In educational settings, action research can be used in a variety of areas such as (1) teaching methods; (2) learning strategies; (3) evaluative procedures; (4) attitudes and values; (5) continuing professional development of teachers and; (6) administration (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2000). Due to various reasons, there are few action research in schools and in higher education in Hong Kong (Li, Yu, Lam & Fok, 1999; Kember & Gow, 1992). Even in other place of the world, action research with empirical data is not much in teacher education (Ross & Bondy, 1996). This study is an investigation in using the KWL method to support teacher educators in conducting action research for enhancing learning of student-teachers as well as in continuing professional development of teacher educators in improving teaching skills, increasing powers of analysis, and heightening self-awareness of one's teaching. Participants comprised 32 student-teachers who were currently enrolled in a three year teacher certificate teacher education programme at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. The KWL method can record "what they know (K) and what they want (W) before lesson" as well as "what they learn (L) after lesson". Records of their prior knowledge (K), their expectation (W), their learning (L) can be analyzed to explore the structure of their learning and its changes. All these information together with the data collected in the action research cycle (plan, act, observe and reflect) will give much hints and insights to the teacher educators to reflect on their own teaching.

Education is a caring enterprise. As human beings we want to care and to be cared for. Caring is important in itself (Nodding, 2000, p7). When we discuss teaching and teacher-learner relationship, it is important to see that teachers not only have to create caring relations in which they are the carer, but that they have a responsibility to help their students develop the capacity to care (Nodding,1992, p.18). Teaching is a caring profession, children are likely to achieve more of they are valued and cared for. In school, children create discipline problems that can be solved by a caring teacher. In a caring classroom, children learn more and response to group more. The overview of the Generic Teacher Competencies Framework of the Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications (2003) pointed out that pastoral care for Students as one of key dimensions in the Student Development Domain. In light of the recommendations of the report, this small-scale research examined the views of caring on student teachers at the Hong Kong Institute of Education through questionnaire survey. Major findings indicate that about 90% of student-teachers considered the following characteristics are essential for caring teachers: keen understanding of child development, having good communication skills, guiding children in social problem solving, fond of school children, and enjoy participation of activities with children. Moreover, within the twenty-four response items in the questionnaire on caring teachers, the following five are rated as more important than others in the teaching process: respect every pupil, care about needs and safety of pupils, teach pupils to be responsible for their own behavior, earn the trust of pupils, and develop a good teacher-pupil relationship. In addition, a case-study was used to ascertain the notion of caring of a student-teacher before, during and after her teaching practice. In her narratives and in-depth reflection, the student-teacher showed

Professionalism has been a focus of educational study in recent years, with researchers trying to find out if teachers demonstrate certain qualities, mainly external, of being a professional teacher. Instead of focusing on professionalism, this paper narrows its focus to the internal aspect of teacher professional development, examining the development of Hong Kong student-teachers’ professional beliefs, about which the student-teachers hold strong opinion, and which affect their decision-making and are subject to change. This present paper is based on a pilot study involving a total of eight student-teachers. Qualitative research methods, including autobiographies and in-depth interviews, were used to conduct the research. This paper attempts to identify and describe the patterns of development of Hong Kong student-teachers’ professional beliefs, to compare the differences between various patterns and to highlight some key factors influencing professional beliefs. Implications from the study would shed light on future research on the development of student-teachers’ professional conviction.

Affective education is a significant dimension of teaching, which is concerned with the values, feelings, beliefs, attitudes and emotional well-being of students. Much research is about how affective education should be put into real practice in elementary and high schools. However, affective education is no less important at tertiary education level. It is especially crucial to examine what values student-teachers taking teacher education programmes hold and how these values change throughout their course of study, since these student-teachers will nurture our next generation and these student-teachers’ moral and spiritual development will directly affect how they teach their pupils. Based on our study on the development of the professional convictions of Hong Kong student-teachers, this paper attempts to find out what values the student-teachers hold, how these values evolve over time, and what factors contribute to their formation and evolution. Qualitative research methods were employed in the study, which include the use of autobiographies and in-depth interviews. The focus of this paper is on examining the dimensions of the student-teachers’ values and how far affective education is effective in achieving its aims in teacher education programmes. Apart from analyzing the common factors associated with teacher professional development such as field experience and reflection, this paper will analyze the issue from the perspective of formal, informal and hidden curriculum. Implications from this study may shed light on ways to improve the design of teacher education programmes to meet the needs of affective education.

Evidence obtained from focus group interviews supports a conception of political socialization as an active process where individuals interact and negotiate with socialization agents in different contexts to construct their political realities. The citizenship understandings of socially or politically active students in this study were basically eclectic, including conservative views about doing the best in their diverse roles as well as more radical orientations, such as participating in demonstrations and protests in opposition to unreasonable laws. Issues based teaching, experiential learning, and teachers with credibility have been identified as significant political socializing factors for active democratic citizenship. Such a finding has significant implications for teacher education.
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