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中小學課程：由指定書目到「學會學習」

School curriculum: from prescribed book lists to learning to learn

香港中小學「教咩」，係由邊個決定？課程內容、考試同教材點樣互相拉扯？

由 1929 年嘅第一份課程標準到 2025 年嘅小學科學課程指引，香港中小學課程一直由三條線拉扯：政府寫嘅綱要、決定升學嘅考試，同要經審查嘅課本。呢篇按年代拆開每一條線，並指出邊啲環節仍然未有公開資料。

約 7 分鐘 · 9 節 · 70 條時間線 · 8 份文獻

繁體中文

一、語言先於課程：一個決定，反覆重寫

香港嘅課程史，起點唔係一份課程綱要，而係一個語言決定。1860 年 7 月 11 日，理雅各向教育諮詢委員會呈交《教育革新計劃》，倡議政府開辦模範官立學校，以英語為主要教學語言，並以華人學生為主要收生對象。呢份報告把三件事綁在一起：公帑辦學、英語授課、華人精英。更早嘅補助學校計劃亦顯示，課程要求可以寫成撥款條件：教會學校原本每日要設四小時世俗課程，1879 年港府修訂計劃，呢項規定獲得撤銷。

語言問題在二十世紀末再翻一次。1990 年 11 月 22 日，教統會《第四號報告書》建議中小學可各自決定以中文或英文作為教學語言，並應防止同時使用兩種語言講課；七年後方向相反：1997 年 9 月 25 日《中學教學語言指引》規定官立及資助中學嘅中一級別，由 1998/1999 學年起以中文授課。2010 年 9 月 1 日，教育局又撤銷中英硬性劃分，改為按學校實際情況同學生程度安排。同一個問題，答案換過三次。

二、考試先於綱要：會考、升中試與學能測驗

考試比課程綱要更早決定學校教咩。1937 年 6 月 26 日，教育司署舉辦第一屆香港中學畢業會考，721 人報考，最終 423 人取得證書。1949 年，教育司署設立小學會考，作為挑選小學畢業生升中嘅機制；1951 年 9 月嘅統一學制方案更把課程同考試扣實：全港中小學改行六年制，學生要修畢小學課程並通過小學會考，才具資格升中。1952 年 6 月 16 日，教育司署首次為中文中學高中畢業生舉辦會考，中文中學自此有自己嘅公開試軌道。

1961 年 9 月 5 日，教育司署公布小學會考將於 1962 年停辦，由中學入學考試（升中試）取代。1974 年 5 月 14 日，首屆香港中學會考開考，報考人數 55,976 人，合併並取代原有嘅香港中文中學會考同香港英文中學會考。1977 年 5 月 3 日升中試舉辦最後一屆；同年 12 月 6 日，首屆香港學業能力測驗（學能測驗）舉行，用以替代升中試。1978 年 11 月 23 日，考試局宣布由 1980 年度起，報考高等程度會考者須先在中學會考中文科及英文科取得 E 級或更佳成績。

三、第一次寫成標準：科目、書目與教材

1929 年，香港政府就各年級須教授嘅科目及指定書目，訂立《中小學中文課程標準》。呢一步嘅意義唔在於內容深淺，而在於「可查核」：科目同名單一旦寫成標準，學校、督學同出版商就有共同尺。1950 年 9 月，《香港公民》推出市場，隨即獲教育司署列為小學公民教育課程嘅指定必修教材——課程內容開始由官方指定教材承載。

1952 年係關鍵一年：港府設立課程與教科書委員會，負責統籌課程編排，並就教科書規劃同審查擔當專責角色；同年 12 月 19 日，《教育條例》實施，並成立教育委員會作為諮詢組織，對課程、學校、教師等加以規管，避免校園被用作政治宣傳渠道。1955 年 6 月 11 日，《小學國語課程準則》統一全港小學中文課程：初小只教語體文，高小以語體文為主、另加少量淺易文言文，四書五經不再列入教授內容。1968 年 10 月 22 日，教育司署向全港中小學發出《中文科教學研究委員會報告書》收集意見，課程檢討開始以報告書形式進行。

