This article reports the move from paper-based marking (PBM) to onscreen marking (OSM) in Hong Kong for the subject Liberal Studies - whose objectives involve broadening students' horizons through critical examination of current issues. While currently a small candidature subject of approximately 3300, from 2009, the subject will become compulsory for all students in Hong Kong's senior secondary school curriculum with a candidature of 80,000. As marking of all public examinations in Hong Kong is migrating to OSM, the current study reports on a project with the entire 2009 Year 13 Liberal Studies marking panel (49 markers), as part of the OSM validation process. The study involved giving all markers both a pre-marking and a post-marking questionnaire to gauge markers' technological competence in and attitudes towards OSM. Results were positive in that markers generally rated themselves as technologically capable. With regard to attitudes towards the implementation of OSM, the outcomes of the post-marking questionnaire showed markers to be more positive than their pre-marking comments suggested. Nonetheless, they are still not happy about having to travel to special marking centres and the preference for PBM remains strong. The results of the study indicate that OSM is being accepted into marker psyche of what marking involves, an important step as OSM is adopted as the sole marking method for all subjects in Hong Kong from 2012 onwards.
[Copyright of Asia Pacific Journal of Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2010.495836]

背景：政府建議通識科列為必修，發表了課程及評估架構建議，引起很大的爭議。然而，通識科仍歷經三次諮詢定稿。
討論焦點：從政策層面和學校層面的角度，分析通識教育科課程的適切程度。
論點：從該科的基本理念來看，通識教育科適應全球和本地發展的趨勢、切合本土教育發展、引入社會議題、聯繫不同學科的知識，以及引入較新的學與教策略。然而，其原有通識科的銜接、知識基礎的問題、課程組織的問題、考試的文化、教與學的轉變和教師的專業培訓等方面，則仍與學校層面的脈絡格格不入。
總結：不同層面的持分者有自己的關注。通識教育科的設計者，必須掌握學校層面教師的關注和實施，否則該科的理念仍無法實現。
Background: The government proposed Liberal Studies as a core subject and issued the curriculum and assessment guide, which aroused controversial debate. Nevertheless, the subject was finalized after three consultative stages.
Focus of discussion: This paper attempts to analyze, from perspectives at societal and school levels, the appropriateness of Liberal Studies curriculum.
Arguments: This paper argues that the basic rationales of this subject suit the global and local development trends, local educational development, emphasis of social issues, trends in associating knowledge from various disciplines and using new strategies of teaching and learning. However, this subject is incongruent with school level context, as it is not in line with the original Liberal Studies, knowledge-base, curriculum organization, examination culture, teaching and learning traditions and teacher professional development in Hong Kong.
Conclusion: Stakeholders in different levels have different concerns. The curriculum designers need to learn the concern and implementation of teachers in school level. Or, the ideas in this subject could not be implemented.
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]

香港新高中課程改革的「通識教育科」，注重「專題研習」的學習。由於有別於本土的傳統教學，「專題研習」可供老師參考的課程實施經驗不多，尤其學生對自主學習的體會。本文嘗試從學習者的角度，透視「專題研習」在實際的學校環境中，出現怎麼樣的「通識教育科」教學和學習的特點。透過分析小組同學的訪談內容，我們發現學生能夠了解和適應「專題研習」的學習要求及肯定其中的學習經歷和價值，他們同時深感憂慮新的學習，嚴重受考試導向的教育現實所牽引。
Liberal Studies has given a due weight to project learning in Hong Kong's New Senior Secondary curriculum reform. Different from mainstream teaching in the past, teachers have little practical experience on project learning in their curriculum implementation, particularly on students' independent learning. This paper is an attempt which examines for characteristics of project learning in Liberal Studies in the local school context from students' perspectives. An analysis on the focused group interview with students has found that they can grasp the main points and cope with the new learning needs of project learning. While they recognize the values of this new learning mode, they are deeply worried that the examination-driven educational reality has greatly affected their study through project learning.
[Copyright of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre Journal is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre at http://www.edb.org.hk/hktc]

本文討論在公開考試的框架下，如何邁向教改和新通識科的課程目標。以1994-2005年的高級程度通識教育科會考考試報告作為研究對象，本文嘗試找出公開考試的實際評分標準，並分析這些評分標準如何指導通識科的實際教與學經歷，討論教師和學生應如何面對和處理公開考試，以更有效地讓通識科的課程目標在學生的學習經歷中得到貫徹。
This paper discusses the question of how to achieve the curriculum objectives of the NSSLS subject within the public examination framework. Through studying the 1994-2005 AS Liberal Studies examination reports, this paper attempts to examine the actual grading criteria of the past LS examinations, and to analyze how these grading criteria have shaped teachers' and students' actual teaching and learning experiences. It then discusses strategies that teachers and students could adopt, in face of public examinations, to more effectively facilitate students' actual learning experiences that are in alignment with the LS curriculum objectives.
[Copyright of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre Journal is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre at http://www.edb.org.hk/hktc]

通識教育科在新高中課程是四個核心科目之一，教師專業發展被視為推行該課程的重要因素。這文章嘗試探討與通識科教師專業發展相關的議題。雖然通識科教師對課程實施有不同的關注，但該科肯定為教師提供機會發揮教師專業能力。這文章對通識科教師的專業知識結構加以檢視，並且把它分成課程知識、學科教學知識和實踐性知識三個類別。另外，通識教育科教師的專業發展有培訓課程、實踐平台和教師網絡多種途徑。
Liberal Studies will be one of the four core subjects in the new senior secondary (NSS) curriculum. Teacher professional development is regarded as an important factor in implementing this subject. This paper is to explore the issues related to the professional development of Liberal Studies teachers. Although the implementation of Liberal Studies stimulates different teachers' concerns, it surely provides teachers with opportunities to demonstrate their competence. The structure of professional knowledge of Liberal Studies teachers is examined in this paper and can be categorized as curriculum knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and practical knowledge. In addition, professional development courses, practice and teacher network are the possible ways for the continuous professional development.
[Copyright of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre Journal is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre at http://www.edb.org.hk/hktc]

Media education has been around for quite some time in the West (Bazalgette et al. 1990), but it only started to gain acceptance in Asia (Cheung 2005), particularly in Hong Kong, in the last decade. Recently, it has been gaining more attention in Hong Kong thanks to the curriculum reform in which liberal studies will become one of the four core subjects to be taken by students in the New Senior Secondary Curriculum and media is one of the six themes to be studied in the subject of liberal studies. This article argues for the need for teaching media education in liberal studies and shows the many connections between the two subjects that facilitate this integration.
[Copyright of Curriculum Journal is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09585170903424997]