This paper aims to identify the perceptions of the current curriculum innovation in Hong Kong: Target Oriented Curriculum (TOC) by two groups of teachers: the pre-service and in-service teachers. It examines the issues regarding the context, concept and practice of TOC. Focusing on the perceptions of two groups of teachers, it attempts to clarify some issues related to the implementation of TOC and the improvement of teacher education course. When important changes take place in Hong Kong after 1997, a high priority of concern should focus on education.. It is very important that TOC should meet the needs of students and the society.

In Hong Kong, curriculum is centrally developed and teachers are expected to implement it as designed (Morris P., 1995; Nicholson A.Y.W., 1988, 1993). During the process of curriculum change, professional development plays a significant part to engender desired changes. These professional development efforts are top-down and mainly in the forms of centrally organized activities such as seminars and workshops for teachers (Cooke B.L, 1996). With a few teachers and educators involved during the development process and limited efforts to disseminate the curriculum initiatives, teachers are often left to implement the curriculum with little understanding of the rationale of these changes. Successful implementation, therefore, is left with individual teachers. Continuous professional development has been recognized as the key to school improvement (Rudduck J., 1991). It was even suggested that the extent to which professional development activities succeeded was the extent to which change succeeded (Fullan M., 1992). A whole range of activities has been identified (Huberman M, 1995). They might be individual teacher-centered, school-based or system-wide. However, traditional in- service training and staff development have been shown to be inadequate and"... network can provide fresh ways of thinking about teacher learning" (Lieberman A. & McLaughlin M.W., 1992, p.673) This paper proposes the concept of a cross-school teacher network, and shares the experience of the development of a teacher network in Hong Kong. Such network attempts to provide opportunities for practising teachers and school heads to share their concerns and their ways to deal with imposed curriculum changes. It is an ongoing process involving decisions about details of implementation, which aims to facilitate change. This is also based on the belief that teaching in Hong Kong suffers from the lack of opportunity to share as individuals, and particularly interact' with other teachers to reflect, to discuss

教育創新很少能達到創新者所期望的目標：人們採用計劃時，不是把計劃改頭換面，便只是敷衍了事，或甚至對計劃視若無睹，以至拒絕施行。人們現已普遍承認，要成功實施創新實在談何容易，而他們也認識到變革的過程是十分複雜的。在香港進行的課程更新計劃也不例外，同樣是困難重重，因為教師往往不願意實施政府中央機關頒布的改革計劃。本文所要討論的是在香港推行目標為本課程 (Target-Oriented Curriculum, TOC) 的問題。目標為本課程是香港一個重要的課程更新計劃，目的是要改善香港小學的學習質素。本文將縷述這項創新計劃的內容、推行改革計劃的背景以及一些會導致變革管理出現問題的因素。本文將集中討論影響變革過程的五項要素，即可行性、擁有權、教師態度、教師培訓和資源。通過分析這些要素而得到的啟示，可供香港和其他地方在實施課程時作為參考。
[Copyright © 2003 香港公開大學出版社.]

自2000年的課程改革以來，香港政府在課程方面採納了「軟」政策，取代了殖地時期以立法為根據的「硬」政策。在「軟」政策的實施當中，政府以實質可觀的資源，提供各種人力、物力讓學校採用，期望協助學校實施各種校本革新，達致整體的課程改革要求和效果。理論上，「軟」政策應該很受教師歡迎，最少，教師可以藉著「軟」政策下的資源改善教學的環境、提升課堂教學的質素和效果、並發展自己的專業能力；但實際上，教師對「軟」政策所提供的支援卻不樂觀，他們所理解的「軟」政策，與「硬」政策其實只是一線之差。本文就以「學會學習」課改為背景，並以三所小學作為個案，從教師的層面與角度探討課程的「軟」和「硬」政策。

Conceptions of 'soft' and 'hard' policy are now commonly discussed in the policy literature concerned with multi-level systems of governance (Abbott et al., 2000; Torenvlied et al., 2004; Cini, 2001; Hertin et al., 2003; Koulaimah-Gabriel et al., 1997). Such conceptions have been useful ways of delineating different incentives, pressures and motivations for policy implementation. On the one hand implementation can be directed by legislation and regulatory monitoring with the possibility of sanctions for non-compliance ('hard' policy) or it can come in the form of recommendations, education campaigns and strong advocacy ('soft' policy). The application of these conceptions to education policy making is relatively new (Fok, Kennedy and Chan, 2005; Chan, Kennedy and Fok, 2005). It is clear from this work that the concepts of 'hard' and 'soft' policy are useful in understanding aspects of education policy implementation by focusing on the nature of policy and its potential to influence subsequent implementation outcomes. It is equally clear that some adaptation needs to be made to the original meanings underlying these constructs if the full potential of the ideas are to be exploited. The purpose of this paper is to reinterpret the meanings of 'hard' and 'soft' policy with reference to particular case studies of curriculum reform and in particular to focus on the Hong Kong context that provides a unique set of influences governing both curriculum policy and its implementation.

After about ten years' curriculum and teaching reforms in China and Hong Kong introduced to enhance student learning, what can we learn from the experience? This lecture will examine the directions and contexts of curriculum and teaching reforms in Hong Kong and China followed by discussion of their implementation. In conclusion, some propositions for sustainability of the success of curriculum and teaching reforms are advocated in the context of China and Hong Kong. Firstly, it is important to pay close attention to teachers' receptivity to, and their emotions towards curriculum and teaching reforms. Secondly, it is important to preserve the merits and essence of Chinese pedagogy and explore ways of assimilating it with those Western approaches to teaching and learning. Thirdly, it is essential to give more support to the professional development of principals and teachers, especially the promotion of professional learning communities in schools. Fourthly, it is essential to pay attention to teachers' workload by providing adequate resource support. Last but not least, in future curriculum and teaching reforms it is essential to explore ways of enhancing students' self-directed learning and socio-emotional learning.
[Copyright © 2011 The Hong Kong Institute of Education]