An overview of the development of civic education and its implication for teacher education in Hong Kong

The “School Education in Hong Kong: A Statement of Aims” issued by the Education Commission in 1994 stated the importance of civic education as an aim of school education in Hong Kong. Despite the fact that civic education has quite a long history in Hong Kong, it is criticized by the public in that civic education has never been successfully implemented. More than once the Chinese officials expressed the view that civic education in Hong Kong has to be emphasized in respect of the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997. With the increasing significance of civic education in Hong Kong, there is an urgent need for teacher training in civic education. This panel is a presentation of findings from a project in civic education in Hong Kong. The research results of the pre-service teachers’ competence in teaching civic education in 1997 shows that civic education in teacher education needs to be reviewed. The documentary analysis of the development of civic education, from which we can understand the relation of it to the results of the incompetent teaching in civic education of the pre-service teachers will also be presented. The result of this study will also be discussed in terms of designing civic education training.