Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2001

•Kindling Interes t in the Social Sciences EconExperiments The project 'Enhancing the Teaching an d Learning of Economics i n Secondary Schools Through Experiments ' led by Prof. Wong Ka-fu of the De p a r t me nt of Ec onom i c s l a u n c h e d E c o n E x p e r i me n t s t h i s a c a d em ic y e ar o n oligopoly, international trade, and the relation between prices and unemployment . The aim is to help Secondary 4 to 7 students master the unde r l y i ng concepts of economics by assisting teachers to conduct these experiments i n class. The experience gained f r om the project w i l l be used to compile a Ho ng Kong-specific guide to economic experiments (CD-rom and web versions), which together w i t h an archive of video recordings and an online teachers' forum , w i l l serve as valuable reference material for teachers of economics i n Ho n g Kong. Secondary school economics teachers in an EconExperiments workshop G o v e r n m e n t a n d P u b l i c Administration E d u c a t i o n S u p p o r t P r o g r a m m e The Department of Government and Public Administration offers a research support service wherein teachers and students of the department create a website and conduct a series of workshops a nd p r e s en t a t i ons f or Se c onda ry 7 students wh o w i l l sit for the A-level examination i n government an d public administration. The objective is to train them i n basic research skills and analytical ability , and to encourage more s e c o n d a ry s t u d e n t s to p u r s ue s t u d i es i n government and public administration . S o c i a l R e s e a r ch P r o j e c t C o m p e t i t i o n The Support Programme for th e Teaching and Learning of Liberal Studies was first organized by the Department of Sociology in 1997. Funding support was solicited from the UGC and the Education Department i n 2001. Seminars and talk s on social research methods and competitions have been held for the benefit of senior secondary school students and their teachers. The department also runs an Internet portal for libera l studies, p r o v i d i ng learning and teaching resources, online assistance, and forums for teachers and students. Twenty-nine teams participate in the Social Research Project Competition 2001. Research topics include youth culture, appearance and self- image, gender and sexual orientation, green policies in secondary schools, foreign domestic helpers and their employers, poverty-related policies, and China's accession to the WTO. Seen here is the winning team from Sheng Rung Hui Bishop Mok Sau Tseng Secondary School receiving their award from Prof. Lau Siu Kai (right 3), chair of the Department of Sociology. Widening the Perspective of Secondary School Students 11