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The Secretary for the Education and Manpower, Professor Arthur K C Li, today (September 16) said that Life-wide Learning (LWL), which has been actively promoted by the Government in recent years, was not only an important part of education reform in Hong Kong, but it also brought in a new definition for extra-curricular activities.
"LWL is student-centred learning, which promotes learning in real-life situation by students," he said.
"First-hand experience and an open learning environment will not only enhance the students' sense of involvement, but also help them to grasp knowledge, skills and attitudes which can hardly be nurtured in classroom learning, so as to realise the goal of curriculum reform to achieve all-round development," he added.
At today's LWL Briefing cum Jockey Club LWL Fund Launching Ceremony, Mr Alan F S Li, on behalf of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, presented to Professor Li a cheque of $141 million which is a donation for setting up the Hong Kong Jockey Club LWL Fund (the Fund) to support needy students from Primary Four to Secondary Three to participate in LWL activities.
Professor Li thanked the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust for its generous donation, which would give students more opportunities to join LWL activities. He also wished that more people could actively support the continuing development of education.
LWL is extending learning space from classroom to other environment. Through the flexible arrangements of different settings, community resources, and in co-ordination of various time, venues and people, students would acquire authentic experience that would be difficult to obtain in the classroom.
The Education Department (ED) has set up a LWL Section this year for LWL co-ordination and strategic planning. It will promote LWL strategy and methodology to all schools in Hong Kong. Through the setting up of a LWL seed school network, the section will devise strategies and guidance to teachers, in terms of curriculum design, assessment methods and evaluation.
Meanwhile, a LWL database providing school exemplars and other relevant information on LWL has been added to the Curriculum Development Institute (CDI) Web Page. Education workers can exchange their experience and improve their knowledge on LWL through this platform.
The Fund will last for five years. Funding will mainly be used for paying activities fees, transportation and other related expenses. It will cover all the LWL activities conducted in Hong Kong by schools, such as inspection, visit, excursion, camping, social services, uniform group, cultural, musical and sports activities, theme study, leadership, intellectual and ethical training, and etc.
Targeted students are those studying at Primary Four to Secondary Three and who are receiving the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) or eligible for the full grant of the Student Financial Assistance Scheme.
All primary and secondary schools will receive the Funding in school year 2002/03. ED will issue a circular to all schools today (September 16) to announce the details of the implementation of the Fund. It will also review the effectiveness of LWL periodically and report to parties concerned.
At today's LWL briefing, Chairman of the Curriculum Development Council, Professor WONG Yuk-shan, said that LWL was in line with the existing curriculum reform.
He said that the main purpose of curriculum reform was to group various subjects into eight Key Learning Areas (KLA), so as to help students develop diversely.
"LWL fits well into the eight KLAs. It will extend and enrich students' learning experiences, and enable them to learn more effectively," he said.
"By allowing students to undergo the five LWL essential learning experiences, namely moral and civic education, work-related experience, community service, aesthetic experience and intellectual development, LWL will be one of the effective strategies to develop students' multiple intelligences and to encourage life-long learning," he added.
End/Monday, September 16, 2002
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