四、制度成形：委員會、議會與課本審查

1972 年，課程發展委員會由港府設立，中小學課程綱要嘅制訂工作由其負責，下轄科目委員會及課本委員會。由呢一年開始，課程綱要有固定生產線：科目委員會寫綱要，課本委員會管教材。1973 年 10 月 5 日，教育司署宣布小學數學課程整體轉用十進制，但為方便學童學習同生活實際需要，若干英制單位與中國傳統度量單位繼續沿用。1975 年起，教育司署推行小學課本須經審查方可採用嘅機制。

1987 年 5 月 6 日，立法局財委會批出 720 萬元，資助香港出版商針對 16 個指定中學科目印行中文課本；呢筆錢說明「用中文教」唔只係語言選擇，仲要有人印書。1988 年 9 月，課程發展議會由課程發展委員會改組而成。名字由「委員會」變成「議會」，但制度邏輯延續：課程綱要仍由中央統籌，學校喺綱要之內安排教學。由 1972 年到 1988 年，課程治理嘅骨架其實冇變。

五、普及與分流：六年小學、九年強迫教育、三三四

學制長度決定課程可以放幾多內容。1961 年 2 月，教育司署公布開辦五年制中文中學，同時調整既有課程，使其切合新修業年期。1971 年，香港推行六年小學免費強迫教育；1977 年 10 月 5 日，港督在立法局宣布 1978/1979 學年起提前實施初中免費強迫教育；1978 年 9 月，九年強迫教育正式實施，提供六年免費小學及三年免費初中。

2003 年 5 月 20 日，教統會公布《高中學制檢討報告》，建議「三加三」學制，高中修業三年，學生研習四個核心科目與兩個選修科目；2005 年 5 月，教統局發表新學制報告，落實三三四高中及高等教育學制。學制一改，課程就要重寫：核心科減至四個，選修科數目同組合就跟住重新設計。

六、議題入課程：性教育、環境、基本法、常識、普通話

1986 年 5 月 23 日，教育署發布《中學性教育指引》，初中以正規課程推行，高中以研討會方式推行——同一個課題，兩級兩種做法。1990 年代，政府推動環境教育並正式納入中小學課程；1992 年，《學校環境教育指引》完成編訂，係香港首份以環境教育為主題嘅課程指引；1999 年，課程發展議會完成修訂。

1992 年 9 月 1 日，教育署將基本法內容簡介列入課程，涵蓋預科通識教育科同初中社會科，同時派發教材套。1993 年，課程發展議會發表《幼稚園課程指引》。1996 年，小學開設常識科，環境教育元素獲納入該科四個教學領域；同年 3 月 7 日，教統會《第六號報告書》建議設立教師語文基準測試，並將普通話科納入中小學核心科目。課程唔止加內容，亦開始規管教嗰個人嘅語文能力。

七、評估驅動：目標為本、TSA 與學會學習

1985 年 1 月 9 日，教統會《第一號報告書》建議廢除初中成績評核試，以增加中三學生繼續升學嘅可能性。1990 年 11 月 22 日，《第四號報告書》提出喺小三、小六同中三推行目標為本評核測試。2000 年 9 月 28 日，教統會公布《香港教育制度改革建議》，建議將高中改為三年制，並增設中文、英文、數學三科嘅基本能力評核——今日嘅全港性系統評估就係由呢條線長出來。

2001 年 7 月 13 日，課程發展議會公布《學會學習：課程發展路向》，為隨後十年定方向。1998 年，課程發展議會已發布中一至中三《中學科學科課程綱要》；2002 年，科學教育學習領域課程指引出台，涵蓋小一至中三。2004 年 7 月 2 日，全港性系統評估交由考評局執行，率先於小學三年級評核中文、英文同數學。2006 年《學前教育課程指引》發布；2007 年通識教育科課程及評估指引出台；2008 年 9 月 1 日，語常會公布四年支援安排，協助 132 所小學及 28 所中學以普通話教授中文。

