ABSTRACT
The chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China, Mr. Tung Chee-Hwa, in his October 1999 policy address (Chief Executive, 1999), highlighted the need to cultivate talents for an innovative and knowledge-based society through lifelong learning and all-round development of children. During 1999 and 2000, the Curriculum Development Council (CDC) conducted a holistic review of the Hong Kong school curriculum so as to introduce a quality school curriculum that helps students meet the challenges from a knowledge-based and changing society, as well as globalization, high-speed technological growth and a competitive economy. The guidelines and recommendations highlighted in the “Learning to Learn” curriculum reform are based on the idea and overall aims of education for the 21st century indicated in the Education Commission’s (EC’s) report (Education Commission, 2000), public responses to the consultation documents, genuine experiences of schools, local research and policy contexts and different viewpoints of global development. Therefore, the “Learning to Learn” curriculum introduced in 2001 established the blueprint and guidelines for Hong Kong school curriculum development in the subsequent years, and included the introduction of the New Senior Secondary (NSS) curriculum in 2009. According to CDC (2001, p.v), the overall aims of the “Learning to Learn” curriculum are as follows:
The school curriculum 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 potential, such that all students can become active, responsible and contributing members of the society, the nation and the world.
The school curriculum should help students learn how to learn through cultivating positive values, attitudes and commitment to lifelong learning, and through developing generic skills to acquire, construct and communicate knowledge. These qualities are essential for whole-person development to cope with the challenges of the 21st century.
A quality curriculum for the 21st century should set the directions for learning and teaching through a coherent and flexible framework that can be adapted to changes and the different needs of students and schools.
