The use of legal structures to force compliance has been termed as 'Hard' policy. 'Soft' policy i... more The use of legal structures to force compliance has been termed as 'Hard' policy. 'Soft' policy is derived from international law and has been used to analyze the European Union policies. 'Soft' policy is non-binding in character. It attracts actors' adoption of newly installed policies through persuasions, communications, guidelines, sharing of resources, meetings, etc. As contemporary society changes, 'hard' policy has its limitation in the implementation of new policies. 'Soft' policy fills this gap and brings along a different perspective for implementation. By using the example of the current curriculum reform in Hong Kong, this paper aimed to explore the 'soft' and 'hard' policy implementation through teachers' perspectives. Since 2000, 'soft' policy has been used by the Hong Kong Government through the provision of resources and manpower to assist the innovations implemented in local schools. It seemed that these 'soft' methods should be welcomed by the local school teachers. However, teachers were pessimistic about the current policy implementation. In general, teachers perceived that they had no choice but to implement the stated government reforms in their schools. In the end, they felt that 'soft' and 'hard' policy did not differ much.
A part of symposium: A lesson from the international civic citizenship study (ICCS): The percepti... more A part of symposium: A lesson from the international civic citizenship study (ICCS): The perception of Asian students on political trust, religion and citizenship
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this p... more The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microf... more translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Regarding these commercial rights a non-exclusive license has been granted to the publisher. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, 2016
Hong Kong has been considered as one of the world's best performing school systems. Among the six... more Hong Kong has been considered as one of the world's best performing school systems. Among the six factors attributing to the success of the educational system, three are related to decentralization of pedagogical decision-making and empowerment of school leadership and teachers. Teachers' voices and their wisdom in decision-making processes in schools has become a prominent topic among policy makers and educators. In the last 40 years, international literature suggests that teacher leadership practices in school-based curriculum development (SBCD) as a form of school capacity building enhances teachers' empowerment and their professional capabilities, which in turn may result in more effective student learning. This chapter reports a portion of the fi ndings based on the interview data of a case study of school-based curriculum leadership in an elementary school in Hong Kong in 2007. The study adopted a design-based approach. Participating teachers engaged in cycles of planning the objectives of learning, experimenting on redesigning the lesson plans, and refl ecting on practice lessons. Multiple data collection methods were adopted. Our fi ndings show that a systematic approach in organizing curriculum development activities based on problem-solving approaches and a distributed leadership style among teachers can be effective in enhancing teacher learning in both curriculum leadership skills and powerful learning.
This chapter responds to and reflects on the preceding four chapters in Part II, focusing particu... more This chapter responds to and reflects on the preceding four chapters in Part II, focusing particularly on the themes of social fragmentation and exclusion that thread throughout the chapters. It adds to this discussion a lens that emphasises the ‘civic regimes’ of institutions and the work they do in shaping citizens’ attitudes and values and the contribution of human agency. It highlights the advantages of viewing public issues through multiple theoretical lenses, the important relationship of academic work to public issues and the imperative for academics to speak out and share their knowledge and insights in the public domain.
This chapter presents the main findings concerning citizenship norms among young adolescents usin... more This chapter presents the main findings concerning citizenship norms among young adolescents using IEA's International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2016 data. It discusses the results and their main implications for research. Advice for policy and practice is provided. In general, the analyses show that, internationally, most young people are classified in the comprehensive, socially-engaged, or duty-based profiles, which theoretically are more aligned with democratic systems. The endorsement of certain citizenship norms does not automatically guarantee that comprehensive, socially-engaged, and duty-based young people score high on all democratic outcomes, such as support towards equality of rights for minority groups or anti-authoritarianism. Monitorial and anomic groups are overall less frequently found among young adolescents. Analytically, the use of multigroup latent class models allows us to show that citizenship norms are an international phenomenon and can be investigated regionally. Finally, we discuss the implication of the results for future research. Given current worldwide challenges, what is citizenship in an interconnected world? Keywords Citizenship norms • Good citizenship • Citizenship education •
Recent research has shown that schools and their leaders can exert a direct effect on students’ c... more Recent research has shown that schools and their leaders can exert a direct effect on students’ civic learning (Kennedy, Li & Chan, 2014; Li & Kennedy, 2015). These results are context bound so that any prescriptions for actions by schools need to take account of local issues confronting schools and their leaders. This is particularly important in Hong Kong where protest mobilization among Hong Kong young adults has become widespread (Ortman, 2014). The issue for schools is to have a clear understanding of students’ potential for future civic engagement and to develop programmes to enable future citizens to make wise choices about how they exercise their civic engagement options.
