【明報專訊】The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA, 國際教育成就評價協會) interviewed 140,000 students in the world in its International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS, 國際公民教育研究). Of them 2,902 come from Hong Kong. The study shows Hong Kong ranks fifth in students' civic knowledge, with a score of 554. The mean score is 500. Finland comes first, followed by Denmark, South Korea and Taiwan.
The ICCS focuses on students' knowledge of government functions and civic rights. It also looks at their awareness of their country. The 2009 study shows over 80% of the Hong Kong students interviewed consider themselves patriots (愛國者) obligated to their country. Most of them are proud of China and its national flag. Over 90% of them believe citizens should enjoy free speech and the right to choose their political leaders. Though civic awareness is higher now than in 1999, most would not meet the country's needs at the expense of their own interests, and 70% of them would not join any political parties or take part in any political activities. The study also reveals 64% of them are unwilling to sacrifice their lives for their country (為國犧牲).
According to some academics, the findings show civic education is effective in Hong Kong. However, they believe Hong Kong students habitually put personal interests before the nation's. It is believed that, as passive indoctrination (教化) of civic knowledge is unlikely to prove effective, schools should think twice about offering civic education courses.
■Did you know...
The purpose of the ICCS is to investigate "the ways in which young people are prepared to undertake their roles as citizens in a range of countries". It collects data under such heads as "civic and citizenship education", "civic knowledge" and "attitudes and civic engagement". It also assesses the role of schools in cultivating civic knowledge among students. The ICCS report shows Hong Kong students acquire civic knowledge mainly through extra-curricular activities and special events like assemblies.
■Keywords
awareness 意識
citizenship 公民身分
civic education 公民教育
■Questions
1. What does the study show about Hong Kong students?
2. Why do you think few Hong Kong students are willing to sacrifice their lives for their country?
3. What do you think such studies show about Hong Kong students' values and Hong Kong's education system?
■Further reading
ICCS: iccs.acer.edu.au
