Two achievement goals and three perceived parenting styles were identified in a sample of Hong Kong teacher education students. Significant correlations exist within the parenting styles and the achievement goals. Parental authoritativeness was significantly and positively related to learning goal and parental authoritarianism was significantly and negatively related to performance goal. Analysis of paternal and maternal influence showed there was no significant relation between paternal parenting styles and goal orientations but maternal authoritativeness was significantly related to learning goal. Further investigation with a larger sample, more male students and paternal influence would help confirm the paternal versus maternal influence on students ’ goal orientations.

Teachers' beliefs in human values significantly affect their interaction with students in effective classroom learning.! Whether a teacher has taken a humanistic approach or behavioral approach in the classroom is a curious question especially in a culturally mixed Hong Kong society. In response to this question, the researcher attempted to find out what the teachers believed in human values and how they practiced their beliefs in the classroom. As part of the major research,! this paper aimed to elaborate on the teachers' beliefs and practice during teacher pupil interaction and whether their] beliefs and practice were affected by the East and West educational philosophy. Education values and beliefs in whole child development underpin the aims of education in the 21st century. Literature! showed that a teacher's belief in humanistic approach in bringing out the holistic development of a child plays an important role in fulfilling the education ideology. The study of a group of 35 in-service primary school teachers in Hong Kong was launched in 1999/2000 regarding their teacher-pupil interaction. The research methods mainly included in-depth interviews, questionnaires and classroom observations. The research findings revealed that the participant teachers] practiced both humanistic and behavioral approaches, and the cultural perspective on humanistic or behavioral approach] was not prominent. Although a considerable number of them believed in the affective approach, they had technical] difficulties in the implementation owing to the constraint of time and resources. The research outcome implied that further] teacher development in affective education is essential to facilitate student learning in the current educational change.

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.