This paper reports the experimentation of constructivist teaching in an in-service teacher education program for training curriculum leaders of primary schools. The following features were identified as to guide the delivery based on constructivism: sequence and continuity; part-to-whole connectedness; individual and group based activities, contextualization, authenticity; and application. Data was gathered from questionnaire and interview; it was further triangulated by student evaluation feedback of the program. The result has brought about development of teachers on various domains including professional, intellectual, collegial, social and emotional. The learning process triggers a spectrum of cognitive functioning on learners. The study ends up with a model of constructivist learning that can guide curriculum development of educational programs; it also addresses some problems about learning.

This project evolved from the efforts of foreign lecturing staff at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. It was found when they first started teaching pre-service teacher education courses, that the language of instruction, although English, was not universally known at a sufficient competence level that all students could understand what was being discussed. The combination of large class size and differential culture expectations, found the lecturing staff themselves in a dilemma of how best to communicate effectively with their students. The following research objectives had to be addressed: 1. Increase collaborative Learning through quality learning teams; 2. To enhance academic outcomes of individual members of the quality learning team; 3. To inculcate a constructivism culture within the quality learning teams; 4. To enhance both learning and instruction strategies; 5. To encourage and increase motivation of both the quality learning team and each of its individual members; 6. To increase student achievement and create a positive student attitude of quality learning teams and their individual members; The formulation of a strategy whereby small groups (maximum of 5 students) took an independent assignment, worked as a "Quality Learning Team", reported back to the class and then with a combination of jigsaw and team presentation styles, a very satisfied, if somewhat initially frightened, group of students emerged. The departure from hand feeding, which was firmly put to one side, resulted in a more independent reflective individual. Team leaders were quickly established, friendships firmly made, trust in ones peers established, relaxed interdependency accepted as the norm, respect of ones peers accepted, leading to the emergence of highly motivated 'Teams' and individuals. The eventual consequence was all of these changed strategies created extremely motivated students for the most part and for those students whose learning style was not suited to this sharing

According to Newmann (1992), Wehlage et al (1989), and Finn (1989), engagement in the milieu of academic and social aspects in schools can be influential in helping students with learning and behavioral problems to overcome their sense of academic failure, alienation and their decision to drop out. Educational and social engagement both call for some essential teacher qualities and characteristics and school reform practices. This is a study of 21 dropouts' reasons of dropping out and their perceptions of suitable schooling for them. In their perceived aspects of ideal schooling, some desirable teacher characteristics and efficacies of pedagogical, cultural, personal and interactional (teacher-student) nature are identified. Personal teacher traits identified include mutual respect, equity, and care. Teacher-student interactional characteristics include accommodation of students' standards and personal needs and problems, acting as the mediator between students and the school and more open to student participation in decision-making as well as mindful of the feeling of social engagement of students to their classmates, teachers and the school. In the realms of pedagogy and curricular knowledge, a successful teacher with at-risk students should teach authentic content and employ various stimulating and success-building teaching strategies. Comparisons with the research findings in the west will be made to highlight the similarities and differences between different contexts (Crowley, 1993; Miller et al., 1988; Wehlage et al 1989; Australian Curriculum Studies Association, 1997; Peterson et al, 1991; Baron et al., 1992). Implications of the findings to the teacher education and school reforms are also discussed.
[Copyright © 2000 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]

Life history is regarded as a significant source of information for the comprehension of teacher development and identity. This study examines the biography of a migrant teacher from China to Hong Kong. The narrative biographical study explores how the subjective reality and the historical factors mingle with the evolving background of the teacher’s professional life. Major sources of influence include communist education, family education, suffering in political upheavals and early teacher professional experience. The problems she encountered in the local schools after migrating were found attributing to the incompatible practices and cognition acquired in China. This study provides evidence of how teachers develop on the basis of their biography. Practical insights for teacher education and in-service teacher training can be drawn from this study.

Good teachers in Hong Kong are usually measured by their ability to help students gain in their academic achievement. Other roles of a good teacher such as the modelling role and guidance role have been neglected. The roles of a teacher have been changing in this era of drastic change brought about by the advancement of high technology. Teachers are not solely relied on for knowledge. Local studies done on teachers and principals generally suggest that other roles besides the teaching role should receive more emphasis. This paper aims to investigate student teachers' perceptions of a good elementary school teacher. Attempt will also be made to compare the result with that of the local studies. It is hoped that the study will help to trigger off more large-scale research in this area with a view to shape the future provision of teacher education. Instruments used to measure the student teachers' perceptions of a good elementary school teacher include a questionnaire survey, a semi-structured interview, and the analyses of their study journals. The sample will be taken from the Hong Kong Institute of Education which is the major body in providing teacher education in Hong Kong.