The Effectiveness of Action Learning in the Teaching of Citizenship Education: A Hong Kong Case Study

Abstract

In 2001, the Curriculum Development Council (CDC) of Hong Kong issued a curriculum reform document entitled Learning to Learn — The Way Forward in Curriculum Development (Curriculum Development Council, 2001). This was Hong Kong’s blueprint for curriculum reform following the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997, and it was a plan for curriculum restructuring for school education that would take 10 years to complete. There were many new features in the new curriculum structure including the introduction of key learning areas, key learning tasks, and priority values to be taught in schools. Moral and civic education was identified as one of the four key tasks to help students develop independent learning capabilities in schooling, along with reading to learn, project learning, and information technology for interactive learning. In this curriculum reform document, the CDC clearly regarded citizenship education as having an important role in the reform agenda.