National Education Teacher Training Programme

Background

In 2009-10 policy address the Hong Kong government proposed to deepen the objectives of national education by enhancing the Chinese elements in multiple aspects of learning in primary and secondary school and integrating learning experience with the goal and the content of curriculum. Not long ago the curriculum development council has also announced the Consultation on moral and civic education curriculum which suggests the development of  “moral, civic, and national education” in primary and secondary schools. Such proposal has entered its consultation period, which lasts for 4 months. Under this circumstance, the establishment and development of national education has become more urgent.

The difficulty to popularize national education

However, according to the research on “teachers’ views on national education” conducted by Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, many teachers encountered trendenous difficulties which include insufficient teacher training and the lack of teaching materials. Though the Education Bureau and related department have launched  many series of training projects, these trainings target at students rather than  providing teachers with systematic training that teach them the content and skill of teaching this subject. The effectiveness of teaching is thus unsatisfactory due to the fact that the content and format of national education focuses on knowledge only.There is little progress in strengthening studnets’ emotional attachment with theie motherland.

Bloom, an amercian scholar in education, proposed that national education should focus on “knowledge, affection, and action”. The objective of national education is to strengthen students’ sense of belonging to their motherland. This sense of belongings is the manifestation of affection. If we are to lift our students from the level of knowledge to affection, a new curriculum accompanied by new pedagogy has to be adopted. Drama pedagogy is an effective pedagogy which could answer these education needs.

Applying drama in promote nationa education

In fact, “education threatre” amd “drama pedagogy” are well received among teachers. However, there are only a limited number of teachers who could master the skills. Teachers lack both opportunities to receive training and practice. To respond to this, if we are topromotenational education through “drama pedagogy”, appropriate training for teachers is badly needed. The training not only teaches skills applicable in drama, it also targets at the transformation of  ideology in trainees. Participants would become active researchers and creators of curriculum. 

In the project proposed there will be workshops on drama teacher training, co-taught lessonsof national education, classroom observation and evaluation of teaching progress. Participating teachers would master the skills to teach national education and acquire the ability to design the curriculum. In addition to these, the project, through drama performance, will demonstrate the effectiveness of teaching this subject with drama pedagogy to other schools. When national education is still at its incipient stage, we hope that the project could establish a platform for teachers to communicate their teaching experience and facilitate the collaboration amongs schools.

Objectives

• To improve teacher’s capability and confidence to teach national educstion
• To develop and improve current curriculum and teaching resource of national educstion. These include curriculum design, teaching plan, assignments, and assessments
• To improve students’ understanding and recognition of Chinese culture and citizenship through drama.

Target

Implementation

• Stage 1: June to August, 2011
  Recuitment, liaison, and teacher training
• Stage 2: September, 2011 to August, 2012
  Meeting, implementation of teaching, progress meeting ,dissemination of outcomes and national education drama performance and data organization for the project