ENG-1997 — Page 200

EDUCATION

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changing educational and community needs. Recently, the General Studies syllabus. has been revised and updated following Hong Kong's reunification with China. Other learning programmes such as civic education, drug education, environmental education and sex education are offered on a cross-curricular basis or as separate optional subjects. Awareness of the benefits of the activity approach is growing, and in the 1997-98 school year, it is adopted by 464 primary schools, or 56 per cent of the total.

Since 1994, the government has promoted the Target Oriented Curriculum (TOC) which aims to make teaching and learning more lively and effective by developing clear targets and stimulating approaches. During the year, the Curriculum Development Institute (CDI) continued to develop the TOC and to prepare for its full implementation in schools by providing necessary resource and support services. Suggested TOC assessment mechanism has been developed and incorporated into the Assessment Guidelines for schools' reference and adoption. The conceptual framework of TOC will be incorporated into the future revision or updating of other subject syllabuses. In the 1997-98 school year, over 680 primary schools (about 80 per cent) implemented TOC in the core subjects of Chinese, English and Mathematics. in Primary 1 to 3, 1 to 2, or 1.

The junior secondary curriculum is intended to be well-balanced and suitable for all students, whether or not they continue formal education beyond Secondary 3. The senior secondary curriculum aims to prepare students for education beyond Secondary 5 as well as for work. It offers a diverse range of subjects. Teaching syllabuses are prepared by the CDC for 46 subjects at junior secondary and 42 at senior secondary levels. These syllabuses are reviewed and revised as necessary to meet the changing needs of the community. In 1997, six syllabuses at secondary level were revised. To prepare students for future challenges, elements of information technology and its applications were incorporated into relevant syllabuses. A new syllabus for Putonghua has also been developed and will be implemented from the 1998-99 school year starting with Secondary 1 and 4. At sixth-form level, there are 20 subjects at the AS-level and 22 at the A-level. A new AS-level subject, Electronics, was implemented in the 1997-98 school year. The CDI also offers short courses and seminars to help teachers implement and become familiar with the curricula at both secondary and sixth-form levels.

For cross-curricular studies in such areas as civic education, moral education, drug education, environmental education, sex education and AIDS education, the CDI has provided teaching guidelines and support materials to schools. These areas are integrated into various subjects in the secondary curricula. Revision of the Guidelines on Sex Education was completed with emphasis on equipping students at all levels, from pre-primary, with the attitudes, values, skills and knowledge for resolving sex tensions and making decisions based on informed choices.

Civic education also has an important place in the school curriculum. The new Guidelines on Civic Education have been implemented in schools from September 1996 to enhance students' understanding of the Basic Law, the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle, knowledge of China and the Chinese culture. Emphasis was also laid on promoting students' critical thinking. To ensure the effective implementation of the guidelines, seminars were organised and teaching kits produced. A new syllabus is being developed for civic education at Secondary 1 to 3 to be introduced to schools from the 1998-99 school year.