This study aimed to explore pre-service teachers' perceptions and expectations of principals, how these perceptions may influence attitude and behaviour when they start in school and how pre-service teachers' perceptions of the principalship may have been formed. In general, pre-service teachers do not expect to receive assistance from the principal during their first months of teaching. Past experience of principals has resulted in clear expectations of principal support, particularly in respect to beliefs about the influence of hierarchy, school authority and principal's workload. Others, however, expect the principal to be receptive to and supportive of innovations. Some expect support from their colleagues whilst others believe they must rely on themselves. Furthermore, the sources of beliefs about the principalship are predominantly formed during pre-service teachers' experiences in school life and teaching practice. Many of their images of the principalship tend to be negative.
[Copyright of Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/135986600109444]

In higher education teaching, enhancing learner autonomy has become a key concern for curriculum planners and classroom teachers. The significant body of research about learner autonomy in language learning over the last 20 years (e.g. Holec 1981, 1988; Riley 1985; Dickinson 1987, 1992; Wenden & Rubin 1987; Little, 1991; Dam, 1995; Benson & Voller, 1997) has indicated an on-going search for more understanding of how learner autonomy can be implemented in different contexts.
This paper is based on a research study which was conducted in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong. The study explores learners' attitudes and expectations of language learning, teacher and learner roles, their learning preferences and perceptions of learner autonomy. The paper reports the results and discusses their implication on the development of a learner-centred approach in higher education.
[Copyright of Teaching in Higher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13562510120078045]

Educators in China are facing challenges as a tug-of-war between local culture and global influences in Chinese early childhood music educations plays out. By exploring the situations of Hong Kong and Nanjing, the authors demonstrate a wide gap between policy and practice. The top-down policy from government officials is based on global views of education. It cannot work without providing the necessary support for teachers, parents, and children based on an understanding of local cultural beliefs. Four factors need to be considered in bridging this gap. The aims of the policy must be appropriate; resources necessary should be available, capacity of the practitioners has to be adequate, and the local environment should be carefully considered.
[Copyright of Arts Education Policy Review is the property of Routledge . Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/AEPR.109.3.9-16]

In a rapidly changing society, business education needs to likewise change and evolve to remain relevant and useful. This paper looks at the graduates of one university in Hong Kong and examines how well they feel they are prepared for the world of work. Through the analysis of secondary data, an assessment was made of the success or otherwise of the restructuring and redesign of the undergraduate business programme at City University of Hong Kong, in terms of appropriately training students to meet the demands of the market. By comparing the results of an exit survey conducted on four cohorts of final year students, with the Government's recommendations on what tertiary education should achieve in the contemporary knowledge-based society of the twenty-first century, it was found that the new Bachelor of Business Administration programme at City University of Hong Kong, through its formal and informal curricula, appears to have equipped its graduating students with not only solid technical knowledge but also other valuable competencies and life-skills.
[Copyright of Journal of Teaching in International Business is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J066v16n04_04]

This article reports research undertaken as part of the curriculum development of a Master of Social Work programme at the University of Hong Kong. It was decided to switch four out of five core subjects to a problem based method of teaching and learning. Two student self-assessment measures were used to track learning skills acquisition and professional knowledge acquisition. The Problem Based Skills Learning Inventory covered problem solving, interpersonal and group skills, self-directed learning skills, self-assessment and knowledge building. The Competence and Aptitude in Social Work Scale included knowledge, social awareness, communication skills, leadership and self-concept. Results indicated that for most students there were significant gains over the course of the academic year in most areas. Serendipitous findings throw light on the issue of students' response to pure and hybrid PBL methods and the acceptability of this more active approach to learning to Chinese students.
[Copyright of Social Work Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02615470701456533]