香港在小學推行啟導班達十八年之久，旨在幫助在中文、英文、數學三個主要科目學習有困難的學生。對於啟導班的實際價值，社會上有不同的爭議，本文旨在闡釋教育學院、學生和家長對啟導班的觀點，探討其發展和面對的困難，從而作出建議。
[Copyright © 2000 中央教育科學研究所.]

Use of Textbooks: Textbooks, which reflects the curriculum, are an important informant to portray the intended curriculum (Johansson, 2003). They are absolutely a valuable source for teachers (Stodolsky, 1999; Remillard, 2005; Tarr et al., 2006). The research on textbooks benefits substantively to the understanding of a curriculum in a particular region (Thaqi & Gimenez, 2016). Outstanding Performance in Some Regions: Mathematics learning in some Asian regions interests many educators, as the students from these regions have outperformed others in several worldwide mathematical assessments. The PISA report highlights that more than a quarter of students from each of the top-performing regions: Beijing-Shanghai-Jiangsu-Guangdong (China), Hong Kong (China) and Chinese Taipei could mathematically verbalize complicated problems (Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development, 2016). Another renowned international assessment TIMSS also shows that almost half (i.e. 47-49%) of students at Secondary 2 in South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong reach the advanced international benchmark (Mullis et al., 2012). The textbooks adopted by these Asian countries or regions are definitely worth referencing. Textbook Content Analysis: This study selected one textbook from each of these Asian regions and their content was decoded according to a proposed framework called Assessment-Background-Content textbook analysis, which was developed from the textbook context analysis of Incikabi & Tjoe (2013), Huntley (2008), Alajmi (2012) and National Research Council (2004). Textbooks were coded according to their lesson components. Pickle (2012) adapted from Jones’s (2004) coding suggested ten lesson components in identifying units in the textbooks. The ten components include description, definition, question, activity, worked example, oral exercise, follow-up practice, highlight, project, and reflection (Pickle, 2012, p.51). Textbooks in Asian Regions: The proposed presentation will compare the

The paper focuses on the evaluation of the present curriculum in Hong Kong. It discusses the analysis of questionnaires collected from 130 primary schools in Hong Kong. Findings regarding the views of mathematics teachers on the goals of curriculum, teaching content and assessment methods are also presented. Besides the paper discusses the learning and teaching strategies in the mathematics classroom, small class teaching (SCT) has been adopted by most of the schools in the first three years of primary education for about ten years. A lot of research has been conducted to study the efficacy of SCT. Most of the studies confirmed the benefits of SCT. The author made a study of this in 4 primary schools. There were classroom observations for 10 lessons. Whether their teaching can enhance children^ higher order thinking skills will also be investigated. In Hong Kong, the Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA) is an assessment administered at the territory level. It facilitates assessment for learning by providing schools with objective data on students' performances at the end of Key Stages 1-3. This paper examines its efficacy and discusses the public view on it. Teachers are interviewed regarding their views on the mathematics curriculum and their experiences. Children are also interviewed to investigate their interest in mathematics learning. The paper continues to discuss the mathematics curriculum in 3 different countries namely, the United States, the United Kingdom and Mainland China. A brief comparison is made regarding the content of their primary mathematics curricula, the learning and teaching strategies, children^ interest in mathematics learning and the cultural impact on their learning. Moreover, analysis of the cultural differences and contextual factors such as high expectation of parents, keen competition in education may shed light on the design of the mathematics curriculum. Research into comparative studies of the mathematics curricula of major Asian

This study attempts to explore the implementation of the New Senior Secondary (NSS) music curriculum and senior secondary school music teachers’ perceptions towards the NSS music curriculum in developing students’ creativity. In Hong Kong education reform, the necessity of developing students’ creativity was emphasized and “developing students’ creativity” was addressed as one of the four learning targets of music education. As the last step of Hong Kong education reform, senior secondary curriculum reform has been implemented in 2009. Compared with the previous senior secondary music curriculum, the NSS music curriculum contains more diversified teaching contents and assessment methods. Besides, since senior secondary students who select music as one of their elective subjects have to participate in a public examination, and the results directly related to whether they can be accepted by universities, senior secondary music teachers who are undertaking to teach the NSS music lessons are under a pressure of assisting students to get a positive result in the public examination. Under this circumstance, to what extent the learning target “developing students’ creativity” can be achieved through undertaking the NSS music should be further studied. In this study, seven in-service senior secondary music teachers were invited to share their arrangements of offering the NSS music and their perceptions towards the NSS music curriculum in developing students’ creativity. Since “Creating” was stated as the most effective module in developing students’ creativity in the NSS music curriculum guide, music teachers’ teaching practice for teaching the “Creating” part was asked particularly. Findings indicate that 1) the NSS music was only offered by a few of senior secondary schools; 2) most of the interviewees displayed a positive attitude towards the importance of creativity; and 3) most of the interviewees considered that students’ creativity cannot be significantly developed through

The purpose of this study is to explore the possible impact of short-term Mainland exchange programmes on the Hong Kong youths’ national identity. A study using both quantitative and qualitative methods was conducted in 2016/17 to investigate the students’ national identity. There were 676 secondary school students completed the survey and subsequent focus group interviews were conducted to examine whether there was any difference in their national identity after they returned from the Mainland exchange programmes. The results show that some of the participants’ cultural identity was enhanced while their national identity was not necessary strengthened. These findings were related to the structure and the objectives of the Mainland exchange programmes. The complexity of the formation of national and local identities will be discussed. This presentation will provide insights for schools to enhance meaningful Mainland exchange activities and inform policy makers ways to formulate effective strategies for promoting such activities. This study is supported by Public Policy Research (PPR) Grant.

