Integrating language arts into the Hong Kong New Senior Secondary (NSS) curriculum : hearing teachers' and students' voices

Literature has long been used as a tool for language teaching and learning. In the New Academic Structure in Hong Kong, it has become an important element in the senior secondary English language curriculum to promote communicative language teaching (CLT) with a process-oriented approach. However, as in many other English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL) contexts where high-stakes testing prevails, Hong Kong students are highly exam-oriented and expect teachers to teach to the test. Because there is no direct assessment on literature in the English language curriculum, many teachers find it challenging to balance CLT through literature and exam preparation. To address this issue, this article describes an innovation of teaching ESL through songs by ‘packaging’ it as exam practice to engage exam-oriented students in CLT. A series of activities derived from the song Seasons in the Sun was implemented in the ESL classrooms in a secondary school in Hong Kong. Based on the author’s observations and reflections informed by teachers’ and students’ comments, the students were first motivated, at least instrumentally, by the relevance of the activities to the listening paper in the public exam when they saw the similarities between the classroom tasks and past exam questions. Once the students felt motivated, they were more easily engaged in a variety of CLT activities, which encouraged the use of English for authentic and meaningful communication. This article offers pedagogical implications for ESL/EFL teachers to implement CLT through literature in exam-oriented contexts.

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Reform at the Intersection of Loose Coupling and Pedagogic Modalities: The Case of Hong Kong

Education and Urban Society ◽

10.1177/00131245211001911 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 001312452110019

Author(s):

Trevor Tsz-lok Lee

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Education Reform ◽

Global City ◽

Coupling Agents ◽

Loose Coupling ◽

Secondary Curriculum ◽

Reform Policy ◽

Local Actors ◽

Senior Secondary

This paper contributes to our understanding of the micro-policy experience of an implemented curriculum from the perspective of students, in addition to teachers, as the key coupling agents in the schools of a Chinese global city. Although the phenomenon of decoupling in educational policy is widely recognized, much less attention has been paid to the micro-dynamics involved in implementing education reform policy from the perspective of students and teachers. It is argued that these local actors’ experiences are best captured by the bi-dimensional framework of loose coupling and pedagogic modalities. This argument is illustrated through a case study of the implementation of the Liberal Studies reform under Senior Secondary Curriculum in Hong Kong since 2009. The study demonstrates how students and teachers interpret and make sense of policy, strategic, and practical needs manifested in the microprocesses of policy coupling and decoupling.

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Assessment of Assimilation and Academic Performance of Students During Winter and Summer Seasons

Research Society and Development ◽

10.33448/rsd-v9i12.8886 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. e639128886

Author(s):

Abubakar Muhammed Dadile ◽

Abubakar Muhammad Dadile ◽

Habu Muhammed Dadile ◽

Nurudeen Mohammed

Keyword(s):

Academic Performance ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Cold Water ◽

Winter Season ◽

Weather Condition ◽

Subject Area ◽

Learning Processes ◽

Teachers And Students ◽

And Performance ◽

Senior Secondary

The study was conducted at Gashua, Yobe State. The weather condition of the area during summer is so terrible to the extent that the majority of inhabitants are searching for ice blocks or cold water to drink in other to feel a bit comfortable. In the school, both teachers and students were not comfortable during summer and winter seasons and these made teaching and learning processes boring. Therefore, the study is aimed at assessing the assimilation and academic performance of students during the vsummer and winter seasons. A random selection of past examination record sheets of students in Yusad secondary school, Gashua was used, and information on their academic performance for summer and winter season were obtain from senior secondary one and two (SS1 and SS2) classes. Ten student record books were selected at random for their academic performance on the subject area of biology. Their scores of the academic performance records were subjected to a descriptive statistics where mean, standard deviation was calculated and Z-test was determined. The results of this study revealed that the summer and winter seasons do not affect the assimilation and results reveals that the academic performance of students varies between - 0.58 in SS1 to - 0.72 in SS2 which means that the summer and winter seasons had no influence on the assimilation and performance of students but might cause inconvenience, unfavorable, disturbance and unsuitable conditions for teaching and learning processes.

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

Public Administration and Policy ◽

10.1108/pap-07-2020-0033 ◽

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.

