This paper reports the findings from a study of understanding images of popular visual culture created by young adolescents in a Hong Kong school context. It adopted a phenomenological case study method to investigate the images created by eight students from a secondary school, in which students participated in a manga creation program. The study suggested a matrix for the investigation that stressed investigating the meaning of the images young adolescents create through their art creation experiences, the reasons for creating images in the particular way, and the way of interpreting their creation process. The study found that there were two types of aesthetics in the image of popular visual culture affecting young adolescents’ image creation: the stereotyped aesthetics and the counter-stereotyped aesthetics. They not only affected young adolescents’ artistic representations, but they also influenced the representation forms of the images of both sexes. Besides, they revealed a psycho-cognitive learning process for self-transformation. Each had its specific functions and meanings contributing to understanding images. The matrix demonstrated a self-actualised and self-autonomous ecological system formulated by the socio-cultural context and individual real world problems, in which young adolescents sought solutions to their real world problems through being sophisticated in drawing skills and techniques.

This paper reports on the effectiveness and practicality of abstracting essential pedagogical methods that aim to promote high level thinking among junior secondary science students. Strategies include intensive professional development programme and design of lesson materials that can be integrated into the existing science curriculum in the Hong Kong schools. The professional development workshops focus on the distinction between the “Cognitive Skills Enhancing Lessons” (CSE) and regular science lessons. Teachers were stimulated to discuss ways to get students to discuss, think about and respond to teachers’ questions, and to ask questions. Classroom implementations of the CSE teaching materials tailor-made for the Hong Kong junior secondary science curriculum were initiated for 3 secondary two classes. The paper reports on the findings from the pre and post interviews, as well as interviews during the classroom implementations with all the participating teachers and a sample of 6 students from each class. Findings report on what teachers think about the CSE method, their general feelings about using CSE, their comments on the materials, the difficulties (if any) they met, the benefits to students and the perceived feasibility of implementing CSE-infused science activities designed by the project team in local classrooms.

Learning Study has been used as a teacher professional development programme in the hope of improving classroom teaching and learning in the cities of both Gothenburg and Hong Kong. This case sharing session first presents two English Language Learning Studies focusing on teaching reading comprehension strategies: one is a Primary Six case conducted in Gothenburg and the other a Secondary Two case in Hong Kong. Then comparison is done between the two cases, with their similarities and differences discussed and highlighted. The session is finally concluded with implications drawn on conducting Learning Study and improving the teaching and learning of reading comprehension strategies in English Language.

This study examines the problem of sexism in English language teaching materials used in Hong Kong and Australia. The study investigates the relative frequencies with which females and males are referred to or depicted in verbal and pictorial texts, the order of appearance of males and females, the depiction of their domestic, occupational and social roles, and the use of masculine generic constructions.

Noun of locality acts as an indicator to identify the relationship of object location. Anderson (1971) and Lyons (1977) established the Localist Hypothesis and the Localism in the 70s’. They realized that spatial concept can derive other related vocabulary, particularly the extended meaning and metaphor, It plays an important part in the human cognition. When people try to express their spatial concept, direction, shape, or location of the object will be considered. However different culture of people will have very different spatial and locality concepts. Comparative analysis is employed for different meanings and usages of “shang(上)/up/on/in” and “xia(下)/down/under” as words of locality which are commonly used in Chinese, but are often misused by the L2 students (they are the Pakistani primary students in this study) due to the variety and asymmetry of “shang, xia” in their culture, including the two-dimension concept, three-dimension concept and the mechanical movement concept. Based on our analysis, we examine their literal learning difficulties, and to identify their misunderstanding and misuse of locality “shang, xia” on spatial concept. From the result of error analysis, it did reveal the very different spatial and locality concept of Pakistani students with that of the Chinese Hong Kong students. Through the contrastive analysis from linguistic and sociolinguistic perspectives of both languages and culture, it helps us to provide strategic help for the non-Chinese students with focus!

The purpose of this study was to compare attitudes of final year students in teacher preparation programs in Hong Kong and Taiwan toward including students with disabilities into regular settings, and to further examine the influences of attitudes on the development of adapted physical education programs. A 15-item questionnaire was used to investigate students' attitudes and concerns toward inclusion. Seventy-seven students from Hong Kong and Taiwan participated in this study. The results of the survey indicated that students in Hong Kong and Taiwan philosophically support inclusion, although there were many concerns and different opinions regarding inclusion. The survey indicated that students from both locations thought special schools and teachers with special training will provide better education for students with disabilities than general teachers, and indicated the needs for more academic preparation for inclusion. The findings also suggest that without well prepared support services and other accommodations, students with disabilities will not benefit from these educational environments.
[Copyright © 2005 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]

The paper focuses on the analysis of a curriculum plan of art practitioners in Hong Kong to generate perspective of how art education can be best serve the needs and interest of the current century. Different ideas of art education have made implications to art teaching in its content and delivery. Wolcott (1997) conceptualizes art teaching by referring to the evolvement of art in culture and history. The modernist school believed that art was the vehicle for subjective expression and, like the essentialist, valued that aesthetic quality that lies in art marking itself. More specifically the modernist school concentrated on the formal qualities of art and considered aesthetic experience as an end itself (Eaton, 1998; Fehr, 1994). This is where the traditional art education based to best cultivate the artistic literacy if a person. Alternatively, the post modernists art education is characterized by pluralism in style and expression. Art is considered as a means of discourse, contemplating politics, society, religion, or culture. Its content is critiques of both culture and society (Lloyd, 1997). The latter approach always creates ambiguity in implementation, and is not popular in Hong Kong schools. Based on the post modernist ideas, a curriculum plan is discussed and evaluated and a framework of developing a post modernist art curriculum is suggested with implications drawn to how the new idea is well suited to the globalized and information society of the twenty first century.

This is a narrative study to inquire the experiences of my inner self through my life journey in teaching and learning of dance. Stemming from my experience as a student, a secondary school PE teacher, and a PE lecturer I have become critically aware of the need for learning of dance. Dance, probably more than games and gymnastics, offers many opportunities for integrating movement experiences with various aspects of the curriculum. The Hong Kong Curriculum Development Council (1995) states that at least two periods per week should be allocated to physical education and the teaching of dance should be included if the teacher aim to produce a balanced program. However, dance tends to receive less attention in physical education program, and most male PE teachers are found reluctant to teach dance. The inclusion of dance certainly depends on whether teachers consider it important for children to become skillful in and knowledgeable about expressive movement forms. The value we place on dance is personalized and revealing text in attempt to help others to rethink and recreate the meaning in learning and teaching of dance.

This paper is the first phase of the project entitled “A Critical and Comprehensive Review of the Development of Social Education Curriculum at the Primary Level in Hong Kong”. In this phase, the contextual factors leading to the developmental changes of primary social education curriculum from 1967 to 1997 are traced and analysed so as to prepare grounds for a comparative study of the counterparts in Shanghai. The methodologies of documentary analysis and informal interviews are utilized to substantiate the induction approach that draws conclusion from various sources and data. It is hoped that this preliminary study will shed light on the phylogenetic accounts for the primary social education curriculum in Hong Kong, with particular emphasis on the external and internal forces that have interacted in shaping its changes.