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| No.3 March, 2010 |
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New academic structure implemented in HK |
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 To sustain the development of Hong Kong as an international city and to meet the requirements of the increasingly diverse and complex environment, Hong Kong implemented the New Academic Structure (NAS) in 2009.
Different from the current seven years (five + two) of secondary education, students under the NAS will receive a total of six years of secondary education (three junior years and three senior years). The duration of undergraduate programmes in Hong Kong will also change from three to four years starting from the 2012/13 academic year, allowing more room for a more balanced and all-round education for whole-person development.
The NAS is intended to provide our students with a broader and more balanced senior secondary curriculum, preparing them to be lifelong learners and to promote their whole-person development. They are expected to achieve learning goals closely related to their personal development and the society, in addition to learning goals on knowledge and skills. These include becoming an informed and a responsible citizen with a sense of global and national identity, understanding their own career/academic aspirations as well as developing positive attitudes towards work and learning.
Students will also learn to respect pluralism of cultures and views; be critical, reflective and independent in thinking; and be able to understand contemporary issues that may impact on their daily life at personal, community, national and global levels. Only when students have internalised the positive attitudes and understanding of the world, together with life-long learning skills could they meet the increasingly demanding requirements of globalisation, knowledge-based economies and the rapid advancement of information technology.
The implementation of the NAS includes the development of the broad and balanced new senior secondary curriculum and a new public examination – the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination. This qualification provides multiple progression pathways for further studies and the workplace, articulating well with international higher education systems and meeting the manpower requirements in the ever-changing society and global environment.
Students are required to take four core subjects, i.e. Chinese Language, English Language, Mathematics and Liberal Studies under the NAS. In addition, students normally can choose two to three elective subjects from 20 New Senior Secondary (NSS) elective subjects, Applied Learning courses and/or other language courses according to their interests. Apart from the core and elective subjects, students are also required to acquire Other Learning Experiences as part of their whole-person development. Each student would also develop a Student Learning Profile that shows his/her experiences, achievements and reflections.
The HKDSE Examination has secured very positive recognition by various overseas benchmarking agencies.
The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) has commissioned the National Recognition Information Centre (NARIC) and the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) to conduct benchmarking exercises on the recognition of the HKDSE Examination and its articulation to overseas universities.
The NARIC study reveals that the HKDSE compares favourably with alternative qualifications in Australia (Senior Secondary Certificate of Education), the United Kingdom (General Certificate of Education A Level) and the United States (Advanced Placement). The UCAS benchmarking studies aim to set up a tariff point system for the HKDSE Examination results which enables it to be compared with awards in the United Kingdom and other regions for university admission purpose. The results show that Level 3 in the HKDSE Examination is comparable to Grade E in the GCE A Level Examination and Level 5 or above in the HKDSE Examination is comparable to Grade A or above in GCE A Level Examination.
The Australian Government has also recognised the HKDSE as equivalent to the Australian Senior Secondary Certificate of Education.
More information about NAS is available at http://334.edb.hkedcity.net/EN/overseas/index.php |
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