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Professional Conduct in Education. It agreed to review the need for a General Teaching Council (GTC) to regulate a Professional Code for Education Workers. A working group was set up under the Education Commission during the year to review the case for the establishment of a GTC.
The Board of Education
The board is a statutory body appointed to advise the government, through the Director of Education, on educational matters at school level. It focuses on the implementation of approved policies, and the need for new or modified policies relating to education in schools. Its members include the chairmen of advisory and executive bodies concerned with the school system - the CDC; the Private Schools Review Committee; and advisory committees on home-school co-operation, school administration and finance, school guidance and support services, and school places allocation systems. Other members have experience in kindergartens, special schools, school administration, teaching, teacher training, tertiary education, business and the professions. Two government officials sit on the board: the Director of Education as vice-chairman, and the Deputy Secretary for Education and Manpower.
During the year, the board set up a new sub-committee to review major aspects of school education with special reference to the implementation of compulsory education. The Sub-committee on Special Education, set up in 1994, continued to consider how the special education service could be further improved.
The Curriculum Development Council
The council is appointed by the Governor to advise the government, through the Director of Education, on matters relating to school curriculum development, from kindergarten to the sixth form. It has a three-tier structure and operates through a system of co-ordinating committees and subject committees. Membership of the CDC and its co-ordinating and subject committees includes heads of schools, teachers, tertiary academics, HKEA representatives, parents and employers.
During the year, the council completed research on a sex education and civic education curriculum, developed school-based curricula for students of varying abilities, and identified new curriculum needs to meet the changes of the community. In April, a study visit was made to Melbourne to exchange views with officials and educators about curriculum matters and, in particular, to learn how their projects, which are similar to the Target Oriented Curriculum (TOC) were developed, implemented and assessed.
The Curriculum Development Institute
The Curriculum Development Institute (CDI), established in 1992 as a new division of the Education Department, is staffed by civil servants and educators recruited from outside the civil service. It develops and reviews curricula, liaising with the HKEA and teacher-training institutions; helps schools implement curriculum policies and innovations; provides a secretariat for the CDC; and conducts research, experimentation and evaluation in curriculum planning.
In 1995, the institute continued to develop the TOC and prepare for its full implementation in schools by phases. Progress was also made in the TOC assessment mechanism and relevant guidelines were sent to schools for consultation.