This paper reports the impacts of university-school partnership on the development of English language teachers’ capacities for self-regulated professional renewals. Two classroom based enquires were undertaken in two secondary schools in Hong Kong which aimed to enhance students’ ability in English reading comprehension. The two projects were conducted in Secondary 2 classes and a Secondary 4 classes respectively. In both projects, a cognitive approach was adopted to the learning of English as a second language, with the former focuses solely on vocabulary while the latter deals with both vocabulary and textual analysis. A case study method was adopted in understanding the impacts of the enquiries as experienced by the teachers. The investigative process occurred in a spiral of actions which began with problem identification, and continued with action planning, implementation, evaluation and then further planning. The action cycle engaged teachers in making critical reflection on their prior pedagogical practice and their understanding of learners’ needs. Data were collected through group discussions, lesson observation and semi-structured interviews. Findings show that while teachers acknowledged the benefits that the projects had brought to both teachers and students, they were aware of the limitations of such one-off projects and felt skeptical about the sustainability of the positive effects, if the issues of expertise, ownership and differing conceptions of goals are not properly addressed. This paper will first outline the enquiry cycles of the two projects, which will then be followed by the teachers’ reflection on the impacts of the projects on their pedagogy, as well as the challenges they encountered. It will then conclude with a discussion about the enabling conditions that would help empower teachers with the intellectual orientation and capacity for embedding the enquiries as part of their everyday professional lives.

The paper discusses the current school curriculum of Hong Kong with reference to the education development in our society, to generate a thesis about the direction of education. The methodology includes: (a) documentary analysis of curriculum reform documents, key education policy documents and policy documents. (b) Interview with 5 experienced teachers on the teaching job and student learning. Content analysis was performed based on triangulating the data. Some findings are gathered: (a) the “Learning to Learn” (CDI, 2000) curriculum was only too passively reactive to the current globalization tide, in which competition, productivity, and efficiency (OECD, 1998; Wallerstein, 1979; Zajda, 1998) are the values. It identified a standard “global outlook” (CDI, 2001) our future young generation should model to cope with the challenges of the 21st century. (b) the curriculum connected harmoniously with the traditions of Hong Kong education, which was commented as “predominantly a highly utilitarian means to economic and vocational ends” in a external review (Llewellyn, 1982). When the curriculum reform was in full swing, the auditing systems were in place to transform school into an economy activity. This paper reexamines education and how we can respond to lead our future towards the goal of education, but not globalization.

The Target-Oriented Curriculum (TOC) is currently a major component of the Hong Kong school curriculum at the primary level. Given the central role of the teacher in all curriculum renewal initiatives, teachers’ professional competencies for TOC are a key factor affecting its implementation. This study, deriving from a large-scale Education Department commissioned research project, focuses on primary school teachers’ professional competencies for the implementation of TOC in the subjects of Chinese, English, and Mathematics. Teachers’ professional competencies are analyzed from two different perspective: that of teachers implementing the new curriculum; and from the standpoint of teacher educators involved in TOC teacher education. Data was collected through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observation. Triangulation via these three different research tools and from the dual perspectives of teachers and teacher educators enables a multi-faceted picture of professional competencies for TOC to be developed. From this analysis, implications are drawn for teacher education needs related to TOC and also wider issues of teacher development, curriculum change, and school-university partnerships.
[Copyright © 2000 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]

Following the return of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, the new government set out an ambitious programme of educational reform. Following extensive community consultation, reforms to both basic education and senior secondary education were set out and programmed over a ten year period starting in 2001. The school curriculum was the centre piece of this reform agenda with proposals for a more integrated curriculum, more engaging teaching strategies and assessment processes that focused on learning rather than testing. A new approach to senior secondary education extended six years of schooling to all students. The reform agenda was post-colonial in nature but also sought to develop a curriculum that would support Hong Kong's role in the emerging knowledge economy. The reaction of schools to this agenda has not always been supportive. Yet there is some evidence that change is being made and teaching and learning in Hong Kong schools has been affected by the reform agenda.
[Copyright © National Institute for Compilation and Translation].

Educational reforms and curriculum changes are no strangers to the educational sector of Hong Kong. Every time, changes are accompanied by new aspirations. The abandonment of the old and taking up the new ideals are not always smooth and effective. There is usually a shift of emphasis on the aims of education as in the case of the primary music curriculum in Hong Kong in the last few decades. The two earliest official music syllabi issued by the Education Department in 1968 and 1976 reveal both the changes and continuity in the concept of the music curriculum. In this chapter, the author critically analyze these two syllabi to find out the principles of music education expressed explicitly and implicitly in them in the light of influential factors, such as the historical development and contemporary thoughts about music education. Basing the findings, recommendations are drawn for the music educators and researchers for their future practice. All future educational reforms should take care to fill the gap between the intended and implemented curriculum, so that the avenue leading us to our intended ideals can be clear and through.
[Copyright © 2000 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]

The New Senior Secondary Education (NSSC) curriculum will launch in 2009 under the new 334 academic structure of secondary school education in Hong Kong. The NSSC is intended to eliminate the backwash effect of public examinations and for the re-planning of human capital for the future of Hong Kong (EDB, 2005a; SAR, 1997, 2000). On the other hand, education of Hong Kong has been criticized as elitist, and Hong Kong culture was described as “survival, affluence and deliverance” (Chan, 1993). Very often, a curriculum reform proposal may not be carried out as it is intended because of the predominant values of a society that resists the reform ideas. The NSSC policy portrays an interesting curriculum decision making process which allows school the flexibility in the subject selections and the allocation of study time on various study components in the curriculum framework. According to a recent report (EDB, 2005B), the visions and goals of the NSSC were well supported by different stakeholders; however, reservations were also expressed on the proposed details of implementation on many aspects. Taken this as an inquiry point, this study attempts to understand how teachers think about the NSSC, and to further explore the overriding values behind the views of teachers on the intended curriculum blueprint. Interview data of 14 senior school teachers were collected. The findings suggested that teachers’ receptiveness to NSS were driven by predominant values on achievement and success, elitist model of curriculum conceptions, concern of school prestige, and teachers’ self interest. An interesting them emerged from the ideas on education. When they were asked about questions on the implementation level, teachers tended to shift to a utilitarian perspective that deviates from their own mission but assimilates with the employers’ expectations and fulfills their self interest. Implications are drawn on the role of government on curriculum policy making and implementation to ensure