The music curriculum in Hong Kong secondary schools — intentions and constraints

1998 ◽  
Vol os-31 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fanny Yuen-Fun Ng ◽  
Paul Morris

This paper has three purposes: it reviews the official aims of the formal music curriculum as promulgated by the Hong Kong Government, compares them to teachers’ perceptions of those aims and analyses the explanations of teachers for the pedagogic approach they emphasize. The analysis indicates that a balanced music curriculum is promoted which incorporates three components, namely: listening, performance and composition as its key dimensions. However, a combination of quantitative and qualitative data, collected by questionnaires and interviews showed that musical experiences associated closely with listening were perceived by teachers to be more important than the other components. What emerged most clearly from the explanations of the teachers was the extent to which the prevailing ethos of schooling in Hong Kong, which places a premium on the transmission and objective assessment of academic knowledge, was seen to be a powerful influence on the music curriculum. The result is an implemented music curriculum which is constrained by the broader context of schooling and is heavily.oriented to providing students with listening experiences.

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Wai Wa Yuen

Government and Public Affairs (GPA), a political subject with public examinations, was founded in the mid-1980s. It was part of the attempt to prepare Hong Kong people for the development of representative government, which would be needed for self-rule after reunification with China in 1997. This article reports GPA teachers' perceptions of the prevailing social ethos after the change of sovereignty. The teachers explain how they will teach politics amidst an increasingly difficult social environment, marked by conservatism and promotion of nationalistic sentiment on the one hand and by political divisions and sensitivity towards political teaching on the other. The teachers' top priority becomes that of good public examination results and, partly because of this, a highly teacher-centred mode of teaching is commonly adopted. Teachers are aware of the risk of indoctrination in political teaching. However, this is only considered a problem relating to the government's attempt to influence people's minds and the teachers never think of themselves as possible indoctrinators. Besides, many of them believe that they should share their beliefs with students. Though the teachers in general support democracy, paradoxically, excessive commitment to the belief is found in some cases to bring forth pedagogies of an authoritative nature.


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 574-587
Author(s):  
Marina WY Wong

For centuries, Macau’s schooling has embraced laissez-faire market principles, a stasis that from AY2016/17 is being changed by the government offering schools tuition coupons conditional on their adoption of a common school curriculum. A study of part of this new common curriculum, the development of a music curriculum for junior secondary schools in Macau, addresses three research questions: (a) What are music teachers’ perceptions and how do these frame the implementation of Macau’s common music curriculum? (b) Do music teachers’ expectations align with those of the central government? (c) Do music teachers perceive that they impact on or are impacted by this innovation? Discussion of the findings highlights a controversy about the role of teachers within curriculum development – should teachers be center staged (Lawton (2012 [1980]) or is this view an oversimplification based on false assumptions of a social democratic tradition (Whitty (1985, 2012 [1981])?


1979 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 1828-1834
Author(s):  
Asja Šiševa ◽  
Jiřina Slaninová ◽  
Tomislav Barth ◽  
Stephan P. Ditzov ◽  
Luben M. Sirakov

Isoelectric focusing on polyacrylamide gel columns of three native crystalline commercial preparations of insulin and 125I-labelled insulin was carried out. All the compounds studied contained three components of different isoelectric points. The largest fraction, having pI 5.60 ± 0.05, was common to all preparations. The other two fractions were situated in the acid region of pH between pI 4.5 and 5.2. The presence of these fractions is explained by the contamination of crystalline insulins by proinsulin and by the formation of des-amido derivatives during the dissolving and storage of insulin samples, and, in case of labelled insulin, also by the presence of heavily iodinated insulin and contaminating components. The isoelectric focusing of the complex 125I-insulin-antibody showed a peak of radioactivity having pI 6.15 ± 0.05.


Author(s):  
Andries C. Hauptfleisch

Unsubsidised private retirement resorts in South Africa developed during the last three decades present residents with many challenges. There is no existing generally accepted knowledge base or guidelines to serve this sensitive market. The research objective was to establish which elements are experienced by residents of retirement resorts as satisfactory and which as problematic. A literature study was also undertaken. Quantitative as well as qualitative data were obtained by means of structured questionnaires, interviews and a seminar. The results reported pertain to eight resorts in the east of Pretoria, four in Bloemfontein and two in Knysna. The study is currently being extended to other centres. The quantitative data is arranged in order of the priorities set by the biggest group (Pretoria), with the other groups in comparison. So the research was based on the sourcing of quantitative and qualitative data, as well as on descriptive evaluations. The results offer insightful knowledge and guidelines towards establishing an optimal profile for the development of long-term sustainable private retirement resorts. The implications and value of this study are that both developers of retirement resorts and prospective residents are provided with guidelines to better equip them to evaluate a specific retirement resort with regard to the sustainable well- being of residents long-term.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-112
Author(s):  
Richard Larouche ◽  
Nimesh Patel ◽  
Jennifer L. Copeland

The role of infrastructure in encouraging transportation cycling in smaller cities with a low prevalence of cycling remains unclear. To investigate the relationship between the presence of infrastructure and transportation cycling in a small city (Lethbridge, AB, Canada), we interviewed 246 adults along a recently-constructed bicycle boulevard and two comparison streets with no recent changes in cycling infrastructure. One comparison street had a separate multi-use path and the other had no cycling infrastructure. Questions addressed time spent cycling in the past week and 2 years prior and potential socio-demographic and psychosocial correlates of cycling, including safety concerns. Finally, we asked participants what could be done to make cycling safer and more attractive. We examined predictors of cycling using gender-stratified generalized linear models. Women interviewed along the street with a separate path reported cycling more than women on the other streets. A more favorable attitude towards cycling and greater habit strength were associated with more cycling in both men and women. Qualitative data revealed generally positive views about the bicycle boulevard, a need for education about sharing the road and for better cycling infrastructure in general. Our results suggest that, even in smaller cities, cycling infrastructure may encourage cycling, especially among women.


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