Quality Education Fund Thematic Networks - Tertiary Institutes (QTN-T)

To provide school-based professional support services for kindergartens and kindergarten-cum-childcare centers to enhance the educational effectiveness for kindergarten students, including non-Chinese speaking (NCS) children.

To provide additional support options for schools admitting NCS students. In addition to participating in general school-based support, schools will also receive effective support for teaching Chinese as a second language to enhance their diverse teaching capabilities; To equip teachers with theoretical knowledge of teaching Chinese as a second language, and employ “W.I.S.E.,” a writing teaching method with artificial intelligence (AI) developed by the University of Hong Kong, to combine writing and reading for taking care of learning diversity, so as to enhance the Chinese language proficiency of primary and secondary NCS students; To train curriculum leaders to optimise and integrate school curriculum, and promote the sustainable development of the school; To develop teaching exemplars based on different theoretical foundations and research data, and promote relevant knowledge and experience, maximising teachers’ capabilities and influence; To assist schools to systematically design school-based support measures to enable a smooth transition from primary to secondary school among students in both academic and affective aspects; To gather the strength of teachers, and develop innovative learning strategies with the principles of education and the values of Chinese traditional culture.

To support the learning and teaching of Chinese in kindergartens and primary schools and facilitate smooth kindergarten-primary transition; encourage schools to promote the latest curriculum initiatives, such as promoting Chinese culture, cultivating priority values and attitudes, and implement and consolidate various teaching strategies; To enhance the effectiveness of curriculum leadership in schools and promote collaboration and reflection among the teaching team.

This project aims to support the teaching and learning of Chinese and smooth kindergarten-primary transition for K3 kindergarten students and lower primary students from multicultural backgrounds. Schools with any number of multicultural students are welcome to participate.

To equip teachers with theoretical knowledge of teaching Chinese as a second language as well as effective blended-learning pedagogies in catering for learning diversity in classroom so as to enhance primary and secondary NCS students’ Chinese language proficiency; To train up curriculum leaders to develop and manage school curriculum for promoting school sustainability; To assist teachers in helping NCS students with their academic and affective preparation for their further study of Chinese in secondary schools; To develop good practices with a solid theoretical ground so as to disseminate the knowledge and experiences and meanwhile maximise their impact; To assist primary and secondary schools in designing systematically the school-based support measures for a smooth transition from primary to secondary education in both academic and affective domains.