Hong Kong updates school guides for visual arts and music to focus on national identity

Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)

Hong Kong education authorities have revamped the curriculum guides for two subjects – visual arts and music.

The changes aim to strengthen students’ national identity and bolster their understanding of national security. This will be done by appreciating and practising Chinese artwork and culture.

The Education Bureau said the new guide on visual arts included aesthetics of Confucian and Taoist culture. It also suggested that teachers use traditional Chinese painting theory as a measure of assessing pupils’ artwork.

Schools will be asked to focus on themes that convey positive messages. The curriculum will also select artwork to cultivate students’ correct attitudes toward cherishing Chinese culture and acknowledging national identity.

The bureau said the changes came after a committee was set up in 2022 to update the guides. One main focus will be to strengthen national education and security education. They also want to establish a sense of national identity – elements not seen in the last version of the guide.

The new guides will apply to all primary and secondary schools starting next month.

Quiz time

1. For which subjects has the Education Bureau modified the curriculum guidelines?

2. Why did the bureau change these curriculum guides?

3. What topics or areas of interest are mentioned in the guide, and how should teachers assess students’ work?

4. What themes and attitudes are schools being asked to focus on?

5. What is the key principle behind the curriculum guide for the visual arts subject?

The new guide asks schools to use traditional Chinese painting theory as a way to assess students’ art. Photo: Hong Kong Palace Museum

Suggested answers

1. visual arts and music

2. The changes aim to strengthen students’ national identity and bolster their understanding of national security by appreciating and practising Chinese artworks and culture.

3. Aesthetics of Confucian and Taoist culture. Teachers should use traditional Chinese painting theory to assess students’ artwork.

4. Schools should focus on themes that convey positive messages and select artwork that cultivates students’ correct values and attitudes on cherishing Chinese culture and acknowledging national identity.

5. To strengthen national education and security education, as well as establish national identity