Curriculum is not neutral. Curriculum as actuality is a representation of selected ideas, skills, values, norms and practices within society (Smith and Lovat, 2003). Moral and civic education is a key aim of the Hong Kong English Language Education Curriculum. To incorporate moral and civic education, a set of values and attitudes is proposed. The Hong Kong Extensive Reading Scheme is a reading program in the Hong Kong English education curriculum. Students participating in the Extensive Reading Scheme are recommended to read large quantities of books that are of their interests and within their linguistic competence. My research examines the extensive reading materials to demonstrate how the texts may contain hidden values and attitudes.
This paper is drawn from research in progress and it studies the extensive reading materials suggested by the Hong Kong curriculum from a critical discourse perspective. It aims to draw implications for raising the teachers' awareness of the cultural and political values inherent in the reading materials. In addition, this paper studies the Hong Kong English Language Education Curriculum. It proposes the need for having pedagogy that supports the critical approach of teaching English in the curriculum.
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Chinese society has, traditionally, perceived sex as a taboo subject, and as such, is seldom discussed openly, and rarely taught in schools. Under these circumstances, most Hong Kong people never learn about sex education during their formal school years. With an increase in the number of sex-related crimes in Hong Kong, education is becoming increasingly important. Since learning in early childhood influences a person's future values and behaviour, sex education should be implemented early, preferably in pre-schools (Roffman, 2002; Woody, 2002).
To implement effective sex education in pre-schools, parents' views are important. This pilot study aims to investigate Hong Kong parents' perceptions towards implementing sex education programmes in pre-schools. One kindergarten and one childcare centre were randomly selected for this study. A total of 12 parents were interviewed. The findings indicated that most parents lacked the confidence to discuss sex-related issues with their children mainly because they had insufficient knowledge and skills, and also felt embarrassed. However, to overcome these inadequacies and feelings they were willing to better equip themselves with the necessary knowledge and skills for the benefit of their children.
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