A research on quality education of art in primary schools of Hong Kong: Primary school graduates' competence on art and craft

Hong Kong provides a nine-year free education to every child. There are altogether 476,582 children go to school everyday. We believe that the children are learning what we planned for them. It is only until August 1999, the public is shocked by the results of the Hong Kong Certificate of Education. It is because the result shows that in sixteen schools, half of their candidates got zero mark in their examined subjects. In one school, over 80% of the candidates got zero mark for all subjects (Sing Tao Daily, 28-8-1999, p. A3). This scenario reviews that not only the students have learnt so little after a five-year schooling but also more serious is that it rings the alarm bell of our education system. So, before it is too late, an evaluation of the learned curriculum in the primary school sector is in need. Are the official learning objectives well received and understood by our primary school students? With reference to the official curriculum, the focus of this research is to examine the primary school graduates knowledge in Art after six years study in Art and Craft.