• connect knowledge &
concepts across different disciplines
• expand perspectives beyond single disciplines
• study contemporary events not covered by any single disciplines
Liberal Studies interactively borrows knowledge and perspectives from other subjects to enrich its study. Issues are chosen so that students have the opportunity to:
Issues in Liberal Studies
X1
English Language
Mathe-matics Chinese Language
Other Learning Experien
-ces
X3 X2
Appendix 2: An Extract from the Curriculum Framework of Liberal
Rationale
4. Liberal Studies provides obvious and rich opportunities for students to make explicit connections among different disciplines, examine issues from multi-perspectives, and construct personal knowledge with this experience. In doing so, this unique subject develops independent learning and cross-curricular thinking. Through exploring issues relevant to the human condition in a range of contexts, Liberal Studies equips students to understand the contemporary world and its pluralistic nature. Together with other core subjects and more specialized elective subjects, it helps achieve a balance between breadth and depth in the school curriculum.
5. Aiming at the liberation of the young mind, Liberal Studies plays an indispensable role in terms of the goals of the reformed senior secondary curriculum: a broad knowledge base for students, an understanding of important contemporary issues on different levels, helping students to become informed and responsible citizens. The learning experience Liberal Studies provided is crucial for students to become critical, reflective and independent thinkers.
6. The independent thinking, social awareness and adaptability to change which Liberal Studies seeks to cultivate in students provide a useful foundation for further studies, future employment and a life of fulfilment.
7. Hong Kong experience in curriculum development since the 1970s has built up good strengths in the use of the issue-enquiry approach. Besides the experience of ASL Liberal Studies, schools have also accumulated good practices on cross-curricular studies, such as civic education and thinking skills programmes. The recent introduction of Integrated Humanities (S4-5) and Science and Technology (S4-5) into the Hong Kong school curriculum further enriches the pool of resources and pedagogical knowledge relevant to the implementation of Liberal Studies in the new senior secondary curriculum.
8. The design of the subject has taken account of overseas experiences in cross-disciplinary studies related to critical thinking, life education, values education and civic education, giving due consideration to their relevance to the Hong Kong context.
9. The development of the Liberal Studies curriculum will be an on-going process, responsive to the changing context of student life and developments in society. The design will provide space for updating in the future.
Curriculum aims
10. The aims of Liberal Studies at the Senior Secondary level are:
(a) to enhance students’ understanding of themselves, their society, their nation and the world;
(b) to enable students to develop multi-perspectives on perennial and contemporary issues in different contexts (e.g. cultural, social, economic and political contexts);
(c) to help students become independent thinkers so that they can construct knowledge appropriate to their own changing personal and social circumstances;
(d) to develop in students a range of skills for lifelong learning, including critical thinking skills, creativity, problem solving skills, communication skills and information skills;
(e) to help students appreciate and respect diversity in cultures and views in a pluralistic society and handle conflicting values; and
(f) to help students develop and reflect on their own values, so that they are able to defend their own decisions, judgments and convictions, and to become informed and responsible citizens in their community, nation and the world.
Curriculum framework
11. The curriculum comprises three Areas of Study, namely ‘Self and Personal Development’, ‘Society and Culture’ and ‘Science, Technology and the Environment’.
The three Areas of Study represent broad areas of concern about the human condition and the contemporary world. They will serve as platforms for the enquiry of related issues, so that students can appreciate the connections between concepts and develop a more coherent understanding of the world. The three Areas of Study should not be taken as independent fields of knowledge or self-contained disciplines. Students should be encouraged to look for interconnectedness among them and apply the perspectives developed in one area to the study of the others.
Self &
Personal Development
Society &
Culture
Science, Technology &
the Environment
12. The curriculum also requires students to conduct an ‘Independent Enquiry Study’
on an issue of their own choice, which will involve related concepts, knowledge and perspectives learned during the course of study.
13. Each of the three Areas of Study is divided into a compulsory part and an elective part. The compulsory part embodies issues and ideas essential to the understanding of the area. For the elective part, units are chosen to cater for student diversity in interests and needs. They should extend and enrich the understanding gained through the compulsory units. For each Area of Study, four elective units are proposed, out of which students will be required to study two. More elective units may be developed in the future to keep the curriculum up-to-date with developments in the world and to cater for students’ varied interests and needs.
Compulsory Part (students are required to study all the units)
Elective Part (students are required to study any two out of the four units of each Area of Study)
Self & Personal Development
Society & Culture Science, Technology &
the Environment Unit SP1
Unit SP2
Unit SP3
Unit SC8 Unit SC1
Unit SC3 Unit SC2
Unit SC4
Unit SC6
Unit ST1
Unit ST3 Unit ST2
Unit ST5
Unit ST7 Unit SP4
Unit SP5
Unit SC5
Unit SC7
Unit ST4
Unit ST6 Unit SP6
Self &
Personal Development
Society &
Culture
Science, Technology &
the Environment
14. It is intended that by having a balanced exposure to these areas, students will not only develop an awareness of the important issues facing the world, but also acquire a broad knowledge base to establish connections across different areas and units in the curriculum. The ‘Independent Enquiry Study’ will further enhance students’ ability to integrate knowledge and skills developed through the three Areas of Study.
15. The Area of Study on ‘Self and Personal Development’ focuses on issues that have relevance to students at a personal level. It aims at helping students to develop an understanding of themselves and a positive outlook on life. ‘Society and Culture’
focuses on the human condition in social and cultural contexts. Students will look into the development of the local community, the nation and the world and their cultural features. ‘Science, Technology and the Environment’ focuses on the development of society in relation to the physical world and advances in technology. It will also cultivate an awareness of the impact of technology and human activity on the environment.
16. Units in each Area of Study are designed to provide exposure to different aspects of the area. Each unit focuses on one scope of the area. The units do not correspond to any single specific traditional subject discipline, but rather draw from different fields of knowledge and borrow perspectives from different cultures, professions, social groups, etc.
17. Issues are chosen for each unit and are presented in the form of guiding questions that are intended to highlight the issue-enquiry approach for learning and teaching.
Exploration of these issues provides students with opportunities to pose questions, search for information, formulate arguments, and in the process to develop reasoning skills and a familiarity with a variety of viewpoints. There is no intention to provide students with sets of fixed factual knowledge, but rather to encourage students to appreciate the complexity of the contemporary world and to develop critical thinking skills.
18. Issues chosen should embody competing views and values that stimulate discussion and reflection. They should be significant to personal growth and/or the development of society. They should also appeal to a range of student interests, and develop their intellectual ability for lifelong learning. Self-directed study on the issues using a variety of available resources should be encouraged.
19. The Independent Enquiry Study provides an invaluable opportunity for students to learn to become self-directed learners responsible for their own learning. By pursuing an independent study on an issue of their own choice, students are enabled to explore their interests and enhance their independent learning skills. Reading, simple investigation, and the use of personal experience related to the chosen issue can all be part of an Independent Enquiry Study.
20. In summary, the curriculum framework for Liberal Studies is designed to ensure that senior secondary students experience a broad and interconnected education. The units of the three Areas of Study broaden their knowledge base and enhance their social awareness. After studying Liberal Studies, students will have developed a deeper and more multi-faceted understanding of self, society, the nation, and the natural and human world. The enquiry of contemporary issues within each area and the Independent Enquiry Study will help students to make meaningful connections across different disciplines, develop an understanding of a range of viewpoints, and construct their personal knowledge. The learning experiences provided in Liberal Studies will help students to become informed, responsible citizens and independent thinkers.