Chapter 3 Curriculum Planning
3.3 Curriculum Organisation
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Level Topic(s) Learning contents related to
Basic Law education
S1
Topic 4: History, culture and heritage of early Hong Kong region
The major groups and the great clans
Case study: Getting to know the lives of local residents through intangible cultural heritage (local customs and festivals).
S2
Topic 8: Growth and development of Hong Kong up to the late 19th century
The establishment of British colonial rule
S3
Topic 12: The growth and transformation of Hong Kong in the 20th century
Transformation of Hong Kong in the post-WWII era and the return to motherland
Fig 3.1 Topics and learning contents that are related to Basic Law education
Lastly, one of the unique contributions that the study of History can make to the general education of young people is to broaden their global perspectives which will facilitate their understanding of the complex, diverse and interdependent world in which they are living, as well as the opportunities and challenges found in the regional and international contexts in which both our country and Hong Kong are situated. The History Curriculum (S1-3) provides solid historical knowledge foundation for students to understand the world today and develop their global competence which “is the capacity to examine local, global and intercultural issues, to understand and appreciate the perspectives and world views of others, to engage in open, appropriate and effective interactions with people from different cultures, and to act for collective well-being and sustainable development”.1
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implement the curriculum according to their school context. However, with an aim to broaden students’ global perspectives and enhance their comprehensive understanding of human history, whatever subject mode schools adopt to teach History, schools should ensure that the core elements / essential content for learning in Strand 2 and 3 of the PSHE KLA curriculum are covered, such as key characteristics of different major historical periods and patterns of change in local, national and world history. Reference should also be made to the Personal, Social and Humanities Education Key Learning Area Curriculum Guide (Primary 1-Secondary 6) (2017).
3.3.1 Progression
In this curriculum, the chronological framework is clearly defined so that students are expected to learn history of the ancient world, the modern world and the contemporary world in S1, 2, and 3 respectively. In addition, the planning of this 3-year curriculum should take students’ learning progression into consideration. For example, teachers should consider:
the prior knowledge and skills students have acquired in primary schools;
the relevancy of the topics to students’ daily lives;
the expected learning contents of each topic;
the linkage of themes among the 4 topics for each school year;
the students’ cognitive, intellectual and social development in relation to the key focuses of the updated PSHE KLA Guide including (1) humanistic qualities; (2) entrepreneurial spirit; (3) values education; (4) e-learning; (5) generic skills and their integrative use;(6) promotion of national and global understanding; and (7) language across the Curriculum.
In the context of history learning and teaching, progression does not mean an increase in the amount of the information that students can recall. It should refer to students’ ability to engage in historical enquiry and their master of the use of different historical concepts and skills. From the perspective of history education, historical knowledge can be divided into substantive knowledge and disciplinary or second-order structural knowledge.2 From the aspect of substantive knowledge which refers to the substance of history like names, dates, places, events and concepts, S1 topics about the ancient world provide students with foundation knowledge for understanding the early
2 Levesque, S. (2008). Thinking Historically: Educating Students for the Twenty-first Century. Toronto, Buffalo : University of Toronto Press
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centres of civilisation and how the cultures of different regions of the world interacted with one another. S2 topics bring students to the modern world which is an essential background for them to study the history of the 20th century, which includes the two world wars, Cold War and post-Cold War period in S3. From the aspect of second-order or structural knowledgewhich is “the conceptual tools needed for the study of the past as a discipline”, teachers are advised to introduce basic historical concepts (such as chronology, cause and effect, change and continuity) and skills (such as the skills to distinguish the types of historical sources) in S1 topics, and move on to more advanced concepts (such as historical significance and historical interpretation) and skills (such as the skills to identify different interpretations of some historical events and figures, or the skill to evaluate different historical sources used in order to make valid conclusion) in S2 and 3 topics.
3.3.2 Tailoring for school-based integrated curriculum
In addition to adopting independent subject modes, some schools currently adopt an integrated subject mode such as Integrated Humanities in the implementation of their junior PSHE curriculum except Chinese History. As Integrated Humanities is usually composed of two or more subjects in the PSHE KLA, there is a need for schools to have a PSHE coordinator to meet and communicate with the respective panel chairpersons about the time allocation and core learning elements to be covered in the integrated subject. For those schools that have adopted integrated subject mode in structuring their S1-3 PSHE curriculum, History panel chairpersons and teachers should communicate with the PSHE coordinator and the respective subject panel chairperson (e.g. Integrated Humanities) to ensure that the contents of the foundation parts of 12 topics in this curriculum can be properly covered in their schools’ junior secondary integrated PSHE curriculum. For schools which adopt mixed subject mode, i.e. Integrated Humanities in S1 and S2 including learning elements of History and independent subject of History in S3, History teachers should have a holistic planning of the one-year S3 History curriculum for smooth interfacing with the senior secondary History curriculum.
However, it is undesirable for schools to offer S3 History without any learning elements of History in S1 and 2 to their junior secondary students. It will deprive students of their opportunities to learn key historical events in the ancient, medieval and most of the modern times which are important for them to develop their global perspectives.
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