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Liberal studies reform in Hong Kong secondary education: contrasting desirability with feasibility

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Abstract

In major curriculum reforms, there are inevitably gaps between design and implementation issues, taking the introduction of liberal studies (LS) into the senior secondary curriculum in Hong Kong as a classic example. The current paper illustrates how the implementation of LS as a compulsory core subject has impacted noticeably on Hong Kong senior secondary education. The LS curriculum setup is somewhat different from traditional subjects due to both the interdisciplinary nature of its design and the conceptions of learning, teaching, and assessment. The current study therefore attempts to portray the delicate balance that exists between the desirability ans feasibility of LS curriculum reform through interviewing members of the working group on the review of the academic structure for senior secondary education and interface with higher education. The study reports that, while LS policy makers considered both desirability and feasibility angles of the LS curriculum in their initial planning, the implementation of the LS public examination and teacher training to support the radical curriculum innovation fell short of expectations. Findings in the study clearly indicate that much more should be taken into account in respect of the dominance of an examination culture as well as teachers’ professional development when making major curriculum design changes.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Hong Kong Institute of Education, New Territories, Hong Kong

    Ping Kwan Fok

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  1. Ping Kwan Fok
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Correspondence to Ping Kwan Fok.

Appendix: Interview guide

Appendix: Interview guide

A Personal Experience

  1. 1.

    Briefly talk about your overall impression of LS.

  2. 2.

    Briefly talk about your participation in the Education Commission.

  3. 3.

    What is your feeling / impression during the decision-making process of LS in Education Commission?

B. Decision Making Progress

  1. 1.

    Who suggests setting up LS as a core subject?

  2. 2.

    What is the relationship between setting up LS and related documents?

  3. 3.

    What kind of references did you read during the discussion period? Who provided the references to you?

  4. 4.

    Describe the process of making decision in Education Commission?

  5. 5.

    How did you collect ideas from external parties?

  6. 6.

    How did the Education Commission deal with different ideas in the decision?

C. Determinants

  1. 1.

    What are the determinants of the Commission when making a decision?

  2. 2.

    What are the bases of those determinants?

D. Influential People

  1. 1.

    Who has a greater influence on this decision?

  2. 2.

    If we wish to interview more members in this Commission, who would you recommend?

  3. 3.

    If we wanted to refer to more documents, what kind of journals or documents would you suggest?

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Fok, P.K. Liberal studies reform in Hong Kong secondary education: contrasting desirability with feasibility. Educ Res Policy Prac 15, 209–230 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10671-015-9190-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10671-015-9190-3

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