八、新高中與文憑試：制度收束的十年

2009 年 9 月 1 日，新高中學制在中四級別實施；同一年起嘅三三四學制，令預科課程於 2012 年終止，最後一屆考試安排於 2013 年，供上一屆重讀生應考。2010 年 3 月 15 日，香港中學會考最後一次開考，一個由 1974 年開始嘅考試制度正式結束。

2011 年，課程發展議會發布小學常識科課程指引，涵蓋小一至小六。2012 年 3 月 28 日，香港中學文憑考試首次舉行。2015 年 4 月 17 日，教育局公布高中新學制中期檢討：由 2015 年 9 月中四級起，七個選修科目取消校本評核。課程、考試同評核方式再一次同步調整。

九、2012 之後：價值觀、國家安全與小學新科

2012 年 4 月 30 日，特區政府接納課程發展議會修訂嘅德育及國民教育科課程指引，涵蓋小學與中學階段。2017 年係另一個密集年份：課程發展議會先後發布小學常識科課程指引、涵蓋小一至中六嘅科學教育學習領域課程指引，同《幼稚園教育課程指引》；教育局亦修訂並公布《中學教育課程指引》，規定初中階段須在四個學科內安排 51 小時嘅基本法相關課時。

2021 年，高中必修位再換一次：教育局以公民與社會發展科取代通識教育科，由 2021/22 學年中四級起推行，公開考試只設「達標」與「未達標」，唔設獨立專題探究。同一年，教育局公布《香港國家安全教育課程框架》及 15 個科目嘅框架。小學方面，2023 年 11 月嘅通告第 18/2023 號同第 20/2023 號分別開設小學科學科同小學人文科，兩科都由 2025/26 學年開始推行；2025 年，教育局再公布《科學（小一至小六）課程指引》同《小學人文科課程指引》，將框架落實成課程指引。

未解與缺口

  • 志錄大事記只收到 2017 年，2017 至 2020 年間嘅課程改動未逐項收錄；2021 年公社科同國家安全教育框架、2023 年小學兩科、2025 年兩份課程指引，已用官方文件核實，其餘近年改動未逐頁核對。
  • 1926 年之前嘅課程情況（例如十九世紀書館嘅讀本同課程）只有零散條目，本篇由 1926 年之後講起。
  • 各科課程綱要嘅逐頁內容（單元、課時、評估比重）未收錄；本篇講制度同已登記嘅課程事件，唔講某一科嘅具體教法。
  • 教科書審查嘅準則同否決個案未有官方公開紀錄，所以「審查有幾嚴」無法量化。
  • 學校層面嘅課程實施差異（同一綱要下嘅課時分配、教材選擇）未有逐校資料。
  • 課程改革對學習成果嘅長期影響，欠缺官方追蹤數據；本篇唔會用考試成績代替。
  • 小學科學科同人文科「逐年推展至其他級別」嘅完整時間表，官方通告未逐年列明，本篇唔推算。
  • 幼稚園、特殊學校、國際學校同職業先修課程嘅課程史未在本篇展開。

