The shaping of science, technology, society and environment education in Hong Kong and Singapore schools : a study of the official curricula and related curricular resources

Abstract

The dissertation describes a case study conducted in Hong Kong to consider the influence of the local and international forces on the Science, Technology, Society and Environment (STSE) education in Hong Kong and Singapore. The shaping forces on the STSE education in these two territories are considered by examining four aspects of the STSE education: first, the curricular organization of STSE education, including the curricular organization across levels and schools subjects; second, the deployment of STSE issues and curricular approaches; third, the importance of STSE education, in contrast to that of the traditional science content; and lastly, the underlying beliefs and assumptions on STSE education as exhibited by curricular documents and resources. The Physics Curriculum in Hong Kong and Singapore was selected for the study. Physics teachers and Physics students participated in the study. A mixed-methods approach was used to collect and analyse the data. The study first adopted parts of a questionnaire-based survey which was distributed to ten schools in Hong Kong and ten schools in Singapore, with two Physics teachers and two Physics students in each school filling in the questionnaire-based survey, one Physics teacher and one Physics student in each school participating in the interview in Hong Kong and Singapore respectively. It depicted a general picture of participants’ view towards the influence of the local and international forces on the STSE education in Hong Kong and Singapore. Questionnaire-based survey and interviews were conducted to provide a triangulation about the shaping of Science, Technology, Society and Environment Education in Hong Kong and Singapore schools. Analysis of documentation including textbooks, reference books, official curriculum, HKDSE examination Physics papers/ Physics Public examination papers, government documents and written archival records during the period between 1998 and 2021 were used to supplement the understanding of the study which provided educational practitioners with an in-depth insight into the shaping of Science, Technology, Society and Environment Education in Hong Kong and Singapore schools. Findings highlight that Hong Kong’s practical teaching practice differs from Singapore’s. Hong Kong incorporates STEM explicitly in its curriculum, while Singapore does not emphasize it officially but has a promotion company to incorporate it. Hong Kong focuses on student-centred approaches promoting engagement and critical thinking, while Singapore prioritizes traditional and inquiry-based approaches for fairness and a deeper understanding of key concepts. However, both educational systems acknowledge the importance of student-centred approaches in assessment and learning. They have moved away from the traditional assessment practices that solely focus on demonstrating learning outcomes and achievements. Instead, they emphasize the integration of assessment with the teaching and learning processes to support self-reflection and improvement. The study’s broad implications for Science, Technology, and Society (STS) education encompass various approaches in the science curriculum in Hong Kong and Singapore, respectively. The Hong Kong curriculum emphasizes a student-centred learning approach, as reflected in the high frequency of the word "students" and the focus on assessment activities that integrate with teaching and encourage self-reflection for learning improvement, while the Singapore curriculum lacks a student-centred approach.