The impact of resources support on curriculum change: How Hong Kong schools are coping with the Target Oriented Curriculum (TOC) initiative

The impact of resources support on curriculum change: How Hong Kong schools are coping with the Target Oriented Curriculum (TOC) initiative

• Hui, Ming Fai Margaret The Hong Kong Institute of Education

1998

Hong Kong Educational Research Association (HKERA) 15th Annual Conference: Quality Education Across Disciplines, Systems and Regions (1998: Hong Kong Baptist University)

• D Curriculum
  • DA Objectives & Outcomes

• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• Unknown or Unspecified

The use of resources always forms an integral part in the teaching, learning and assessment process in schools. Teachers are expected to select, adopt, adapt and create appropriate resource materials in order to achieve their learning targets, conduct task-based activities and devise assessment schemes to measure students' progress. In the implementation of the TOC initiative, the Hong Kong schools are offered greater autonomy and a more active role in support of the principles and essence of this curriculum change. However, the lack of creativity and flexibility in many teachers to develop and utilize resources in their teaching has hindered such innovations. The objectives of this research study are four-fold: To explore what resources are currently provided for TOC; to investigate how schools are utilizing them; to determine what gaps and deficiencies there seem to be; and to recommend how resourcing support might be improved to foster the TOC initiative in the near future. The type of resources indicated in this research study are limited to the scope of printed materials, AV materials, teaching packages, information technology, equipment and facilities, learning environment, time, space and manpower support. The research methodology and procedures used in this study involved the following: (1) a compiled list of TOC resources produced by the Education Department, other institutions and commercial publishers made available to all primary schools, (2) preliminary interviews to find out the areas of concern regarding resources support for TOC, (3) questionnaire survey sent to over 100 primary schools with approx. 1,800 TOC teachers and other school staff respondents, (4) in-depth interviews with a sample of school heads, teachers, panel heads, TOC coordinators, teacher educators from ED and tertiary institutions, ED officers in the TOC unit, curriculum developers and commercial publishers. After the analysis of data on resources was completed, two case studies of schools were conducted by this investigator with focused interviews, classroom observations, analysis of school documents and visits to the TOC resource corner or room utilized by the schools. Since teachers in Hong Kong have traditionally relied on a single textbook with a minimum of supplementary aids, the provision of good resources support, if developed and utilized effectively, will ease the anxiety of the TOC teachers, build up their confidence, and reinforce their convictions toward teaching, learning and assessment.

Paper presented at the Hong Kong Educational Research Association (HKERA) 15th Annual Conference: Quality Education Across Disciplines, Systems and Regions.

• English

Conference Papers

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/bibs/4ff587af

2015-01-23