Curriculum reform and the social class achievement gap

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor Tsz-lok Lee ◽  
Stephen Wing-kai Chiu
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Achievement Gap ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Curriculum Change ◽  
Lower Class ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
Liberal Studies ◽  
Public Examination ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Through the study of the Liberal Studies reform in Hong Kong, this paper aims to investigate to what extent the curriculum reform makes a difference in the achievement gap between middle-class and lower-class students. Specifically, it examines the variation of the “class gap” between Liberal Studies and other traditional, core subjects in terms of the public examination results, and the major mediators underlying the class effect on the results. Design/methodology/approach Data from a survey of 1,123 students from 15 schools who studied the new curriculum between 2009-2010 and 2011-2012 in Hong Kong were analyzed using the hierarchical multiple regression models. Findings Students’ class backgrounds, mainly indicated by parental education, continue to make a substantive contribution to the achievement gap. Practical implications Given that Liberal Studies’ examination is compulsory for university entrance, the sensitivity of this reform to existing educational inequalities has a significant impact on students’ chances of entering local universities. Originality/value Sociologists have long observed the class gap in education, and this paper adds an important exogenous source, a curriculum change, to the analysis. The Liberal Studies reform has provided a unique opportunity to examine the potential effect of a curriculum change on the class gap. In addition, in view of the absence of empirical evidence in this topic, this paper is an effort to build the evidence base for understanding the outcomes of the reform.

Evaluation of generic competencies among secondary school leavers from the new academic structure for senior secondary education in Hong Kong

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karly O.W. Chan ◽  
Maggie K.W. Ng ◽  
Joseph C.H. So ◽  
Victor C.W. Chan
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Tertiary Institution ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Public Examination ◽  
Generic Skills ◽  
Content Type ◽  
National Responsibility ◽  
Generic Competencies ◽  
Senior Secondary

PurposeA new academic structure for senior secondary and higher education was introduced to Hong Kong in 2009/2010. This paper aims to: (1) compare the cohort from the old academic structure (Cohort 2010) and the cohort from the new academic structure (Cohort 2015) on the 14 categories of generic competencies; and (2) compare these attributes among students from different divisions in a tertiary institution in Hong Kong.Design/methodology/approachSelf-Assessment of All-Round Development (SAARD) questionnaires were distributed to students who took the two-year sub-degree programmes offered by the College of Professional and Continuing Education, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2010 and 2015 on a self-administered basis. A total of 4,424 students have returned the questionnaires. Data were analyzed with t-test to compare between the two cohorts.FindingsWhen comparing Cohort 2015 with Cohort 2010, significantly higher scores were observed on five areas such as global outlook and healthy lifestyle (p<0.05). Significantly lower scores were observed on the other five areas such as problem solving, critical thinking and leadership (p<0.05). Students from all divisions unanimously showed higher perceived rating on social and national responsibility but lower perceived rating on leadership (p<0.05).Originality/ValueThe elimination of one public examination, the newly included components such as Other Learning Experiences (OLE) and the compulsory Liberal Studies were believed to contribute partially to the diverse responses of the two cohorts. The dramatic change of the curriculum has not changed the examination culture in Hong Kong which may hinder the development of generic skills among students.

Comparing perceived learning experiences of two concurrent cohorts under curriculum reform in Hong Kong

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 270-286
Author(s):  
Yue Zhao ◽  
Jenny M.Y. Huen ◽  
Michael Prosser
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Perceived Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Latent Mean Differences ◽  
Mean Differences ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Student Learning Experiences

