Among the four STEM subjects, Mathematics is a compulsory subject throughout the six-year secondary education in Hong Kong. While Integrated Science is still compulsory at junior secondary level, science subjects (i.e. Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Combined Science and Integrated Science) become optional at senior secondary level. In the school year of 2015-2016, as many as 51% of the 56 000 candidates of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (“HKDSE”) did not take any science subjects at all. As to the 10 optional subjects with Technology or Engineering content, they were taken up by at most 39% of HKDSE candidates in 2015-2016.
STEM proficiency can be measured by the scores in the Programme for International Student Assessment (“PISA”), an international benchmarking exercise to assess teenagers aged 15 of their abilities in three core areas (i.e. science, mathematics and reading) on a triennial basis. Hong Kong used to perform very well in PISA, ranking the second in science and third in mathematics across the globe in 2012. However, for the latest 2015-round results released at end 2016, Hong Kong’s ranking in science slipped noticeably to the ninth position, along with a 6% drop in the overall score. In spite of advancement to the second position in mathematics, this has triggered renewed concerns over the effectiveness of local STEM education.
To a certain extent, the slip in scores in science may be attributable to the reduced intensity of science education in NSSC adopted since 2009. This is manifested in a steep decline of 23% in the average number of science-related sessions per week, from 7.2 in 2009 to 5.5 in 2015. Coupled with a sharp decrease in the proportion of students in senior secondary level taking three science-related subjects from 40% to 3% over the same period, this should have noticeable implications for the overall proficiency in science among students.
Since 2015, EDB has introduced a series of support measures to schools for the promotion of STEM education. The support measures on STEM education included: (a) updating/renewing the related curricula; (b) strengthening teacher professional development programmes; (c) enriching learning and teaching resources; (d) organizing a wide array of STEM-related activities/competitions; (e) setting up Professional Development Schools to showcase and disseminate good practices; (f) forging community partnerships to synergize efforts; and (g) consulting stakeholders to collect feedback and suggestions on the way-forward. More recently, EDB released the “Report on Promotion of STEM education – Unleashing Potential in Innovation” at end-2016, after a year-long consultation with stakeholders. The gist of the multi-pronged strategy to further promote STEM education is summarized below:
(a) Strengthening integration and application of knowledge across different STEM-related curricula: To enhance the capabilities of students to integrate and apply the knowledge and skills learnt in solving daily life problems, more efforts will be placed on “nurturing students’ creativity, collaboration, problem-solving skills and innovativeness through student-centred pedagogy”;
(b) Enriching STEM learning activities inside and outside classrooms: EDB has recommended schools to adopt cross-disciplinary learning in both classroom lessons and out-of-classroom activities through whole-school curriculum planning. Also, EDB will strengthen collaboration with professional bodies to provide STEM-related activities to enrich students’ learning experience;
(c) Providing resource support to STEM education: To kick-start or enhance school-based STEM education, EDB disbursed a one-off grant of HK$100,000 to each primary school in 2016 to procure and upgrade STEM teaching and learning resources. Similar grant of HK$200,000 will be delivered to each secondary school in 2017. At end-2016, EDB launched a new website to disseminate the latest information about STEM education in Hong Kong; and
(d) Enhancing professional development for school leaders and teachers: Professional development programme (in form of training, seminars, workshops and networking activities) will be organized for teachers and school leaders to enhance their capacity for cross-disciplinary teaching. To promote knowledge transfer and cross-fertilization between schools, EDB will disseminate the exemplary practices in STEM teaching and learning seen in pioneering schools to other local schools.
Notwithstanding these initiatives, there are concerns over whether they can adequately improve STEM education in Hong Kong. According to a study report released in January 2017, the imbalance of science and non-science education of the current senior secondary curriculum provides limited STEM education to students, and is not conducive to Hong Kong’s development into a knowledge-based economy.
