The New Junior Secondary School Geography Curriculum in Hong Kong: The Impact of the 1997 Handover

Abstract

The Curriculum Development Council in Hong Kong has recently published a new geography curriculum for junior secondary school students. This new curriculum will be implemented in 1999. A content analysis of this 1999 curriculum shows that the proportion of the teaching time on the geography of China has increased tremendously. Is this a result of the impact of the 1997 handover issue? How far did the government influence the selection of content of this new curriculum? To what extent was the autonomy of the curriculum developers respected? This study attempts to answer these questions by interviewing the major 'actors' involved in the process of curriculum development. The findings show that the government has not directly exerted pressure on the curriculum developers to strengthen the geography of China in the new syllabus. However, the 1997 handover issue did have significant impact on the decision of the curriculum developers.The curriculum designers involved made decisions on the basis of professional considerations such as the balance of the curriculum, the needs and abilities of the students, the trend of geographical education. The teacher and academic members involved had high autonomy in the process of design and development. It is suggested that the design of this curriculum worked well and that the system of giving professionals a free hand in curriculum development should be maintained in the future.