FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1986
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CIVIC EDUCATION GUIDELINES WELL RECEIVED
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AN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF SCHOOLS AND KINDERGARTENS FOUND THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT'S +GUIDELINES ON CIVIC EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS+ USEFUL AND ADOPTED THE CROSS-CURRICULAR APPROACH TO PROMOTE CIVIC EDUCATION, RESULTS OF AN EVALUATION EXERCISE CONDUCTED BY THE DEPARTMENT'S STANDING COMMITTEE ON CIVIC EDUCATION SHOW.
THE SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED IN THE FORM OF A QUESTIONNAIRE SENT TO SCHOOLS AND KINDERGARTENS. OF 1 103 SCHOOLS (405 SECONDARY AND 698 PRIMARY SCHOOLS) AND 712 KINDERGARTENS WHICH RESPONDED, 85 PER CENT OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS, 91 PER CENT OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS AND 86 PER CENT OF KINDERGARTENS FOUND THE GUIDELINES USEFUL. THERE WAS A 96 PER CENT RETURN RATE OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE.
THE SURVEY ALSO SHOWS THAT A VAST MAJORITY OF SCHOOLS ADOPTED THE CROSS-CURRICULAR APPROACH, AS RECOMMENDED IN THE GUIDELINES, TO TEACH CIVIC EDUCATION. ONLY SIX SECONDARY SCHOOLS (1.5 PER CENT), AND NINE PRIMARY SCHOOLS (1.3 PER CENT) WERE TEACHING CIVIC EDUCATION AS AN INDEPENDENT SUBJECT,
MOST SCHOOLS AND KINDERGARTENS ALSO PROMOTED CIVIC EDUCATION OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM THROUGH EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING THOSE ORGANISED BY THE COMMUNITY YOUTH CLUB, BOYS SCOUTS AND GIRL GUIDES IN SCHOOLS, AS WELL AS THROUGH EXHIBITIONS, DISPLAYS, GAMES, SPORTS DAYS AND EDUCATIONAL VISITS ORGANISED BY AND FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN.
ON IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS, THE SURVEY SHOWS THAT UP TO THE END OF APRIL THIS YEAR, A TOTAL OF 6 503 TEACHERS (2 328 IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS, 3 242 IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS AND 933 IN KINDERGARTENS) ATTENDED COURSES, SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS ORGANISED BY THE DEPARTMENT. THE PARTICIPANTS' RESPONSE IN GENERAL WAS VERY FAVOURABLE.
THE EVALUATION EXERCISE ALSO INCLUDED OBSERVATIONS MADE BY SCHOOL INSPECTORS AND DISTRICT EDUCATION OFFICERS DURING ROUTINE VISITS TO SCHOOLS. INSPECTORS OBSERVED THAT TEACHERS OBTAINED MOST OF THEIR CIVIC EDUCATION MATERIALS IN LESSON PLANS AND SCHEMES OF WORK FROM THE GUIDELINES AND THE CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE'S SYLLABUSES.
DISTRICT EDUCATION OFFICERS FOUND THAT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GUIDELINES HAD BEEN ENCOURAGING AND MANY CIVIC EDUCATION ACTIVITIES WERE ORGANISED BY DISTRICT SCHOOLS LIAISON COMMITTEES IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CITY AND NEW TERRITORIES ADMINISTRATION AS PART OF THEIR COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT PROGRAMMES.
/TIIRGUCH