文獻點讀

  • 《香港志·總述 大事記》（公元前 5000 年至 2017 年，共 6,500 多條大事）逐條頁碼見時間線（原書頁碼）由 1929 年課程標準到 2017 年課程指引嘅日期、原文數字同頁碼。官方／出版者網址
  • 《香港志·自然》環境保護與生態保育p.26、p.421、p.423、p.424環境教育指引、通識教育科指引同小學常識科、科學教育指引嘅記述。官方／出版者網址
  • 《公民與社會發展科課程及評估指引（中四至中六）》（2021 年，教育局公布供學校採用）PDF（無書頁）公社科取代通識科嘅通函日期、推行年級同考核安排。官方／出版者網址
  • 教育局通告第 18/2023 號：開設小學科學科及一系列相關支援措施PDF（無書頁）小學科學科嘅推行學年、起步級別同試行安排。官方／出版者網址
  • 教育局通告第 20/2023 號：開設小學人文科PDF（無書頁）小學人文科嘅推行學年、起步級別，以及同常識科課程嘅關係。官方／出版者網址
  • 《香港國家安全教育課程框架》（2025 年版；文件記明課程框架於 2021 年公布）PDF（無書頁）2021 年公布國家安全教育課程框架及 15 個科目框架嘅記述。官方／出版者網址
  • 教育局通告第 12/2025 號：《小學人文科課程指引》及支援措施PDF（無書頁）人文科課程指引由 2025/26 學年起適用。官方／出版者網址
  • 教育局通告第 13/2025 號：《科學（小一至小六）課程指引》及教師培訓安排PDF（無書頁）科學（小一至小六）課程指引同教師培訓安排。官方／出版者網址

頁碼係電子書頁碼；同一本書不同版次可能移位。引用時請連書名、卷冊同頁碼一齊寫。

English

1. Language before syllabus: one decision, rewritten repeatedly

The history of Hong Kong’s curriculum does not begin with a syllabus. It begins with a decision about language. On 11 July 1860 James Legge submitted A Plan for the Reform of Education to the Education Advisory Committee, proposing a model government school with English as the main medium of instruction and Chinese students as its main intake. The report tied three things together: public money, English teaching and a Chinese elite. The earlier grant school scheme shows that curriculum requirements can also be funding conditions: church schools were originally required to provide four hours of secular instruction daily, and in 1879 the Government revised the scheme and withdrew that requirement.

The language question turned again at the end of the century. On 22 November 1990 the Education Commission’s Report No. 4 recommended that primary and secondary schools decide for themselves whether to teach in Chinese or English, while avoiding the simultaneous use of both languages; seven years later the direction reversed: the Medium of Instruction Guidance of 25 September 1997 required Chinese-medium teaching in Secondary 1 in government and aided schools from 1998/1999. On 1 September 2010 the Education Bureau abolished the rigid Chinese-English division, leaving arrangements to schools’ circumstances and students’ levels. One question, three answers.

2. Examinations before syllabuses: certificates, entrance tests and ability tests

Examinations decided what schools taught long before any syllabus did. On 26 June 1937 the Education Department held the first Hong Kong School Certificate Examination: 721 candidates sat and 423 obtained certificates. In 1949 the Department set up the Primary School Leaving Examination to select primary leavers for secondary places; the unified school system of September 1951 tied curriculum to examination by changing all primary and secondary schools to a six-year structure and requiring pupils to complete the primary curriculum and pass that examination before entry to secondary school. On 16 June 1952 the Department held the first public examination for senior forms of Chinese middle schools, giving Chinese-medium secondary schooling its own examination track.

On 5 September 1961 the Education Department announced that the Primary School Leaving Examination would end in 1962 and be replaced by the Secondary School Entrance Examination. On 14 May 1974 the first Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination was held with 55,976 candidates, merging and replacing the separate Chinese and English middle school examinations. The entrance examination ran for the last time on 3 May 1977; on 6 December 1977 the first Hong Kong Academic Aptitude Test was held in its place. On 23 November 1978 the Examinations Authority announced that, from 1980, candidates for the Higher Level Examination would first need Grade E or better in Chinese and English at the Certificate examination.

3. Writing it down: subjects, book lists and materials

In 1929 the Government laid down the Chinese Curriculum Standards for Primary and Secondary Schools, specifying the subjects to be taught at each level and the books to be used. The significance lies less in the depth of content than in verifiability: once subjects and book lists were written as a standard, schools, inspectors and publishers shared a ruler. In September 1950 Hong Kong Citizens was launched and immediately listed by the Education Department as compulsory material for the primary civic education curriculum, so curriculum content began to travel through officially designated materials.

