Importing a Western curriculum to another culture is contentious. Through a content analysis of guidance materials in selected primary schools, the authors explore the appropriateness of adopting a Western guidance curriculum in Hong Kong. Using a multi-dimensional framework derived from Lawton's (1973) model of curriculum development, they report the sociological contextual features of the materials and present a content analysis to develop an understanding of the different approaches to psychology embodied in the curriculum. Three forms of the same Western guidance curriculum, as used in three Hong Kong primary schools, are analysed to illustrate how Western notions of 'self' do not fit within an 'East meets West' context such as Hong Kong.
They argue that because of the 'East meets West' context of Hong Kong, there is a need to develop a 'hybrid' guidance curriculum that draws on a psychology guided by an understanding of the 'hybrid self', and that reflects the social and psychological contexts of Hong Kong. Implications of the findings for countries with Confucian heritages are discussed.
[Copyright of Journal of Educational Enquiry is the property of University of South Australia, Centre for Research in Education, Equity and Work.
Access via Open Journal Systems: http://www.ojs.unisa.edu.au/index.php/EDEQ]

This study examines teacher receptivity to the curriculum change embodied in the new environmental education guidelines in Hong Kong. A questionnaire survey, based on a 'receptivity to change' instrument, was distributed and case studies conducted. The analyses revealed that such variables as the perceived non-monetary cost-benefit of implementing the guidelines, perceived practicality, perceived school and other support, and issues of concern were predictors for teachers' behavioural intentions towards promoting environmental education. The qualitative part of the research also found that, in addition to the factor of perceived non-monetary costbenefit, the dominance of organizational factors may work to shape teachers' receptivity to environmental education.
[Copyright of Journal of Curriculum Studies is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/002202700182871]

In Hong Kong, media education is not a new initiative. With the recent education reform, curricular space will undergo significant changes. Instead of having fixed subject boundaries, key learning areas will be introduced. As such, media education will find much more space for negotiating a place in the reformed curriculum. This study aims to look at how media education is implemented in schools in Hong Kong and the content and pedagogy of the media education curriculum against the background of education reforms.
[Copyright of Educational Studies is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0305569032000159723]

This article briefly describes the Hong Kong education system, discusses the policies and efforts for education quality and school improvement, and reviews the development of school effectiveness research in Hong Kong. Hong Kong people have shown their strong commitment to educational reform for better societal development in the coming decades. A number of important policies have been issued to improve educational practice and school management. Even though some drawbacks and difficulties have inevitably been encountered in policy formulation and implementation, numerous good opportunities have been created for policy-makers, school practitioners, and educational researchers to conduct educational innovation, school improvement, and school effectiveness research. The ongoing education experiments, reform experiences, improvement practices, and effectiveness studies at both the system and school levels may not only benefit Hong Kong people but also make a contribution to international concern for school effectiveness and improvement.
[Copyright of School Effectiveness and School Improvement is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1076/sesi.10.1.10.3517]

This paper provides a case study of the use of language objectives within a newly developed English language teacher education programme in Hong Kong. The programme development team decided to adopt a content-based language teaching approach to support students' second language development through content learning. The teacher education programme (the content) prepares Chinese-speaking students to become secondary level English teachers. Because of students' level of English language proficiency upon entry, the programme must provide substantial support for students' English language development in addition to their learning of subject content knowledge and ELT pedagogy. There is also a government-stipulated proficiency level for all qualified English language teachers, which essentially becomes the language syllabus for the programme. The language objectives serve as a medium for mapping the language syllabus on the content curriculum. There are reasons to believe that the approach adopted has been successful in supporting students' language and content learning. This paper describes the programme development and implementation process and the problems and constraints met. The paper also shares the lessons learnt from the curriculum development and implementation process.
[Copyright of Language and Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.2167/le771.0]