Demand has risen for the introduction of career education in senior secondary schooling to enhance students’ transition from study to work. Against such a background, this paper aims to discuss the curriculum reforms and supporting structures in schools and to explore the challenges of life skills planning for secondary school students in China with particular reference to Hong Kong. Literature review and examples from Hong Kong and China indicate that although various Vocational (Career) Development Education and Career and Life Planning Education (CLPE) activities and school-based curriculum development take place at schools, a clear linkage between study opportunities and career choices, enhancement of learning experiences at work through activities such as job shadowing and provision of a curriculum to enhance career and life planning across years as dimensions of intervention, seem not to be found at secondary schools in Hong Kong. This paper will also look into the implications for future development of CLPE.
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The work described in this paper was supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. HKIEd 843212). The authors would like to thank the principals and teachers in Schools C and D as well as those involved in the ISCY-HK for their kind support. We also extend our thanks to the reviewers for their useful comments as well as Mr. Michael Chau, Mr. Derek Chun and Ms. Stephanie Yeung for helping us in the preparation of this manuscript.
Author information Authors and AffiliationsDepartment of Curriculum and Instruction, Faculty of Education and Human Development, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong
John Chi-Kin Lee
Correspondence to John Chi-Kin Lee.
About this article Cite this articleLee, J.CK. Curriculum reform and supporting structures at schools: challenges for life skills planning for secondary school students in China (with particular reference to Hong Kong). Educ Res Policy Prac 16, 61–75 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10671-016-9202-y
Received: 24 May 2016
Accepted: 29 September 2016
Published: 10 November 2016
Issue Date: February 2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10671-016-9202-y
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