1952 was decisive: the Government established the Curriculum and Textbooks Committee to coordinate curriculum arrangements and take a dedicated role in planning and vetting textbooks; on 19 December the Education Ordinance came into force and the Board of Education was set up as a consultative body regulating curriculum, schools and teachers, in order to keep campuses from becoming channels of political propaganda. On 11 June 1955 the Primary School Chinese Language Curriculum Guidelines unified the Chinese curriculum across all primary schools: junior primary taught vernacular writing only, senior primary was mainly vernacular with a small amount of easy classical Chinese, and the Four Books and Five Classics were no longer taught. On 22 October 1968 the Education Department circulated the Report of the Committee on the Teaching of Chinese to all primary and secondary schools for comment, beginning a habit of curriculum review by report.

4. Institutional form: committees, a council and textbook vetting

In 1972 the Government established the Curriculum Development Committee, responsible for drawing up primary and secondary syllabuses, with subject committees and a textbook committee beneath it. From that year syllabus-writing had a permanent production line: subject committees wrote, the textbook committee governed materials. On 5 October 1973 the Education Department announced that the primary mathematics curriculum would switch entirely to the decimal system, while certain imperial and traditional Chinese units would be retained for pupils’ learning and practical daily needs. From 1975 primary textbooks had to be reviewed before adoption.

On 6 May 1987 the Legislative Council’s Finance Committee approved HK$7.2 million to subsidise Hong Kong publishers in printing Chinese textbooks for 16 designated secondary subjects — evidence that teaching in Chinese was not only a language choice but also a printing bill. In September 1988 the Curriculum Development Council was reorganised from the Curriculum Development Committee. The name changed from committee to council, but the logic continued: syllabuses were still coordinated centrally and schools arranged teaching within them. From 1972 to 1988 the skeleton of curriculum governance did not change.

5. Expansion and selection: six years, nine years, and 3-3-4

The length of a school career decides how much content a curriculum can hold. In February 1961 the Education Department announced five-year Chinese middle schools and adjusted the existing curriculum to fit the new period of study. In 1971 Hong Kong introduced six years of free compulsory primary education; on 5 October 1977 the Governor announced in the Legislative Council that free compulsory junior secondary education would begin ahead of schedule in 1978/1979; in September 1978 nine-year compulsory education took effect, providing six free primary years and three free junior secondary years.

On 20 May 2003 the Education Commission published its review of the senior secondary academic structure, proposing a “3 plus 3” system with three senior secondary years and four core subjects plus two electives; in May 2005 the Education and Manpower Bureau published its new academic structure report and implemented the 3-3-4 system for senior secondary and higher education. Once the structure changed, the curriculum had to be rewritten: with the core cut to four subjects, the number and combinations of electives were redesigned.

6. Social questions enter the curriculum: sex education, environment, Basic Law, General Studies, Putonghua

On 23 May 1986 the Education Department issued the Guidelines on Sex Education in Secondary Schools, delivered through formal curriculum in junior secondary and through seminars in senior secondary — one topic, two levels, two methods. In the 1990s the Government promoted environmental education and formally incorporated it into the school curriculum; in 1992 the Guidelines on Environmental Education in Schools were completed, the first curriculum guideline in Hong Kong dedicated to environmental education, and in 1999 the Curriculum Development Council completed a revision.

On 1 September 1992 the Education Department included an introduction to the Basic Law, covering the sixth-form General Studies subject and junior secondary Social Studies, and distributed teaching kits. In 1993 the Curriculum Development Council published the Kindergarten Curriculum Guide. In 1996 primary schools introduced General Studies, with environmental education placed among its four learning areas; on 7 March 1996 the Education Commission’s Report No. 6 proposed a language proficiency test for teachers and the inclusion of Putonghua as a core subject in primary and secondary schools. The curriculum was no longer only about content: it began to regulate the language ability of the person teaching it.

7. Assessment takes the wheel: targets, TSA and learning to learn

On 9 January 1985 the Education Commission’s Report No. 1 recommended abolishing the Junior Secondary Education Assessment in order to widen progression to senior secondary schooling. On 22 November 1990 Report No. 4 proposed target-oriented assessment tests at Primary 3, Primary 6 and Secondary 3. On 28 September 2000 an Education Commission report proposed turning senior secondary into three years and adding basic competency assessments in Chinese, English and Mathematics — the line from which today’s Territory-wide System Assessment grew.