Mother tongue language (MTL) curriculum is core to school education in most countries/regions' school curriculum. Through mother tongue language learning, students are expected to enhance their understanding of the nation's culture and foster the sense of cultural and ethnic identity. However, MTL education in Hong Kong is complicated by the colonial history. This study examines Hong Kong Chinese language teachers' perceptions of MTL education, and the implication on MTL curriculum development. The questionnaire was administrated to 97 teachers, and interviews were carried out on 17 teachers. Usually, MTL is both the tool with which knowledge and skills are taught and learned and the vehicle for students to learn about the traditions of the countries' literature and culture. In Hong Kong, 95% of the population is of Chinese descent. Traditionally, education in China was a mixture of philosophy, history, politics and literacy. Chinese as an MTL subject in pre-colonial Hong Kong has always been assigned the mission of developing students' cultural identity in addition to the development of linguistic proficiency. During the colonial period, the Chinese Language curriculum shifted to be more language skills based with less emphasis on Chinese culture and moral education. After the sovereignty of Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997, although a new curriculum was implemented in 2002, teaching and learning in school as well as public examinations seem to be remaining language skills oriented instead of culturally based. This deviation from the trend of both Chinese traditional education and global mother tongue language education makes some Chinese language teachers feel confused. In addition, there is comment that in general Hong Kong students' Chinese language proficiency is becoming weaker and weaker in recent years. Thus, effectiveness of the skills oriented language curriculum has come under question. How a language teacher views the aims and objectives of the language

The book aims to explore distributed leadership in developing curriculum innovations in schools with a target of bringing about theoretical underpinnings in the West with the empirical studies and practices in the East. It examines theoretically the roots of the curriculum leadership studies and practically with the empirical data and case studies in Hong Kong which has been considered a melting pot of the Western concepts and innovations in a land of Eastern cultures. The examination is framed within theoretical frameworks of activity theories, discourse analysis and social network systems. The findings will show the impact of the cultural traditions of Eastern countries in the mediation of the direction of the discourses in teacher meetings and the effectiveness of decision making in the processes of developing school based curriculum leadership. The book is theoretically exploratory with practically examined practices for educational leaders like schools headers and department leaders as well as teachers who aim at asserting greater influence in the educational decision making processes. Topics discussed in the book include: • Curriculum leadership functions and patterns of leadership distribution • Engaging teachers in reflective practice: tensions between ideological orientations and pragmatic considerations • Models of distributed leadership: focus, development and future • Initiating, designing and enacting curriculum innovations: procedures and processes This book will appeal to researchers interested in Curriculum Studies, School leadership and comparative education. Those who studies the theory of education and Asian education will also find this book valuable.
[Copyright © 2017 Edmond Hau-fai Law.]

This study investigates how a class of university music students who engaged in a 'lived' experience of informal learning adopted methods and strategies to complete a self-learning 'aural copying' performance assignment in a musicianship class in Hong Kong. Data were collected from observations of the performances and the students' written reflections. The findings showed that they used the methods of intensive listening, using technology, and collaborative learning, as well as the strategies of putting their knowledge of music theory into practice, substitution of instruments, and learning a new instrument in order to emulate the sounds of various instruments. They found this an interesting task that gave them opportunities to improve their musicianship, and they became more sensitive to different voice parts.
[Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 ]

From the 2012/13 academic year, the undergraduate degree programme in Hong Kong higher education has been transferred from a three-year to a four-year structure, with introduction of a rigorous component of general education in the new four-year curriculum. The present study aims to evaluate the implementation and impact of a new general education program, the "General University Requirements" (GUR), in the new four-year undergraduate curriculum of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) based on the views of teachers. A total of 68 teachers who had taught different GUR subjects in 2013/14 academic year were recruited to fill in an evaluation sheet designed to understand their views towards the GUR subjects. A total of 75 qualitative evaluation sheets were collected. Both close-ended and open-ended questions were used to assess teachers' perceptions. Data analyses indicated that teachers generally had positive evaluation about the GUR. They perceived that the content, teaching methods, and assessment components of GUR subjects successfully engaged students in the learning process and helped students achieve the intended learning outcomes. Teachers also had positive impression and feelings towards the GUR subjects they taught, and perceived the GUR subjects as helpful in broadening students' knowledge, cultivating their characters and important generic competences. Meanwhile, challenges in the implementation process were also noted. Findings from this study indicated the basic effectiveness of the GUR at PolyU based on teachers' views. It also provided indications for further improvements of the GUR and general education programs in Hong Kong higher education.
[Copyright Nova Science Publishers, Inc. 2017]