Shaping the Curriculum: Contexts and cultures

This article uses the case of the Target Oriented Curriculum (TOC), a major curriculum reform introduced into Hong Kong primary schools, to explore the interaction of cultures and curriculum reforms. It is argued that the reform emerged from, and was adapted and enacted in contexts or arenas that exhibited very different cultures. We focus on three distinct arenas that affected the reform, and examine within each of these the key interest groups and their shared understandings. The article thus provides an analysis that stresses the fragmented, pluralistic and changing nature of culture within Hong Kong society.