Commentary
The past 15 years witnessed dramatic changes in Hong Kong’s education sector. The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE), first taught in 2009 with the first cohort of candidates in 2012, had two selling points back then: a compulsory Liberal Studies (LS) that combines arts and science education and promotes independent thinking, and school-based assessment elements in all subjects.
This New Senior Secondary academic structure, which aimed at promoting critical thinking and independent learning, underwent an overhaul in the decade after its implementation, with the above two significant reforms rescinded for political and academic reasons. Even the very concept of critical thinking was questioned by Education Bureau, which amended its Chinese translation to “cautious thinking” because the pro-establishment camp took “critical” as “criticize,” conveying too much negativity….