Hong Kong primary schools will need to strengthen patriotic and national security education under a revised curriculum guide for the English-language subject.
The previous edition of the guide suggested English teachers let pupils explore value-laden matters including human rights and equal opportunities but they have been replaced by issues such as respect for others, animal rights and environmental protection.
The Education Bureau on Tuesday released the “English Language Education Key Learning Area Curriculum Guide for Primary One to Primary Six”, eight years after the previous edition was announced. The change means there is now a stand-alone guide for primary schools.
“While the curriculum framework for English language education remains unchanged, updates have been made to each chapter to reflect developments over the years,” the bureau said in the circular, which was sent to the 507 local primary schools.
It highlighted four major areas that were updated – values education, assessment literacy, e-learning and information literacy, and reading.
“In addition to developing students’ language skills, values education should be promoted in the school English-language curriculum as it is essential for fostering students’ whole-person development,” it said.
