Hong Kong secondary education reform and its impact on social and cultural awareness

This paper examines the impact of the secondary curriculum reforms on the development of social and cultural awareness among secondary graduates who were admitted to Associate Degree and Higher Diploma programs in Hong Kong tertiary institution. A total of 3626 freshmen had completed a set of self-assessment questionnaires across three academic years from 2010 to 2012. Three of the generic competencies, which were highlighted in the new three-year New Senior Secondary (NSS) academic structure, were evaluated and compared between students before and after the curriculum reform. We focus on the students´ social and cultural awareness, which includes aspects of cultural appreciation, global outlook, social and national responsibility. The result indicated a gradual improvement in generic competencies for the 7-year-secondary school curriculum from 2010 to 2012. Furthermore, students from the 7-year-secondary curriculum and the NSS structure have the similar level of competence at the same double cohort year in 2012.