CITIZENSHIP, ECONOMICS AND SOCIETY
Curriculum Name and Curriculum Rationale
The curriculum was announced under the name “Citizenship, Economics and Society” to indicate that the curriculum encompasses three major concepts – “Citizenship”, “Economics” and “Society”, which are connected to the basic knowledge, skills, and values and attitudes related to Strand 1 “Personal and Social Development”, Strand 5 “Resources and Economic Activities” and Strand 6 “Social Systems and Citizenship” of the PSHE KLA.
The learning elements of the three curriculum concepts, “Citizenship”, “Economics” and “Society”, complement each other and are in line with the curriculum aims of PSHE, to help students understand themselves, our society, our country, and the world, as well as the close interactive relationships among them. They also enable students to understand that in an interconnected and interdependent world, apart from striving for a meaningful life, they have to contribute to the common good of the world, our country and the local community to promote the building of a community with a shared future for humankind.
The learning elements of Strand 1 “Personal and Social Development” of the curriculum aim at catering for the needs of students’ personal growth, helping them understand, love and care for themselves, developing healthy interpersonal relationships, cultivating proper values, acquiring important life skills and ways to cope with undesirable behaviours. The above learning elements are important for promoting healthy lifestyles in students, and helping them become good citizens.
In addition to developing students’ own self-understanding and cultivating good character and humanistic qualities, the curriculum also emphasises students’ social development, helping students learn to get along and collaborate with people from different backgrounds in different units/organisations/activities in our society, to establish harmonious interpersonal relationships, to be able to consider other people’s situations and feelings empathetically, to show respect and care for others, and to join hands with others to build a diverse, inclusive and mutually beneficial society.
The curriculum also covers learning elements related to Strand 5 “Resources and Economic Activities” and Strand 6 “Social Systems and Citizenship” to help students understand that they are not only members of society but also Chinese citizens, and help them understand themselves and explore development opportunities from the perspective of members of society. Students will learn to understand the local, national 8 and global economic development, the operation of social systems and the interactive relationships between them from the broader perspective of our country and society as a whole. They will understand that Hong Kong, being an integral part of our country, has always been closely intertwined with and inalienable from the development of our country. In particular, Hong Kong possesses the distinctive advantage of “strong support from the motherland and close connection with the world”. Hong Kong needs to actively integrate into our country’s overall national development, enhance its development momentum, and serve as a bridge for mutual connection and access between our country and the world, contributing to the development of our country.
Furthermore, since the reform and opening up, our country’s economy has drastically developed and the livelihood of our people has been greatly improved. Our country has also actively participated in international affairs. Being members of society and our country, students need to understand the economic developments and achievements of our society and country, and our country’s participation in international affairsto review their roles and the contributions they can make in the future. The relevant modules in Strands 5 and 6 of this curriculum help promote students’ awareness of contemporary world topics and broaden their global perspective.
To summarise, the study of the learning contents of Strands 1, 5 and 6 of the PSHE KLA in the Citizenship, Economics and Society curriculum at the junior secondary level promotes students’ personal and social development, strengthens their understanding of our country and society, enables them to understand and respect the roles, the rights and the responsibilities of individuals in society and our country, and enhance their understanding of the close relationship between the Mainland and Hong Kong, so as to cultivate in students the sense of nationhood, affection for our country, and sense of national identity for the implementation of patriotic education.
The six strands of the PSHE KLA are indispensable. In the learning process, the Citizenship, Economics and Society curriculum should be complemented with other PSHE KLA subjects, such as History, Geography and Chinese History, so as to help students build knowledge foundation holistically, apply what they have learnt, develop skills, and cultivate proper values, attitudes and behaviours. This curriculum will enable students to become informed and responsible citizens who possess a sense of nationhood, global perspective and a holistic view of the overall situation, as well as contribute to the common good of our country and society.
