Personal and social education in Hong Kong schools: Policy, implementation and future development

Personal and Social Education is the learning experiences which develop pupils' concepts of themselves, abilities, identities and positions in their living environment. Personal and Social Education program is in great need in schools in Hong Kong. From Report on Review of 9-year Compulsory Education (1997), there was a great urge to promote civic education, to raise the social, political and civic awareness of pupils during the transition of Hong Kong into the Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China in July 1997. Also in the same report, great emphasis was put on developing personal and ethical values in pupils, to build up a positive view of self and life. Moreover, more sex education and environmental education will be needed due to the early sexual maturity of youngsters and the serious pollution problem in the environment in Hong Kong. All these are challenges and changes to the education in Hong Kong. However, Personal and Social Education is given only secondary importance in the curriculum for students' learning. This paper will discuss the educational policy, curriculum development, and gap between planning and implementation of Personal and Social Education in Hong Kong schools. The future development of Personal and Social Education and its implication for teacher education will also be discussed.