Upper secondary education in Hong Kong: a case study

Upper secondary education in Hong Kong: a case study

Mary James

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This report forms part of a collection of six case studies commissioned by the Royal Society in 2017 examining upper-secondary education reform in different jurisdictions. The case studies are designed to give the reader an understanding of the trends in upper secondary curriculum reform and, in particular, the recent moves that certain jurisdictions have made towards a broader and more balanced curriculum. These case studies were officially launched at the Royal Society's symposium Broad and Balanced: What is the future for our post-16 curriculum? on 17 October, 2017.

About the author

Mary James, FAcSS, formally retired as professor and associate director of research from the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education in 2014. She previously held posts at the Institute of Education London, the Open University and in three secondary schools. She is a Past President of the British Educational Research Association (2011-13) and was Deputy Director of the ESRC's Teaching and Learning Research Programme (2002-08), within which she directed the `Learning how to Learn' project (2001-05). In 2011 she was a member of the Expert Panel to the Coalition Government's National Curriculum Review in England. She has been an occasional adviser to the Hong Kong Education Bureau on its educational reforms since 2000, and was the overseas member of the Hong Kong Curriculum Development Council from 2007 to 2009 when it was developing the new senior secondary curriculum and examinations. Email: mej1002@cam.ac.uk

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Contents

Summary Glossary

1. Introduction

2. The political and policy context behind reform of the curriculum

3. The main features of the senior secondary curriculum in Hong Kong 3.1. Aims and learning goals 3.2. Core subjects 3.3. Elective subjects 3.4. Other Languages and Applied Learning 3.5. Other Learning Experiences 3.6. The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education 3.6.1. Category A Subjects, including the 4 core subjects and the 20 elective subjects 3.6.2. Category B, Applied Learning Subjects 3.6.3. Category C, Other Language Subjects 3.7. University admission requirements and recognition

4. Science subjects and skills in the curriculum 4.1 Curriculum guides 4.2 Take-up and performance 4.3 Gender differences

5. Evidence of the impact of the broad nature of the curriculum on student outcomes 5.1. Impact on the senior secondary education of students 5.2. Further studies and employment 5.3. Stress

6. Financial and practical implications of the curriculum model adopted 7. Conclusion 8. Acknowledgements

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Glossary of terms

ApL AS CDC CIE CPSS EC EDB ESRC GCE HKALE HKCEE HKDSE HKEAA HKIEd IES IT LS MTR NARIC NAS NRA NSS Ofsted OLE PD PRC SAR SBA SLP SRR SS STEM UCAS UGC

Applied Learning Advanced Subsidiary (examination) Curriculum Development Council Cambridge International Examinations Committee on the Prevention of Student Suicides Education Commission Education Bureau Economic and Social Research Council (UK) General Certificate of Education (UK) Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority Hong Kong Institute of Education Independent Enquiry Study Information Technology Liberal Studies Mid-Term Review National Recognition Information Centre (UK) New Academic Structure National Record of Achievement (UK) New Senior Secondary curriculum Office for Standards in Education (UK) Other Learning Experiences Professional Development People's Republic of China Special Administrative Region School-based assessment Student Learning Profile Standards-referenced reporting Senior secondary Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics University and Colleges Admission Service (UK) University Grants Committee

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Summary

In 2002 Hong Kong embarked on a carefully planned and enormously ambitious 10year reform of its education system. Central to this was a decision to replace the old British system of 16+ and 18+ examinations, for a selected few, with a unified system of senior secondary education for all 15 to 17 year olds, followed by the introduction of four-year degree courses for those achieving the required profile in the new Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE).

The central aim of the reform was to promote all-round (whole person) development of students and a disposition towards lifelong learning in order to meet the needs of life and work in the 21st century. A new curriculum was designed comprising core subjects, elective subjects, applied learning subjects, other languages, and other learning experiences related to moral, civic, career, aesthetic and physical development. Achievement in all of these areas is captured in the HKDSE, which draws on formal examination, school-based assessment and a student's own learning profile. The reforms have been particularly successful in increasing access of students to senior secondary studies ? double the number now leave with the HKDSE compared with the numbers attaining certificates under the old system.

Science subjects are not part of the core but are popular as elective subjects, especially single sciences, which have always had a high status in Hong Kong. Numbers of entries to these subject examinations have increased somewhat. An extensive international benchmarking exercise indicates that the standard of attainment has been maintained. A much larger proportion of candidates now attain the very highest grades (equivalent to Grade A at A Level). More worrying has been the drop in 2015 PISA ranking for 15 year olds in science literacy. There are also concerns about gender differences in science subject choice and performance. Hong Kong has responded by offering extra resources to schools for STEM subjects.