Hong Kong is moving towards a knowledge-based economy. In order to nurture and motivate a populat... more Hong Kong is moving towards a knowledge-based economy. In order to nurture and motivate a population to continuously achieve world-class success, Hong Kong"s education system has been reformed extensively since 1997, with a balanced focus on academic and practical learning. Generic forms of learning outcomes are critical to allow students to demonstrate high flexibility and adaptability in response to ever-changing challenges in the future. By using two well-validated instruments which measure students" achievement of generic learning outcomes and their engagement in schools, the cultural literacy and student engagement scales, this study aims to assess the development of generic learning outcomes of Hong Kong senior secondary school students, the extent to which students are well-equipped with the skills to succeed in a knowledge-based economy. The results of a survey study of 1,715 students inferred that their performances were not up to standard and questioned in particular the success of the New Senior Secondary (NSS) school curriculum. A regression model further suggested that these generic learning outcomes could largely be explained by how schools plan and facilitate students" learning inside and outside the classroom. It is argued that the primary role of NSS schools should focus to provide students with meaningful and useful learning experiences so as to achieve the curriculum goal of fostering their generic learning. This paper will contribute to the discussion of how to better support the NSS curriculum reform in Hong Kong. (234words)
The use of legal structures to force compliance has been termed as 'Hard' policy. 'Soft' policy i... more The use of legal structures to force compliance has been termed as 'Hard' policy. 'Soft' policy is derived from international law and has been used to analyze the European Union policies. 'Soft' policy is non-binding in character. It attracts actors' adoption of newly installed policies through persuasions, communications, guidelines, sharing of resources, meetings, etc. As contemporary society changes, 'hard' policy has its limitation in the implementation of new policies. 'Soft' policy fills this gap and brings along a different perspective for implementation. By using the example of the current curriculum reform in Hong Kong, this paper aimed to explore the 'soft' and 'hard' policy implementation through teachers' perspectives. Since 2000, 'soft' policy has been used by the Hong Kong Government through the provision of resources and manpower to assist the innovations implemented in local schools. It seemed that these 'soft' methods should be welcomed by the local school teachers. However, teachers were pessimistic about the current policy implementation. In general, teachers perceived that they had no choice but to implement the stated government reforms in their schools. In the end, they felt that 'soft' and 'hard' policy did not differ much.
A part of symposium: A lesson from the international civic citizenship study (ICCS): The percepti... more A part of symposium: A lesson from the international civic citizenship study (ICCS): The perception of Asian students on political trust, religion and citizenship
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this p... more The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microf... more translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Regarding these commercial rights a non-exclusive license has been granted to the publisher. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, 2016
Hong Kong has been considered as one of the world's best performing school systems. Among the six... more Hong Kong has been considered as one of the world's best performing school systems. Among the six factors attributing to the success of the educational system, three are related to decentralization of pedagogical decision-making and empowerment of school leadership and teachers. Teachers' voices and their wisdom in decision-making processes in schools has become a prominent topic among policy makers and educators. In the last 40 years, international literature suggests that teacher leadership practices in school-based curriculum development (SBCD) as a form of school capacity building enhances teachers' empowerment and their professional capabilities, which in turn may result in more effective student learning. This chapter reports a portion of the fi ndings based on the interview data of a case study of school-based curriculum leadership in an elementary school in Hong Kong in 2007. The study adopted a design-based approach. Participating teachers engaged in cycles of planning the objectives of learning, experimenting on redesigning the lesson plans, and refl ecting on practice lessons. Multiple data collection methods were adopted. Our fi ndings show that a systematic approach in organizing curriculum development activities based on problem-solving approaches and a distributed leadership style among teachers can be effective in enhancing teacher learning in both curriculum leadership skills and powerful learning.