Purpose Hong Kong has undergone extensive curriculum reform and shifted from a three-year to a four-year university system. With a nuanced look at the impact of the curriculum reform, the purpose of the present study was to compare two concurrent cohorts by examining the extent to which the students in each cohort perceived their learning environment and learning outcomes differently and to what extent their perceptions differed. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 3,102 first-year students enrolled at a Hong Kong university responded to the student learning experience questionnaire (SLEQ). The perceived learning experiences between the two cohorts were tapped through several latent factors and validated through tests of measurement invariance. Latent mean differences were then compared. A multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis approach was used. Findings The findings suggested that measurement invariance of the scales of the SLEQ was established and that the two cohorts of students perceived largely similar learning experiences. The latent mean differences were statistically significant on the scales of feedback from teacher, clear goals and standards, personal integrity and ethics, intercultural competence, global perspective and civic commitment. Practical implications The results facilitate the understanding of perceived student learning experiences with evidence-based implications for enhancing student learning experiences and refining the four-year curriculum under the new curriculum reform conditions. Originality/value This is the first institution-wide study that compares student learning experiences of two concurrent cohorts under curriculum reform initiatives of Hong Kong. It provides a meaningful and pertinent example for educators and researchers worldwide to analyze the impact of curriculum reform from the perspective of students’ perceived learning experiences. Similar studies adopting rigorous approaches in the measurement of students’ perceived learning experiences are relatively rare in higher education. Such efforts are encouraged for accountability and quality improvement purposes.

Challenges of cultivating critical citizens in Hong Kong

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-27
Author(s):  
Yan Kin Cheung Adrian
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Liberal Studies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Bachelor Of Education ◽  
Pedagogical Principles

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to offer the latest empirical findings of the difficulties and challenges in teaching New Senior Secondary (NSS) Liberal Studies in Hong Kong from the perspective of pre-service teachers.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study is based on Danielewicz’s critical pedagogy framework for identity development. A sample of four pre-service teachers were recruited from the last cohort of final-year bachelor of education students at the University of Hong Kong. They were invited to engage in dialogues of enquiry, through which they recount their teaching encounters during their teaching practices. Emphasis would be put on two relevant pedagogical principles, including deliberation and reflexivity, which are of particular relevance to the case of Liberal Studies.FindingsChallenges revealed the dispositions of conformist learning among the students, manifested in forms of misquoted information and the populist sentiments mirrored from mainstream media, which cost teachers extra efforts to facilitate inquiry-based learning. Adopting deliberation and reflexivity as pedagogical principles, student–teachers responded with attempts to reconnect daily life experiences to teaching, bringing back the social context of knowledge and seeking synergy between traditional and liberatory teaching methods.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is drawn from a relatively small sample of pre-service teachers and may run the risk of over-generalization. Moreover, this study tends to neglect other factors such as classroom dynamics, school culture, colleagues’ rapport and students’ responses.Originality/valueGiven the novelty of Liberal Studies as a compulsory subject under the NSS curriculum and its specificity in Hong Kong education system, the amount of literature devoted to this area has been inadequate; among the available studies, the majority tend either to focus on the macro level, addressing the broader narratives of education policies and curriculum studies (e.g. Fung and Yip, 2010; Cheung and Leung, 1998) or to discuss the topic with exclusive reference to political transition and post-colonialism in the 1980s and 1990s (e.g. Morris and Chan, 1997). Studies on the micro level have generally paid little attention to the dynamics of Liberal Studies teaching, focusing instead on its relationships with other aspects such as private tutoring (Chan and Bray, 2014) and cultural representations of religion in Liberal Studies textbooks (Jackson and Han, 2016); pedagogical studies on the subject remain a minority.

The Development of Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies Curriculum in Hong Kong: Perspectives and Problems

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 224-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Tin-Yau Lo ◽  
Sum-Cho Po
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Liberal Studies ◽  
Reform Initiative ◽  
Interdisciplinary Curriculum ◽  
Similar Nature ◽  
Documentary Analysis ◽  
Official Policy ◽  
Curriculum Guides ◽  
Critical Scrutiny

The introduction of liberal studies is a new curriculum reform initiative in Hong Kong starting in 2009. It is a kind of formal interdisciplinary curriculum built on decades of experiences garnered from the implementation of various integrated subjects with similar nature. Through the method of documentary analysis that brings all official policy papers, curriculum guides/documents, stakeholders’ feedback, and prior research into critical scrutiny, this article aims to analyze the phylogeny of formal interdisciplinary curriculum in Hong Kong from historical, sociological, ideological, and curricular perspectives, with a view to delineating the changes and continuities in the development of interdisciplinary curriculum and identifying the problems and possibilities for its implementation.

