A study of the impact of the first phase of the curriculum reform on student learning in Hong Kong

Purpose - To prepare Hong Kong students to face a rapidly changing 21st century, Hong Kong Government implemented a major curriculum reform entitled Learning to Learn – The Way Forward in Curriculum Development. This reform has shaped the direction of Hong Kong’s school education since 2001. This paper aims at examining the impact of the reform from the perspectives of the major stakeholders, namely principals, teachers, and students. Design/methodology/approach - The paper was written based on the data obtained from a large scale study that covered over 250 primary and secondary schools, or about 20% of the total population in Hong Kong. Both qualitative (focus group interviews) and quantitative methods (questionnaire survey) were employed in the study. Findings - Our findings indicated that moderate progress has been made in students’ overall performance in generic skills, positive values and attitudes, language proficiency, and over the key learning areas. On the other hand, the progress made in secondary schools was perceived to be less than that made in primary schools. The views of frontline teachers could also be different from senior teachers and principals as to degree of achievement. There also existed a gap as the progress reported for critical thinking and self learning abilities might be less favorable when compared to that reported for I.T., reading habits, and healthy lifestyle. Originality/value - The findings and policy suggestions of the paper are of reference value to curriculum policy planners, researchers, and educators. Copyright © 2012 Emerald Group Publishing Limited.