A.        Subject Information

Introduction
Economics is one of the six elective subjects in the Personal, Social and Humanities Education (PSHE) Key Learning Area (KLA) in the three-year senior secondary curriculum. The study of economics helps students to understand the human world through enquiring into how resources are used to serve individuals and society. It also contributes to the development of critical thinking and decision-making skills, which are crucial for the all-round development of students and, in particular, their development as life-long learners and responsible citizens.
The senior secondary Economics curriculum is designed to be a three-year elective course for all senior secondary students interested in the subject. The Secondary 4 - 5 Economics curriculum implemented in 2003 is the basis for the design of the curriculum, with some reorganisation of content, broadening of coverage and increased depth.
Aims/Objectives
The aims of the Economics curriculum are to enable students to:
  • develop an interest in exploring human behaviour and social issues through an economic perspective;
  • understand the world in which they live through mastery of basic economic knowledge;
  • enhance their general intellectual capacity for life-long learning, through developing their capacities in economic analysis, so that they possess the skills necessary for reasoning about issues and making rational choices; and
  • participate as informed and responsible citizens in the decision-making processes of a modern democratic society.
Curriculum structure
The curriculum framework and content are developed on the basis of the Secondary 4 - 5 Economics curriculum implemented in 2003, with a suitable restructuring of topics, broadening of coverage and increased depth.
Economics provides an interpretive framework for students to see the world in a more systematic way. This will equip learners with a range of tools of analysis through which they can comprehend realities better. With the addition of some normative issues in the curriculum, empathy, sensitivity and multi-perspective thinking of learners can be more readily enhanced. The preparation for future challenges can be more effectively achieved.
The components, concepts and tools of analysis in this curriculum are outlined below:
  1. This curriculum comprises two parts. The Compulsory Part covers basic concepts and topics in microeconomics and macroeconomics. The Elective Part, which constitutes 10% of curriculum time, comprises two parts from which students choose one. The Elective Part includes elements that call for extended analysis and broader economic knowledge. It provides an opportunity for students to choose an area of study related to their aptitudes and interests.
  2. The senior secondary Economics curriculum incorporates microeconomic core concepts and skills for the analysis of choice, such as cost and value, production and consumption. Specialisation as the basis for trade is discussed. Marginal analysis is introduced in the topic on firms and production, although the treatment is very elementary. Price mechanism as one of the most important resource allocation mechanisms is introduced. Efficiency is then discussed so that students can have a more in-depth understanding of real-world issues with the help of the concepts of consumer and producer surplus. Equity, a concern that surfaces in many real-world issues, is then introduced through the discussion of income inequality. This concept is useful for the analysis of cases, social problems and controversies. The framework of analysing choice is central to the microeconomic topics of this curriculum, and how a social system influences human behaviour through the shaping of incentives is embedded in this framework.
  3. The performance of the economy has impact on the individual. This curriculum prepares students to understand the macroeconomy. To achieve this, elementary macroeconomic models and tools are introduced. For the analysis of aggregate economic performance, the AS-AD approach is adopted. Students can use this tool to study factors affecting short term economic fluctuations and the effects of government policy on the economy. Also, the Quantity Theory of Money is brought in to explain inflation. The inclusion of these explanatory tools enables students to analyse the macroeconomy more comprehensively. Finally, the theory of comparative advantage is introduced to explain gains from trade.
  4. As for the Elective Part, Part 1 extends students’ understanding of the topic on monopoly by introducing more advanced analytical tools, and broadens students’ knowledge about competition policy. Part 2 extends students’ understanding of trade theory with the use of production possibilities frontier, and broadens their knowledge about economic growth.

B.        Subject Features

Activities
  • Personal Finance Planning Competitions
  • Company visits

       

  • Workshops in Economics and Finance
Student Achievements
  • WoFoo Millennium Entrepreneurship Programme (2nd runner-up)
  • Participation in 2021 HKMA Business Simulation Competition for Secondary School Students

C.        Others

Useful links
Yan Oi Tong Tin Ka Ping Secondary School
Shan King Estate, Tuen Mun, N.T.
2464 3731
2464 3243
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