The broadly based Diploma facilitates multiple and flexible pathways through tertiary education and into employment. More than 85% of the first cohorts of school leavers progressed to further study, with about 40% enrolled on undergraduate programmes.

These reforms entailed change in every part of the education system and required thorough, on-going coordination, evaluation and renewal. This was costly and government expenditure increased. Support for the recruitment and training of teachers and school leaders has been particularly important. There have been worries, particularly about workload for students and teachers, but much has been gained in terms of students' broader knowledge and skills, and enhanced selfconfidence.

Other countries can learn that it is possible to establish a broad and balanced senior secondary curriculum without sacrificing excellence. The crucial condition has been the opportunity to plan and implement a long-term, publicly agreed, reform programme protected, thus far, from too much political interference.

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1. Introduction

In 2002, Hong Kong embarked on a bold and radical ten-year programme of educational reform, focusing on curriculum and assessment but with profound implications for all aspects of the educational system. By 2009, these reforms had worked through to senior secondary education. In 2012, the first students qualified with the new Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE). The aim of the reforms was to broaden and deepen students' educational experiences in order to develop their all-round capabilities and dispositions towards lifelong learning in a rapidly changing globalised world. At the same time its purpose was to strengthen their ability to contribute to the continued growth of Hong Kong as a vibrant economy at the interface between East and West. For these reasons, recent attempts to broaden the post-16 curriculum in Hong Kong are worthy of attention by policy makers in other countries, especially in the United Kingdom.

2. The political and policy context behind reform of the curriculum

Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It has a population of approximately 7.4 million concentrated in 1,105.7 square kilometres of territory (c.f. London's population of about 8.6 million in 1,572 square kilometres). The fertility rate is low and declining (1.23, compared to UK's 1.83) but the population is rising because of increasing inflow of one-way permit holders (51,300 in 2016), mainly from Mainland China.

The SAR was established on 1 July 1997 when Hong Kong ceased to be a British colony and was returned to Chinese sovereignty. This was a hugely significant event in the history of Hong Kong's education system which had been modelled on the British one. The Sino-British Joint Declaration acknowledged that the existing education system would remain essentially unchanged after handover. However, the constitutional document for the HKSAR (the Basic Law), which stipulates a policy of `One Country, Two Systems,' promised a high degree of autonomy in the way Hong Kong would be ruled. Thus, the HKSAR Government sought to improve education in response to wider social change. Hong Kong sees itself as a `Regional Education Hub' where East meets West and where students are prepared to meet the challenges of a globalised world. A specific driver is the perceived need to manage the transition from manufacturing to a knowledge-based service economy; financial and trading services are particularly important in Hong Kong.

Both before and after handover, the provision of schooling has been diverse. There are three main types of local schools: government schools; aided schools (where students do not have to pay) run by voluntary bodies often with Christian, Buddhist or charitable foundations1; direct subsidised schools (funded by government but where students have to pay)2; and private schools, some with government assistance. There are also 51 international schools offering non-local curricula, mainly to children of overseas families. The first two categories offer free education and deliver the Government's recommended curriculum. However, the steadfast policy has been to allow some flexibility of choice in schooling, hence the diversity in types of schools and curricula under the new senior secondary (NSS) arrangements.

1 The Hong Kong Jockey Club supports a number of educational institutions. 2 Direct subsidised schools can offer non-local curricula, such as iGCSE or the International Baccalaureate, for not more that 50% of their students.

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Under the old British system, education was highly selective and elitist. Children were only entitled to nine years of education (to age 14) and access to senior secondary education was limited to one third of the cohort, regardless of their potential to succeeed in Hong Kong's school examination system. Access to the highest of five bands of secondary schools, which allowed progression to senior secondary schooling, was determined by tests at the end of primary schooling. In 2001, these tests were judged to be gender-discriminatory because scaling of scores used separate gender curves, students were banded by gender, and gender quotas for co-educational secondary schools were imposed. All of these features had been adopted from the pre-1965 British 11+ system of selection for grammar schools. Something had to be done, not only to provide fairer access to senior secondary education but to broaden and deepen the educational experience and achievements of all students in order to meet the challenges of a complex 21st century social and economic environment , locally and globally, and to sustain the development of Hong Kong as an international region.

