The Vernacular Normal School for Men (VNSM) was established in September 1920 by the Hong Kong Government under the governorship of Sir Reginald Edward Stubbs (1919-1925) to solve the problem of shortage of qualified schoolteachers. Together with the Vernacular Normal School for Women (VNSW, 1920-1941) which was opened in the same year, the two teacher training institutes supplied the majority of the qualified Chinese teachers in Hong Kong during the ensuing two decades. This paper, using documentary sources and information obtained from interviewing some graduates of the Vernacular Normal School for Men, discusses the background to the establishment of the School, its staff, students and curriculum, and the closure of the School, as well as its contribution to the progress of Hong Kong’s basic education.

This paper describes, analyses and evaluates changes in teaching methodologies of the English curriculum formally proposed for Hong Kong secondary schools from 1975 to 1998. “Formally proposed” means “stated in written documents produced by agencies with official authority”. Aspects of the formal, or planned curriculum in Hong Kong have been stated in written documents produced by agencies such as the Educational Management Board (EMB) and the Curriculum Development Council (CDC). The documents used for this analysis are the 1975 (provisional) Syllabus for English (Forms 1-5) and the 1983 Syllabus for English (Forms 1-5). In additions, since the current research project falls at a time when another major curriculum renewal process is in process, there will be some extrapolation from the 1997 task-based primary English curriculum to the task-based secondary English curriculum planned for the year 2000. The planned curriculum is examined here as the first step in a larger research project which aims to compare the planned and implemented curriculum of the HK Special Administrative Region and Shanghai. The research question relevant to this paper is: “What are the aims, objectives, teaching methodology and assessment of the English curriculum formally proposed in Hong Kong schools?” The planned curriculum is seen as only one aspect of the process which shapes a curriculum. It is acknowledged that a curriculum plan is like a blueprint for a building which may never be constructed, or may not be constructed as planned, or if constructed may not serve its intended functions (Cornbleth, 1990, p.6). The paper focuses on methodology, while other aspects of the planned curriculum are treated in other papers (forthcoming) produced under the auspices of the project.