On 13 July 2001 the Curriculum Development Council published Learning to Learn: The Way Forward in Curriculum Development, setting direction for the following decade. The Council had already issued the Science syllabus for Secondary 1 to 3 in 1998, and in 2002 it published the Science Education key learning area guide covering Primary 1 to Secondary 3. On 2 July 2004 the Territory-wide System Assessment was assigned to the HKEAA, starting with Chinese, English and Mathematics at Primary 3. The 2006 Pre-primary Curriculum Guide followed, then the 2007 Liberal Studies curriculum and assessment guide, and on 1 September 2008 the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research announced a four-year support arrangement for 132 primary and 28 secondary schools teaching Chinese in Putonghua.

8. New senior secondary and the DSE: a decade of consolidation

On 1 September 2009 the new senior secondary structure began at Secondary 4; under the 3-3-4 system that started that year, the sixth-form course ended in 2012 and its final examination was arranged for 2013 to accommodate repeat candidates from the previous cohort. On 15 March 2010 the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination was held for the last time, closing an examination system that had run since 1974.

In 2011 the Curriculum Development Council published the Primary General Studies curriculum guide for Primary 1 to 6. On 28 March 2012 the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination was held for the first time. On 17 April 2015 the Education Bureau announced the mid-term review of the new senior secondary structure: from Secondary 4 in September 2015, school-based assessment was removed from seven elective subjects. Curriculum, examination and assessment were adjusted in step once more.

9. After 2012: values, national security and new primary subjects

On 30 April 2012 the SAR Government accepted the Moral and National Education curriculum guide revised by the Curriculum Development Council, covering both primary and secondary stages. 2017 was another dense year: the Council published the Primary General Studies guide, a Science Education key learning area guide covering Primary 1 to Secondary 6, and the Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide; the Education Bureau also revised and issued the Secondary Education Curriculum Guide, requiring 51 hours of Basic Law-related lesson time within four junior secondary subjects.

In 2021 the compulsory senior secondary slot changed again: the Education Bureau replaced Liberal Studies with Citizenship and Social Development from Secondary 4 in the 2021/22 school year, with public assessment reported only as “attained” or “not attained” and no independent enquiry study. That year the Bureau also published the Curriculum Framework on National Security Education and frameworks for 15 subjects. At primary level, Circulars No. 18/2023 and No. 20/2023 of November 2023 introduced Primary Science and Primary Humanities, both starting in the 2025/26 school year; in 2025 the Bureau published the Science (Primary 1–6) Curriculum Guide and the Primary Humanities Curriculum Guide, turning the frameworks into curriculum guides.

Gaps

  • The chronology runs to 2017, and curriculum changes between 2017 and 2020 are not recorded item by item. Citizenship and Social Development and the national security education framework in 2021, the two primary subjects announced in 2023 and the two curriculum guides of 2025 are verified against official documents; other recent changes have not been checked page by page.
  • Curriculum arrangements before 1926 — for example nineteenth-century readers and syllabuses in village schools — survive only in scattered entries, so this dossier starts after 1926.
  • The page-level content of individual syllabuses (units, lesson time, assessment weighting) is not included; this dossier covers institutions and registered curriculum events.
  • Vetting criteria and rejected textbook cases are not on the public record, so how strict vetting was cannot be quantified.
  • Differences in implementation between schools (timetable allocation and materials choice) are not supported by school-level data.
  • The long-term effect of curriculum reform on learning outcomes lacks official longitudinal data; examination results are not used as a proxy.
  • The full timetable for extending Primary Science and Humanities year by year is not set out level by level in the official circulars, so no year of full implementation is calculated here.
  • The curriculum history of kindergartens, special schools, international schools and prevocational courses is not covered here.

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