Abstract
PurposeA new academic structure for senior secondary and higher education was introduced to Hong Kong in 2009/2010. This paper aims to: (1) compare the cohort from the old academic structure (Cohort 2010) and the cohort from the new academic structure (Cohort 2015) on the 14 categories of generic competencies; and (2) compare these attributes among students from different divisions in a tertiary institution in Hong Kong.Design/methodology/approachSelf-Assessment of All-Round Development (SAARD) questionnaires were distributed to students who took the two-year sub-degree programmes offered by the College of Professional and Continuing Education, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2010 and 2015 on a self-administered basis. A total of 4,424 students have returned the questionnaires. Data were analyzed with t-test to compare between the two cohorts.FindingsWhen comparing Cohort 2015 with Cohort 2010, significantly higher scores were observed on five areas such as global outlook and healthy lifestyle (p<0.05). Significantly lower scores were observed on the other five areas such as problem solving, critical thinking and leadership (p<0.05). Students from all divisions unanimously showed higher perceived rating on social and national responsibility but lower perceived rating on leadership (p<0.05).Originality/ValueThe elimination of one public examination, the newly included components such as Other Learning Experiences (OLE) and the compulsory Liberal Studies were believed to contribute partially to the diverse responses of the two cohorts. The dramatic change of the curriculum has not changed the examination culture in Hong Kong which may hinder the development of generic skills among students.
Highlights
Since the impacts of globalization on education and pedagogy have been discussed actively in the recent decades (Tikly, 2001, Selwyn and Brown, 2000), many countries have reformed their educational systems to cope with the swift changes of the world and to increase global competitiveness of their students (Mok and Chan, 2002)
The current study aims to evaluate the new academic structure by: (1) comparing the cohort from old British structure admitted to a tertiary institution in Hong Kong in 2010 with the cohort from the new academic structure admitted in 2015 on 14 categories of generic competencies; and (2) comparing these attributes among students from three divisions in the institution
While knowing that learning generic skills has been infused in the school curriculum and it is not exclusive to a particular curriculum area in Hong Kong Schools (Lee et al, 2017b), the intrinsic differences of the two academic structures may account for part of it
Summary
Since the impacts of globalization on education and pedagogy have been discussed actively in the recent decades (Tikly, 2001, Selwyn and Brown, 2000), many countries have reformed their educational systems to cope with the swift changes of the world and to increase global competitiveness of their students (Mok and Chan, 2002). In Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, their educational systems have been reviewed to better monitor the educational quality and effectiveness. Many of their examination policy put more emphasis on promoting whole-person development (Cheng, 2006). In Hong Kong, the Education Commission suggested implementing school-based management in all public sector schools (Education Commission, 1997). The reform document focuses on professional, school-based, autonomy, participation and self-evaluation (Chan, 2010). This education reform was implemented in Hong Kong leading to a new academic structure (3þ3þ4)
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