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Chapter One
Introduction
Background
Education provides the foundation for the development of our society.
Since the resumption of sovereignty in 1997, the Chief Executive (CE) has mentioned repeatedly, in his Policy Addresses that education is a key issue pertaining to the future development of Hong Kong and that our education system should keep pace with times. The CE has also requested the Education Commission to conduct a thorough review of the education system in Hong Kong with the aim of enhancing the overall quality of education.
Many educators maintain that education should go beyond imparting academic knowledge to our students. Rather, it should aim at the whole-person development of our children, including development not only in knowledge but also in personal character, skills, attitudes and physique. In addition to normal academic studies, our students need to learn how to become responsible and caring individuals. This ties in with the overall aims of education proposed by the Education Commission in 1999 :
To enable everyone to develop to their full and individual potential in all areas covering ethics, intellect, physique, social skill sand aesthetics, so that each individual is ready for continuous self-learning, thinking, exploring, innovating and
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adapting to changes throughout life; filled with self-confidence and team spirit; and is willing to strive incessantly for the prosperity, progress, freedom and democracy of the society, and to contribute to the future well-being of the nation and the world at large.
It is therefore clear that student guidance work, which is student-centred and emphasizes the social and emotional development of all students in all aspects of school life, is of paramount importance in enhancing students’
whole-person development.
The Education Department has long recognized the importance of student guidance work in secondary schools. Between 1982 and 1986, the Education Department provided a total of five additional teachers to each government and aided secondary school to improve the various supportive services to students. One of these teaching posts was provided specifically to strengthen counselling and guidance services, including careers guidance service in schools. Also, in 1986, the book ‘Guidance Work in Secondary Schools - A Suggested Guide for Principals and Teachers’ was issued to all secondary schools to assist principals and teachers in the service delivery of student guidance.
In 1990, the Education Commission, in its Report No. 4, recommended the implementation of the Whole School Approach to Guidance (WSA) in schools to improve the quality of education. The Whole School Approach to Guidance emphasizes the united effort of all school personnel who, under the leadership of the school head, work together to create a positive learning environment enriched with care, trust and mutual respect. It stresses the importance of a caring and inviting environment for students to grow with
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enhanced self-esteem and to realize their potentials so that the education ideal of a whole-person development in the students could be achieved. Since then, the Education Department has adopted this Approach as the key direction for school guidance work, and has been actively advocating the Approach through organizing seminars and workshops, producing resource materials and conducting school-based training and advisory school visits. In addition, since 1992, the Department has been allocating programme funds to public-sector schools to encourage them to launch guidance related activities.
With the passage of time and following the implementation of the policy of “one school social worker for each secondary school” from September 2000, it is time we review the above Guide published in 1986 to update some information, incorporate current ideas on guidance work and enhance a closer collaboration among school personnel in the delivery of guidance service in schools. Upon publication of this Guide, the above Guide may be replaced.
Objective of this Guide
The objective of this Guide is to stress the importance of guidance service in schools for the whole-person development of our young people. It serves as a direction for school administrators and teachers in the delivery of student guidance work. It also contains some practical suggestions for schools’
reference in the administration of school guidance work and how school guidance service could be enhanced.
It is necessary to point out here that the information contained in this Guide is not exhaustive. In the delivery of student guidance work and in
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organizing staff development activities, school personnel are advised to refer to other guidance related resource materials produced by the Education Department and outside organizations. The followings are some of the resource materials produced by the Education Department to assist schools to have a better understanding of the theories and practice of the Whole School Approach to Guidance:
1. Guidance - A Resource Book containing handy and easy-to-follow guidance materials and worksheets on basic guidance skills (1991);
2. Guidelines on Whole School Approach to Guidance - Part (1) (1993);
3. Guidelines on Whole School Approach to Guidance - Part (2) (1995);
4. A video tape on Good Practices of Whole School Approach to Guidance in Secondary Schools (1996);
5. A Teaching Kit on Whole School Approach to Guidance (1997);
6. A CD-ROM on the above Teaching Kit (1999); and
7. A video tape on How Some Schools Organize Their Guidance Work (1999).
For convenience in reading, all quotations of the third person in the text are made in the male gender, with no intention of sex discrimination. Readers are advised to note that all ‘he’, ‘his’, ‘him’, ‘his’, and ‘himself’ mean ‘he/she’,
‘his/her’, ‘him/her’, ‘his/hers’ and ‘himself/herself’ respectively. Enquiries concerning this Guide may be directed to the Careers and Guidance Services Section of the Education Department, address and telephone number of which are printed on the inside front cover of this Guide.