This chapter responds to and reflects on the preceding four chapters in Part II, focusing particu... more This chapter responds to and reflects on the preceding four chapters in Part II, focusing particularly on the themes of social fragmentation and exclusion that thread throughout the chapters. It adds to this discussion a lens that emphasises the ‘civic regimes’ of institutions and the work they do in shaping citizens’ attitudes and values and the contribution of human agency. It highlights the advantages of viewing public issues through multiple theoretical lenses, the important relationship of academic work to public issues and the imperative for academics to speak out and share their knowledge and insights in the public domain.
This chapter presents the main findings concerning citizenship norms among young adolescents usin... more This chapter presents the main findings concerning citizenship norms among young adolescents using IEA's International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2016 data. It discusses the results and their main implications for research. Advice for policy and practice is provided. In general, the analyses show that, internationally, most young people are classified in the comprehensive, socially-engaged, or duty-based profiles, which theoretically are more aligned with democratic systems. The endorsement of certain citizenship norms does not automatically guarantee that comprehensive, socially-engaged, and duty-based young people score high on all democratic outcomes, such as support towards equality of rights for minority groups or anti-authoritarianism. Monitorial and anomic groups are overall less frequently found among young adolescents. Analytically, the use of multigroup latent class models allows us to show that citizenship norms are an international phenomenon and can be investigated regionally. Finally, we discuss the implication of the results for future research. Given current worldwide challenges, what is citizenship in an interconnected world? Keywords Citizenship norms • Good citizenship • Citizenship education •
Recent research has shown that schools and their leaders can exert a direct effect on students’ c... more Recent research has shown that schools and their leaders can exert a direct effect on students’ civic learning (Kennedy, Li & Chan, 2014; Li & Kennedy, 2015). These results are context bound so that any prescriptions for actions by schools need to take account of local issues confronting schools and their leaders. This is particularly important in Hong Kong where protest mobilization among Hong Kong young adults has become widespread (Ortman, 2014). The issue for schools is to have a clear understanding of students’ potential for future civic engagement and to develop programmes to enable future citizens to make wise choices about how they exercise their civic engagement options.
Hong Kong is moving towards a knowledge-based economy. In order to nurture and motivate a populat... more Hong Kong is moving towards a knowledge-based economy. In order to nurture and motivate a population to continuously achieve world-class success, Hong Kong"s education system has been reformed extensively since 1997, with a balanced focus on academic and practical learning. Generic forms of learning outcomes are critical to allow students to demonstrate high flexibility and adaptability in response to ever-changing challenges in the future. By using two well-validated instruments which measure students" achievement of generic learning outcomes and their engagement in schools, the cultural literacy and student engagement scales, this study aims to assess the development of generic learning outcomes of Hong Kong senior secondary school students, the extent to which students are well-equipped with the skills to succeed in a knowledge-based economy. The results of a survey study of 1,715 students inferred that their performances were not up to standard and questioned in particular the success of the New Senior Secondary (NSS) school curriculum. A regression model further suggested that these generic learning outcomes could largely be explained by how schools plan and facilitate students" learning inside and outside the classroom. It is argued that the primary role of NSS schools should focus to provide students with meaningful and useful learning experiences so as to achieve the curriculum goal of fostering their generic learning. This paper will contribute to the discussion of how to better support the NSS curriculum reform in Hong Kong. (234words)
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