ENG-1994 — Page 185

EDUCATION

The report on quality in school education described the present procedures for monitoring and promoting quality, and proposed a new strategy for quality assurance based on three measures: school development planning in all schools; the extension of school management reform along the lines of the School Management Initiative scheme; and a new agency to conduct external quality assessments.

At the end of the year, the working group on educational standards was conducting a programme of briefings on the report.

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 focusses 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, namely, the CDC; Private Schools Review Committee; and advisory committees on home-school co-operation, school guidance and support services, school administration and finance, and place allocation systems. Other members have experience in kindergartens, special schools, school administration, teaching, vocational 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.

In January, the board set up sub-committees to monitor the implementation of the Education Department's performance pledges, and the development and implementation of educational aims in schools in the light of the Statement of Aims published by the government in 1993. Another sub-committee reviewed pre-primary education, and in May, the board submitted to the government a report with recommendations for improving the training and qualifications of kindergarten teachers.

The Curriculum Development Council

The council is appointed by the Governor to advise the government, through the Director of Education, on curriculum matters. Its members include educators, employers and parents.

During the year, the council continued to conduct research on curriculum issues, develop school-based curricula and help in developing the Target Oriented Curriculum. Following the issue in 1993 of curriculum guides for the kindergarten, primary, secondary and sixth form levels, promotional seminars were conducted for principals and senior teachers, and syllabuses were reviewed in the context of the curriculum guides.

The Curriculum Development Institute

The institute, established in 1992 as a new division of the Education Department, is staffed by both civil servants and educators recruited from outside the civil service. It develops and reviews curricula, liaising as appropriate with the Hong Kong Examinations Authority and teacher training institutions; helps schools implement curriculum policies and innovations; provides a secretariat for the Curriculum Development Council; and conducts research, experimentation and evaluation in curriculum planning. A major part of its work during 1994 was continuing to develop the Target Oriented Curriculum (TOC). This included publishing TOC documents, developing curriculum and resource materials, setting up a

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