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Educational use of free and open source software (FOSS): international development and its implications for higher education

Interactive Technology and Smart Education ◽

10.1108/itse-11-2020-0223 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Chenggui Duan ◽

Tracy K. Lee

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Hong Kong ◽

Open Source ◽

International Development ◽

Open Source Software ◽

Relevant Literature ◽

Control Cost ◽

Content Type ◽

Teachers And Students ◽

Education In Hong Kong

Purpose Free and open-source software (FOSS) has been used worldwide because of the advantages of user control, cost-saving, flexibility, openness, freedom, more security and better stability. The purpose of this study is to explore the status quo of educational application of FOSS and the trends from international perspectives and its implications for higher education in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach The method of cluster analysis was used in this study. The Web of Science database was used as the data source and all relevant literature for the year 2010–2020 on the theme of “FOSS” was collected for analysis. The information visualization software CiteSpace was used for citation visualization analysis, revealing the research results of FOSS worldwide, including hot spots and development trends. Findings This paper found that FOSS has become an important research area and is playing an important role in the reform and development of education. Meanwhile, the development and application of FOSS have regional imbalances and strong differentiation, including the educational sector. The paper also found that although FOSS has entered the stage of interdisciplinary development, the research and development of FOSS in the field of education is insufficient, which poses a huge challenge to decision-makers, teachers and students. Originality/value Implications for higher education in Hong Kong including: attach importance to and vigorously promote FOSS research and practice to benefit more teachers and students; teachers and students need to be trained for acquiring the awareness and skills of FOSS applications and formulate different strategies; the government should provide greater support to formulate and implement a short and middle-term development plan to facilitate the application of FOSS; and Hong Kong higher education institutions may strengthen exchanges and cooperation with counterparts around the world to jointly promote the development of FOSS. It is hoped that the findings will provide a reference for the study and application of FOSS in higher education in Hong Kong.

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Academic and Career Aspiration and Destinations: A Hong Kong Perspective on Adolescent Transition

Education Research International ◽

10.1155/2019/3421953 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

pp. 1-14 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kwok-Tung Tsui ◽

Chi-Kin John Lee ◽

King-Fai Sammy Hui ◽

Wai-Sun Derek Chun ◽

Nim-Chi Kim Chan

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Secondary School ◽

Secondary Students ◽

Career Aspirations ◽

Further Education ◽

Bachelor's Degree ◽

Public Examination ◽

Life Planning ◽

Adolescent Transition ◽

Senior Secondary

Understanding the academic and career aspirations of adolescents and their destinations could inform policy makers and educators about how best to provide support at society and school levels to facilitate adolescents transitioning from school to further education and work. The current qualitative study investigates seven senior secondary students from three schools with varying intakes of student ability under the “Secondary School Places Allocation System” in Hong Kong. By employing a Systems Theory Framework, the study looked into the academic and career aspirations of these students and tracked their destinations immediately after secondary school graduation. Findings show that the academic and career aspirations of adolescents and their destinations are shaped by prevailing preferences for attaining higher qualifications, preferably a bachelor’s degree, parental and others’ influences, and outcomes of public examination results. The implications of enhancing support for the societal, school, and career- and life-planning education of individuals are discussed.

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Community responsive literacies: the development of the Ethnic Studies Praxis Story Plot

English Teaching Practice & Critique ◽

10.1108/etpc-01-2016-0016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 411-429 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Edward R. Curammeng ◽

Daisy D. Lopez ◽

Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales

Keyword(s):

Language Arts ◽

Ethnic Studies ◽

High Stakes Testing ◽

Educational Partnerships ◽

High Stakes ◽

Content Type ◽

Language Arts Teachers ◽

Teachers And Students ◽

Arts Teachers ◽

K 12

Purpose Momentum around the institutionalization of Ethnic Studies in US K-12 classrooms is increasing. Opponents have argued that Ethnic Studies does not challenge students academically and prepare them for high stakes testing (Planas, 2012; Sanchez, 2007). Conversely, research continues to show ways Ethnic Studies contribute to students’ academic achievement, especially for students from marginalized and vulnerable communities (Cabrera et al., 2014; Halagao, 2010; Tintiangco-Cubales et al., 2015). This study aims to demonstrate the possibilities and potential of Ethnic Studies-framed tools for English and Language arts teachers. This moment concerning Ethnic Studies in schools illuminates an important opportunity to demonstrate how Ethnic Studies-framed tools positively affect learning mainstream school content, namely, English and Language Arts. The authors consider the following point: To what extent can Ethnic Studies-framed tools affect approaches for learning English, writing and reading while simultaneously being responsive to a community’s needs? The authors maintain the importance of such tools that exist in how they support the development of community responsive literacies (CRLs). Design/methodology/approach This paper examines CRLs through the Ethnic Studies Praxis Story Plot (ESPSP). The authors begin by exploring the development of the ESPSP, first used in Pin@y Educational Partnerships (PEP), an innovative K-college Ethnic Studies teaching pipeline. Next, the authors examine each coordinate of the ESPSP, examining their purpose, theoretical underpinnings and ways the ESPSP offers nuanced approaches for learning literacies. Findings The authors then discuss how CRLs emerged to support PEP teachers and students’ reading and writing skills using the ESPSP. Originality/value Finally, the authors learn from students’ experiences with the ESPSP and offer implications for English and Language Arts teachers in the pursuit of teaching and serving students in more socially just and community responsive ways.

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