THE HONG KONG INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION
Course Outline
Part I
Course Title:
Services for the poor and the needy
貧窮社群服務
Course Code:
GEG1054
Department:
C&I
Credit Point:
3
Contact Hours:
39
Pre-requisite(s):
GEE1001
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Part II
1. Synopsis:
Poverty is the root of many social problems such as the lack of medical services and
schooling opportunities in both developing and developed countries. The intensity and
complexity of poverty has become more evident as the impact of globalization has intensified.
People need to have a deeper appreciation of what the causes of poverty are and to
understand what hinders the effectiveness of services before genuine support can be provided
to the needy. This course, through studying the relevant literature and having first hand
service experience with the poor in Hong Kong, aims to help participants to develop a deeper
understanding of the issues in relation to poverty in the contemporary world and to provide
services to those people in need.
2. Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs)
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
 CILO1 Demonstrate a deep understanding of the nature of globalization and the
potential problems of poverty in the contemporary world
 CILO2 Appreciate the difficulties in tackling poverty in international and local contexts
 CILO3 Consolidate first hand service experience to reflect on impacts to their personal
beliefs about working with the poor
 CILO4 Enhance generic skills, especially problem solving skills, by providing
community services for the needy
 CILO5 Evaluate different ways of providing services for the poor and lessons learnt
from a critical perspective
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3. Content and Teaching & Learning Activities
Teaching Content
CILOs
Concept of globalization - definitions, free
trade and technology, inequality, human rights
and freedom, the idea of global justice, etc. and its impact on the poor in the contemporary
world.
What is poverty? Why are there poor countries
and communities? ‐ biological explanation,
racial explanation, stages of modernization,
poor Governance, natural disasters, etc.; the
impact of the global economy on the poor in
developing countries, Poverty in Hong Kong.
Brief history of local and international aid
programmes provided by local and
international organizations for developing
countries, including the Society for Community
Organization, Oxfam, the World Health
Organization (WHO), the World Bank, World
Vision, Commission on Poverty (Hong Kong),
etc; the rationale and effectiveness of these
organizations in helping the needy in a society.
Provision of services for the poor in nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Hong
Kong - planning, implementing and assessing
service learning projects.
Evaluation of services provided for the needy in
NGOs and lessons learnt from service learning
experiences.
CILO1,2
Teaching & Learning
Activities
Lecture, discussion,
debate, role play, video
CILO1,2
Lecture, discussion,
debate, video,
interviews
CILO1,2
Lecture, discussion,
debate, video, visits
CILO2,3,4
Service learning
CILO5
Discussion,
presentation
4. Assessment
Assessment Tasks
CILO
CILO3,4
Practicum: Participation and performance of
participants during the service-learning
practicum in a chosen NGO in Hong Kong
Group presentation: Participants have to prepare CILO1,2,5
a group presentation of their experiences
gathered during the service-learning practicum in
their chosen NGO
Essay: Each participant has to submit a paper on CILO1,2,5
the causes of poverty (or a related social
problem) in a chosen area and suggest how
people could help alleviate the poverty problems.
(length of essay: around 1500 words).
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Weighting (%)
30
20
50
5. Required Text(s):
Steger, M.B. (2003). Globalization: a very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University
Press Stearman, K. (2002). Poverty. London: Belitha.
6. Recommended Readings
Berman, S. (2006). Service learning: a guide to planning, implementing and assessing
student projects. 2nd edition. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.
Bowden, R. (2003). Globalization: The impact of our lives. London: Hodder Wayland.
Collier, P. (2008). The Bottom billion: Why the poorest countries are failing and what
can be done about it. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Gelmon, S.B. and Billig, S.H. (eds) (2007). From passion to objectivity: international
and cross‐disciplinary perspectives on service‐learning research. Charlotte, N.C.:
IAP/Information Age Pub.
Hong Kong Council of Social Service. (2005). Let’s talk about poverty in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong: Council of Social Service.
Lemert, C. (2010). Globalization: A reader. New York: Routledge.
MacPherson, S. & Chan, C. K. (1997). Housing and poverty in Hong Kong. Hong Kong:
City University of Hong Kong.
Miller, G.T. (2004). Living in the environment. 13th edition. Pacific Grove, CA:
Brooks/Cole‐Thomson Learning.
Pogge, Thomas W. (2002). World Poverty and Human Rights: Cosmopolitan
Responsibilities and Reform. Polity Press.
Sachs, J.D. (2005). The end of poverty. New York: Penguin
Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Singer, P. (1972). “Famine, affluence and morality”, Philosophy and Public Affairs, 1
(1972), 229‐43.
Stelljes,A. (2008) Service learning and community engagement: cognitive developmental
long‐term social concern. Amherst, N.Y.: Cambria Press.
The World Bank (2003). World development report 2003. Sustainable development in a
dynamic world: Transforming institutions, growth, and quality of life. Washington:
The World Bank and Oxford Univ. Press.
Yunus, M. (2008). Creating a world without poverty: Social business and the future of
capitalism. NY: Public Affairs.
文思慧編（2002）︰《誰偷走湄公河的未來？—— 一水六國千民族的啟示》，香
港，樂施會。
彼得・辛格著 ; 應奇, 楊立峰譯 ; 顧肅校 (2005) ︰《一個世界 : 全球化倫理》， 北
京，東方出版社。
馬國明編（2002）︰《不公平的規則——貿易、全球化與貧窮》，香港，樂施會。
黃和平 (2012) 《香港貧窮統計數字便覽, 2001-2010》，香港 : 香港社會服務聯會。
楊小微著 (2004)：《全球化進程中的學校變革 : 一種方法論視角》，上海市，華東
師範大學出版社。
鄒崇銘編（2002）︰《載浮載沉——全球化下的亞洲黎民》，香港，樂施會。
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7. Related Web Resources:
Global Issues: Social, Political, Economic and Environmental Issues that affects us all:
http://www.globalissues.org/
(Hong Kong) Commission on Poverty
http://www.povertyrelief.gov.hk/chi/welcome.html
Links regarding the problem of world poverty:
http://www.globalissues.org/article/27/poverty‐links
Service learning: meaning, history of development and characteristics
http://www.servicelearning.org/what‐service‐learning
Join a global debate and ask questions about poverty
http://www.whypoverty.net/
World food programme
http://www.wfp.org/
8. Related Journals
Chambers, Dianne J.; Lavery, Shane. (2012). Service learning: A valuable component of
pre‐service teacher education. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, v37 n4
p128‐137.
Hannan Pradhan, Mohammad Abdul; Mohd, Saidatulakmal; Sulaiman, Jamalludin
(2013). An investigation of social safety net programs as means of pverty alleviation
in Bangladesh. Asian Social Science. Vol. 9 Issue 2, p139‐148.
Meyer, Bruce D.; Sullivan, James X.(2012). Identifying the disadvantaged: Official
poverty, consumption poverty, and the new supplemental poverty measure. Journal
of Economic Perspectives, v. 26, iss. 3, pp. 111‐36
9. Other
Nil
Last Updated: 17 March 2014
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