Other Learning Experiences in The Hong Kong School Curriculum: Impact on Students’ Approaches to Learning and All-Round Development
Keywords:
Curriculum design, secondary education, experiential learning, approaches to learning, all-round development, study supportAbstract
The New Senior Secondary (NSS) curriculum was launched among Hong Kong schools in 2009. Under the NSS Curriculum framework, Other Learning Experiences (OLE), which requires students to participate in five areas of OLE, namely Moral and Civic Education, Community Service, Career-related Experiences, Aesthetic Development and Physical Development, is one of the three major components that complement the study of the four core subjects and 2-3 elective subjects for all-round development of students. Schools are required to offer students school-based activities with no less than 15% of the total curriculum time. The study, mainly employing mixed methods, explores the impact of OLE, as a key curriculum component that advocates experiential learning under such curriculum-time approach, on students’ approaches to learning and all-round development. 2318 students from seven secondary schools with different background and intakes were sampled. Although the results could not of themselves provide a warrant for a generalizable positive impact of OLE on students’ approaches to learning and learning habits, it is concluded that OLE has a positive influence on students’ social-affective development and approaches to learning among the participating schools. The study illuminates the further research of OLE, with regards to its quality pedagogy, whole-school curriculum design, impact on academic study and policy review.
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