of Chinese History so that students will benefit more.
Ends/Friday, April 17, 2015
Issued at HKT 17:00
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