An evaluation of the effectiveness of a school-based Chinese extensive reading curriculum for junior secondary students

An evaluation of the effectiveness of a school-based Chinese extensive reading curriculum for junior secondary students

校本初中中文課外閱讀課程的實施成效

• Sin, Man Fai

2007

• G Curriculum, Teaching & Learning: Specific Disciplines
  • GA Chinese Language
    • GAD Teaching Methods of Reading Comprehension & Their Outcomes, Vocabulary Teaching
• G Curriculum, Teaching & Learning: Specific Disciplines
  • GJ Interdisciplinary

Literacy Reading Instruction Curriculum Development

• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• Secondary Education

In Hong Kong, extensive reading education among junior secondary students has always been overlooked. The significance of extensive reading had always been emphasized at different stages of Chinese Language Curriculum development. The revised Chinese Language Curriculum for secondary schools issued in 2001 further stipulates that the impact of extensive reading on Chinese Language acquisition with detailed elaborations on the setting of reading environment, the design of reading activities, and the criteria of selecting books for extensive reading. Despite the emphasis and effort put on extensive reading, the ranking of local junior secondary school students at the reading assessment of PISA has disappointingly descended from the 6th in 2001 to the 10th in 2003. To reverse the trend and enhance students' reading ability, not only should emphasis be placed on the teaching and learning of reading in the curriculum, but extensive reading must also be promoted to consolidate knowledge students learn so that junior secondary students can develop good attitude of extensive reading. Urgent as it is and to accomplish this task, teachers must further understand the way in which junior secondary students develop their attitude of extensive reading in order to better solve the difficulties encountered in the implementation of an extensive reading curriculum in Hong Kong.
This research is based on the theories and thoughts on extensive reading in western countries and pioneers in adopting 'engaged reading' concept in designing a school-based junior secondary extensive reading curriculum. A 3-year longitudinal action research on Form one students of an English medium secondary school aims at exploring the difficulties and effectiveness of implementing an extensive reading curriculum, the causes of difficulties that may be involved and the reasons why junior secondary students find it difficult in developing good attitude of extensive reading.
The research findings have shown that longitudinal research can not only effectively evaluate the effectiveness of implementing an extensive reading curriculum, but also significantly provides insight into the development of attitude of extensive reading of the target groups. They can also record the effects of changes in educational ecology on the development of extensive reading attitude and provide a comprehensive picture of development in such a curriculum. Curriculum developers can then make improvements. The precious information obtained in investigating the development of attitude of extensive reading in target groups can help researchers further grasp the development pattern of attitude of extensive reading among junior secondary school students.
Research findings have shown that differences in students' abilities and changes of educational ecology exert a certain degree of influence on the effectiveness of an extensive reading curriculum and the development of extensive reading attitude among junior secondary students. Teachers' cognitive understanding of the development of such attitude is also a factor in the effectiveness of such a curriculum. If junior secondary language teachers can be evolved from professional to expert through staff development both inside and outside school, it will definitely help junior secondary students in developing good attitude of extensive reading.
Research findings have further proved that the development of attitude of extensive reading among junior secondary school students is influenced by many factors including students' reading abilities, development of reading affective domain and development of educational ecology formed by schools, families and society. In order to develop a model for the development of students' extensive reading attitude, all the above-mentioned factors should be examined.

PhD

University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong

• English

Dissertation Theses

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/en/bibs/e658c67e

2010-12-16