Assessing curriculum needs of high and low achievers in a Hong Kong secondary school : implications for curriculum reform

1992 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiu-tsang Lau
1992 ◽  
Vol 15 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 56-70
Author(s):  
Sam Winter ◽  
Leung Yuk-Wah ◽  
Ma Kwai-Heung

Two Hong Kong studies are described which investigate the perceptions of junior secondary school pupils (high- and low-achieving) concerning the effectiveness of rewards and punishments. Both studies employ versions of Caffyn’s questionnaire. Initial analysis reveals that (a) there is a relationship between disaffection and achievement, and (b) pupils of both achievement levels have more favourable perceptions regarding the effectiveness of rewards than they do of punishments. A focus on the relationships between achievement and perceptions reveals that (c) high-achievers perceive a large number of rewards as more effective than do low-achievers, (d) low-achievers perceive very few other rewards as being more effective than do high-achievers, and (e) the situation is a little more balanced for punishments. The paper includes a discussion regarding particular reward and punishment items perceptions about which differentiate low-and high-achievers. Finally, it is noted that there is a high level of consistency between findings in the two studies reported in this paper. Where it is possible to make comparisons with other research findings from Hong Kong and elsewhere, a high degree of agreement between such findings is found.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kara Fleming

Abstract This paper will argue that the role and status of the languages promoted as part of Hong Kong’s “trilingualism and biliteracy” policy cannot be understood without reference to each other and to their wider social, political and linguistic context. Particularly, in Hong Kong, race is a key mediating factor that structures social orders in which language is used and evaluated, and therefore its role in the ecology must be emphasized. This article will outline the links between language and social hierarchies of race, focusing particularly on the positioning of Hong Kong South Asians, based on ethnographic research in a Hong Kong secondary school and analysis of media and policy data. This approach is key to understanding the apparent contradictions in the evaluation of various languages spoken in Hong Kong, and demonstrates the necessity of a holistic, contextualized analysis of language and race.


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