Curriculum Innovations in Changing Societies

Over the last ten years, in response to social and economic challenges, curriculum reforms have been initiated in major countries and regions in East Asia, such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China. The majority of these reforms focused on moving from a teacher-centered curriculum toward a curriculum that engages students actively in intellectually stimulating tasks and activities inside and outside classrooms. The goal is to enhance student generic skills, such as critical thinking, communications, problem-solving, and self-studying for life-long purposes. Reforms have raised issues with the examination traditions of these countries and regions. Attempts have been made to reorient the school curriculum and its assessment methods to suit individual needs of the students and the changing diverse learning outcomes. This book is a collection of 30 chapters written by over 52 educators and researchers from faculties of education in major universities from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China. The chapters include their research studies and observations on what has been happening in the school curriculum and the changing curriculum policies in these countries and regions. Readers may also find some tentative answers to the reasons why the performances of the students in these countries and regions remain high in international assessments in recent years. Cover image by Anna Sung-yan Law, Faculty of Architecture Nottingham University, UK