This paper describes the development of Learning Study in Hong Kong and analyses the factors that lead to the success and ready acceptance of Learning Study by the school community in Hong Kong. The paper first describes how Lesson Study, as described by Stigler and Hiebert, was brought into the Hong Kong context through a three year project in 2000. It was then further developed and renamed Learning Study to differentiate it from the Japanese Lesson Study. The potential of Learning Study as a powerful tool for teachers' professional development was quickly recognized. Two subsequent projects led to the adoption of Learning Study by over 100 primary and secondary schools in a matter of four years. The success of Learning Study in Hong Kong will be analysed under the following factors: methodology, partnership with higher education institutions, positioning, reform context and culture, and dissemination strategy. Its contributions to pre-service education, teachers' continuing development, research and development in education, and also to improving the status of the profession as a whole are also discussed.
[Copyright of Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) at http://www.aare.edu.au]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of "Focused Word Recognition Method" in teaching a student with reading difficulties in Hong Kong. "Focused Word Recognition Method" is considered as a structured and systematic instruction for word identification. The Chinese characters are grouped for instruction by making use of their phonological, orthographic or semantic features. The participant in this study was an 11-year-old student in the Intensive Remedial Teaching Programme in Primary Schools (IRTP). He had difficulties in reading and writing Chinese characters. The stimulus materials of this study were five lists of Chinese characters. Each list consisted of characters with similar orthographic features. This training programme lasted for four weeks. Comparison of the results of pre-tests and post-tests showed that the student made significant improvement in the performances of dictation, reading aloud and fill-in the blanks activities.
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This paper introduces the core principles of Improving the Quality of Education for All (IQEA) before drawing on the experience of one school engaged in the programme in England. This school has implemented a cross-school reflection and enquiry process (lesson study) to explore a number of fundamental questions:
1.How can we generate developments in teaching and learning?
2.How can schools be encouraged to lead from within?
3.What types of evidence move thinking and practice forward?
4.How can a collaborative focus on teaching and learning establish conditions for resource sharing?
The paper discusses the extent to which lesson study has contributed to the exploration of the above questions and how the insights gained from this methodology have fed into the improvement process. In conclusion, the paper argues that this school's involvement in IQEA has contributed to significant cultural and structural change within the school.
[Copyright of Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) at http://www.aare.edu.au]