scholarly journals Complete Genome Sequences of Six Novel Macaca mulatta Papillomavirus Types Isolated from Genital Sites of Rhesus Monkeys in Hong Kong SAR, China

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (22) ◽  
Author(s):  
Teng Long ◽  
Po Yee Wong ◽  
Wendy C. S. Ho ◽  
Robert D. Burk ◽  
Paul K. S. Chan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Macaca Mulatta ◽  
Complete Genome ◽  
Rhesus Monkeys ◽  
Genome Sequences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Complete Genomes ◽  
Hong Kong Sar

The complete genomes of six Macaca mulatta papillomavirus types isolated from genital sites of rhesus monkeys were characterized, and less than 72% identity with the complete L1 genes of known papillomaviruses was found. Macaca mulatta papillomavirus type 2 (MmPV2), MmPV3, and MmPV6 cluster into the genus Alphapapillomavirus, and MmPV4, MmPV5, and MmPV7 cluster into the genus Gammapapillomavirus.

Knowledge management strategies for sustaining Lesson Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-178
Author(s):  
Eric C.K. Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Relative Effectiveness ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is explore the relative effectiveness of people-based and information technology-based knowledge management (KM) strategies as implemented by principals in Hong Kong schools to facilitate and sustain Lesson Study for teachers’ knowledge sharing and internalization. Design/methodology/approach Data from 184 principals in Hong Kong were collected by a cross-sectional quantitative survey. Confirmatory factor analysis and reliability tests have been used to examine the constructed validity and reliability of the instrument. A structural equation model was applied to confirm the predictive effect of people-based and information technology-based KM strategies on teachers’ knowledge sharing and internalization through Lesson Study. Findings Results show that people-based KM strategy predicts knowledge sharing and internalization by and among teachers. However, while information technology-based knowledge management strategies predict teachers’ knowledge sharing, they do not predict how effectively they internalize knowledge. Practical implications Cultivating communities of practice, professional learning communities and mentoring schemes in schools can nurture a knowledge-sharing culture to facilitate and sustain Lesson Study for teacher learning. Institutionalizing an information technology system can help teachers to retrieve, share and store the school’s explicit knowledge. Originality/value The paper not only suggests school management strategies and practices for school leaders to facilitate and sustain Lesson Study, but also brings a new research dimension, KM, to the research area.

Customer satisfaction with sommelier services of upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 532-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tommy Lau ◽  
Man Lai Cheung ◽  
Guilherme D. Pires ◽  
Carol Chan
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Customer Loyalty ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The abolishment of the wine tax in Hong Kong has led to increased wine consumption and increased demand for wine-related professionals, such as sommeliers. Yet the importance of sommeliers’ value-adding performance in the context of upscale Chinese restaurants has not been examined. To address this gap, the SERVQUAL framework is adopted to examine the influence of sommeliers’ service quality (SQ) on customer satisfaction (CS) and loyalty in the context of upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach The survey method is used to collect data from 302 units of the population of interest, partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is used to test the links between constructs. Findings Four of the seven dimensions of sommeliers’ service quality, namely, empathy, tangibles, credibility and assurance, have a significant positive impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, whereas the impact of perceived value and responsiveness on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty is positive but only marginally significant. Reliability has a weak and non-significant impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Research limitations/implications Examining a small number of upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong limits generalisation of the findings to other contexts. Replication of the research in different contexts will enhance generalizability. In terms of implications, the discussion highlights the importance of sommeliers’ service performance on customers’ SQ perceptions SQ, CS and loyalty, all of which are important variables for restaurateurs. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of the influence of the quality of sommelier’s SQ on CS and loyalty in upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. Given the lack of attention to this service role in the literature, the study contributes theory from which further understanding can develop.

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