Curriculum Leadership and Co-ordination

Curriculum leadership is a crucial factor to sustain ongoing curriculum development.

Good curriculum leadership facilitates effective curriculum planning and smooth implementation of the curriculum as well as the optimisation and renewal in response to the future curriculum development. To lead and promote the ongoing development of Citizenship and Social Development, the following areas should be included:

3.2.1 Curriculum planning

School curriculum leaders and teachers should have a thorough understanding of the curriculum rationale, aims and objectives as well as the curriculum and assessment framework. They should also fully understand the existing school situations, including the school context, expertise and experience of teachers as well as students’ needs and abilities in order to conduct curriculum planning on various matters of the subject (e.g.

overall learning objectives, annual scheme of work, learning and teaching strategies and learning activities, selection of resources, and assessment strategies and arrangements) and lead the subject development.

Attention should be paid to the following points in planning the curriculum of Citizenship and Social Development:

 Review the junior secondary curricula and related learning experiences, and conduct overall planning of the Citizenship and Social Development curriculum based on students’ prior knowledge, skills and experience;

 Identify relevant knowledge, skills, values and attitudes from the themes, topics and learning focuses of the curriculum, and devise the annual scheme of work in accordance with the sequence of the themes prescribed in the curriculum and school-based student situations for teachers to use as the basis for teaching the subject;

 Help students learn different topics with appropriate examples and select various and adapted resources for students so that they have a basic understanding of the areas covered by the topics. The selected examples and topics should be in line with the curriculum aims and objectives of the subject as well as the learning focuses of the topics to be covered;

 In line with the principle of catering for learning diversity, flexibly adopt diversified learning and teaching strategies to enhance learning and teaching effectiveness. Explore the possibility of cross-subject collaboration and arrange appropriate learning activities or life-wide learning activities in the light of the nature of the topics, thereby allowing students to deepen learning through experience and cultivate positive values and attitudes;

 Design internal assessment policy, activities and assignments which are aligned with the curriculum aims, learning objectives and learning content so as to enhance students’ learning interest, consolidate and extend classroom learning, and gradually develop their knowledge, generic skills, and positive values, attitudes and behaviours.

3.2.2 Curriculum co-ordination, support and management

To effectively perform the functions of curriculum leaders, panel chairpersons or middle managers should play the coordinating, mentoring, supporting and monitoring roles, formulate clear guidelines and allocation of duties, and gather collective wisdom and collaboration to ensure the smooth operation of the work of the subject panel in line with the curriculum.

Panel chairpersons / middle managers should understand the implementation of the work plan and learning and teaching activities, as well as the progress of curriculum implementation and the learning and teaching effectiveness through measures such as regular panel meetings, lesson observations for development and appraisal purposes and assignment inspection. When reviewing the internal learning assessments, they should be aware of the types of tasks, scope and modes of assessment, quality and the appropriateness of questions, and the appropriateness and effectiveness of teachers’

feedback. For curriculum evaluation, they should evaluate each task in the subject plan and reflect on the effectiveness of their work to inform strategies for enhancing learning and teaching effectiveness.

Teachers play a pivotal role in passing on knowledge and nurturing students’ character.

They are a role model for students in their learning and growth and exert profound impact on them. In the light of curriculum implementation, including the content and quality of school-based learning and teaching materials as well as the learning and teaching effectiveness, panel chairpersons / middle managers should provide guidance and support, maintain ongoing communication and discussion with subject teachers, and help them teach the subject in accordance with the requirements stipulated in the C&A Guide to enable students to grasp accurate knowledge and cultivate positive values, attitudes and behaviours.

Panel chairpersons should properly manage the panel and handle related administrative duties in order to enhance the effectiveness and quality of the panel management. For example, they should support the learning and teaching of the subject by using relevant subsidies to develop and procure learning and teaching resources and professional development services, and organise exchange tours, joint-school activities or competitions. In the procurement / tendering process, teachers have to observe the requirements stipulated in the “Guidelines on Procurement Procedures in Aided Schools” and monitor the quality of stores and services provided by the suppliers to ensure the proper use of resources.

3.2.3 Facilitating professional development

Citizenship and Social Development, as a core subject at the senior secondary level, is generally taught by teachers with varied academic backgrounds and expertise. Thus, continuing professional development of teachers is very important. Panel chairpersons and subject teachers can understand the rationale, aims, objectives and pedagogies by making reference to the C&A Guide and experience sharing among teachers to enhance their understanding of the latest curriculum development trends. They are also encouraged to participate in the professional development programmes organised by the EDB and external professional organisations, and share insights with their fellow members or other school teachers to collaboratively facilitate teachers’

professional development.

To facilitate professional interflow among subject teachers, collaborative lesson planning periods can be arranged by panel chairpersons for all subject teachers or teachers teaching the same year level so that they can work together on reviewing the

teaching progress and designing learning activities as well as share teaching experience. On the other hand, subject teachers can share their lesson designs and conduct peer lesson observation and evaluation for promoting peer learning and sharing. They can also share the learning and teaching materials, assignment designs and learning and teaching resources. Through these sharing activities, subject teachers can support each other, promote a positive learning culture and create a co-operative atmosphere.

Professional interflow and sharing should not be limited to teachers within the subject panel. Schools should provide more opportunities for teachers of senior secondary Citizenship and Social Development to communicate with teachers teaching related subjects at the junior secondary level so as to better evaluate students’ learning outcomes in different aspects and help establish a solid foundation for students studying this subject. Panel chairpersons can collaborate with other subjects or committees to arrange teacher interflow activities across subjects / Key Learning Areas. For instance, in-house staff development workshops can be organised for subject teachers to have professional exchange on subject knowledge, skills and learning and teaching strategies with teachers of other subjects. Collaborative networks with other schools can also be established to share successful school-based practices with a view to enhancing the professional capacity of the teaching force.

3.2.4 Developing, selecting and adapting learning and teaching resources

Success in learning and teaching this subject hinges on the use of a variety of suitable resources. Therefore, collaborative efforts among teachers and prudence are needed in the selection and development of learning and teaching resources and their subsequent updates for sustained optimisation of learning and teaching.

There is a variety of types and sources of learning and teaching resources. Teachers should select and adapt learning and teaching resources in accordance with the curriculum rationale, aims, objectives and curriculum framework and content in a serious and professional manner. Teachers can make reference to or adopt the learning and teaching resources provided by the EDB when in doubt. Collaboration with teachers of other subjects and teacher-librarians can be promoted to update the collection in the library and related reference materials of different subjects continually so as to enrich and use the resources more effectively and fully support the learning and teaching of this subject.

Regarding adaptation of learning and teaching materials, panel chairpersons can clearly define the direction of adaptation through deliberation with subject teachers to suit students’ learning needs and cater for learner diversity. Schools should strengthen the school-based monitoring mechanism for regularly reviewing the content and quality of learning and teaching resources to ensure that the design, content and quality of the learning and teaching resources align with the curriculum rationale, aims and objectives prescribed by the Curriculum Development Council and suit students’ levels and learning needs. School-based learning and teaching resources related to the constitutional order, including Constitution and Basic Law education as well as national security education should be archived for retention for no less than two school years so that such resource materials for the relevant key stages of learning can be made available to the school sponsoring body, the school management or the EDB for inspection when needed.