Before handover, the HK Government set up the Education Commission (EC), the most important education advisory body in Hong Kong. In 2000, after extensive consultation, the EC published a report, Learning for Life, Learning through Life ? Reform Proposals for the Education System in Hong Kong. This was to set the future direction for radical, root-and-branch reform.3 For the first time in Hong Kong, it articulated the broader purpose of promoting the all-round (whole person) development of all students, according to their abilities, and to promote their lifelong learning. In contrast with the old system, this was premised on the belief that all students can learn and succeed if given appropriate opportunities and that they should be prepared for learning throughout their life as circumstances change. There was also a desire to encourage students to develop a heightened sense of agency and greater independence in their learning through changes in teaching. Pedagogy had previously placed great reliance on rote learning of the content of textbooks and drilling for tests and examinations. In sum, the old system was considered no longer suitable for the 21st century.

The first changes included entitlement to 12 years of free education for all students, i.e. to the the end of Secondary 6 (S6) at age 17 (equivalent to Year 12 in England). Alongside this was the creation of a new 3-3-4 academic structure (NAS) for postprimary education. This represents 3 years of junior secondary education, building on the basic education of six years of primary education. The next 3 years of senior secondary education was introduced as an entitlement for all students, beginning at age 14 (equivalent to Year 10 in England) and including those with `intellectual disabilities'. Previously there had been no senior secondary curriculum provision for students with special educational needs so their inclusion in the new senior secondary (NSS) reform programme generated a great deal of debate and successive changes in language and provision. As with all mainstream students, they too would be encouraged to work towards a HKDSE, to be completed at age 17. 4 years of higher education would then follow for those accepted for local universities and many universities in other countries, including Mainland China. This was a radical departure from the old 5-2-3 structure which replicated the English model, i.e. five years of secondary education concluding with the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE, equivalent to the old GCE O Level in England), followed by two years of education, to 18 or 19 years of age, preparing for the HKALE (Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination, equivalent to the GCE A Level in England), followed by a three year degree course which was then the standard in Hong Kong and English universities.

3 An English Language version can be found at:

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Although part of the motivation for the NAS in Hong Kong was a perceived need to bring the HKSAR into line with academic structures elsewhere, there were strong educational reasons as well. The professional executive branch, the Education Bureau (EDB), tasked with implementing these changes, was well aware of educational debate, proposals and developments elsewhere in the world, including Mike Tomlinson's 2004 proposals for a unified framework for 14-19 learning in England.4 Of special concern was the need to create multiple pathways for secondary school graduates because drop-out rates were considered too high under the old HKCEE/HKALE system. Not only was there an expectation of better access to higher education (bachelor's degrees, sub-degrees, distance learning) but also access to vocational programmes and the workplace, at home and abroad. A range of one-year diplomas, acting like a foundation year, was introduced to enable students to come back into the university system in the second year of the new 4year courses. One of the greatest successes of the 3-3-4 NAS has been increases in staying on rates. A survey of students who left secondary education in 2012, the first year of the HKDSE, indicates that around 88% of 59,871 respondents from 432 schools (90.8% of all schools) continued to further studies locally or outside of Hong Kong.5

3. The main features of the upper secondary curriculum in Hong Kong

The New Senior Secondary (NSS) curriculum was part of the coordinated, ten-year programme of all-through educational reform, designed to rethink the role of education in the post-colonial phase (see above). This began formally in 2001 when the Curriculum Development Council (CDC), the freestanding advisory body to Government on curriculum matters, published a blueprint taking forward the recommendations of the Education Commission in 2000. The CDC document was entitled Learning to Learn ? The Way Forward in Curriculum Development.6 `Learning to Learn' subsequently became the label by which the reforms are known. The current iteration is referred to as Learning to Learn 2.0.

In terms of implementation, reforms were introduced progressively, starting in 2002 with changes to basic education in primary and junior secondary. Then, in 2009, the NSS was introduced, with the first `graduates' of the HKDSE emerging in 2012. Those who then went on to four-year university degree programmes graduated, for the first time, in 2016.

3.1 Aims and learning goals

The coordinated approach to reform made coherence a key objective: coherence across curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, and coherence across the phases of education. To this end, agreement to a set of common principles and learning goals was deemed essential. In a joint report on its Medium-term Review (MTR) in 20157, the Curriculum Development Council (CDC), the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) and the Education Bureau (EDB) reiterated the overarching aim that the reforms should "provide all students with essential lifelong learning experiences for whole-person development in the domains of ethics, intellect, physical development, social skills and aesthetics, according to individual

4 This can be downloaded from: 5 6 A Web edition can be found at: 7

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