How gender operates is a key factor in the ways in which physical education is organized, taught and experienced by students and teachers. This essay highlights the gendered contours of the history of physical education development in Hong Kong, its Chinese heritage and its colonial foundations - the persistent influence of British approaches to physical education teacher education and the promotion of sport. The paper is a collaborative work between Chinese-born and Western scholars. It examines the relative influences of Chinese attitudes towards gender roles and the active, sporting body and the continued impact of Western approaches to physical education and sport in a post-colonial society.
[Copyright © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business.]

Physical activity has numerous positive and psychological benefits. Therefore, a physically active lifestyle benefits both the individual and the society. Nevertheless, many people drop out from their sport or exercise regimen. In this inquiry three motivational factors in exercise adherence, including predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors, were studied from a cross-cultural perspective. A total of 235 male (n=151) and female (n=84) volunteers (mean age=21.4 ± 2.6 years) from Hong Kong (n=112) and United Kingdom (n=123) completed an exercise habits inventory and the Physical Activity Adherence Questionnaire (PAAQ). All participants were physically active, of whom 132 have once quit a sport/exercise in the past whereas 103 never quit. Results revealed that differences exist in predisposing and enabling motivational components of exercise adherence in both cross-cultural and gender comparison studies. Participants who quit a sport or exercise report lesser reinforcing experiences than those who never abandoned an adopted sport or exercise. It is concluded that reinforcing factors play a crucial role in the long term maintenance of a sport or exercise and that both cultural and gender differences need to be taken into serious consideration in the course of facilitation of various exercise/sport behaviours.
[Copyright © 2003 Department of Physical Education, Hong Kong Baptist University.]

This paper is concerned with a qualitative study of how 15 pre-service PE teachers, who are taking the two-year full-time teacher training course, develop professionally in their second field experience. With the interpretive research paradigm as conceptual framework, data were collected through interviewing and writing of reflective journals. Groups of pre-service PE teachers were found possessing different professional learning experiences concerning their conceptions and socializing strategies. Their professional conceptions included "educating pupils to learn", "seeing PE as catharsis, discipline and having fun". Their socializing strategies composed of finding means to improve teaching, and adopt social tactics for managing pupils and defensive attitude for handling crisis. The study provides an understanding of pre-service PE teachers in the Hong Kong Institute of Education and their learning-to-teach processes. The findings serve as the backdrop for recommending possible pedagogical changes for facilitating desirable professional development of pre-service PE teachers.
[Copyright © 2007 Department of Physical Education, Hong Kong Baptist University.]

This paper aims at identifying and recording good music teaching practices that promote social inclusion, and at developing effective teaching strategies that incorporate student perspectives into the pedagogies. A music teacher in Hong Kong was selected for this study, and two different classes of Form 2 (ages 12-13) were observed. The teaching process was videotaped and reviewed. Afterwards the teacher and a group of students were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview to solicit their ideas towards good practice of music teaching. Findings reveal that the good practices observed were attributed to four factors: 1) teacher’s personality, 2) teacher’s pedagogy, 3) teacher’s musical competence, and 4) teacher’s philosophy of teaching.

A brief narrative description of the journal article, document, or resource. First-hand experiences in learning art are very important. In Hong Kong secondary art, teachers must follow the syllabus and examination schedule suggested by the Education Department. Thus, these teachers cannot undertake art projects because they are locked into the structure of the syllabus and the limits of the timetable. This paper investigates two artist-in-residence projects implemented in Hong Kong. One project is an artist based in a secondary school and the other is an artist based in the studio. The paper finds that the students had greater exposure to various artforms and developed new ideas to make their work more creative. The art teachers participated in different activities and gained new ideas and stimulation for teaching. The paper concludes that, through their participation in teaching and exhibitions, the artists made successful contributions to schools and the community.

The purpose of the study was to describe the teaching behaviours of Hong Kong physical education student teachers. Thirty-two local pre-service and in-service student teachers were videotaped teaching two lessons in their own schools or in the allocated school during their final practicum. Each videotaped lesson was coded using the Physical Education Teacher Assessment Instrument (PETAI). Data generated by the PETAI were entered into a SPSS programme to produce further statistical analysis. The results were comprehensive described and comparison were made between the in-service and pre-service student teachers' behaviour categories by employing the independent t-test. Results indicated that the in-service student teachers had significantly higher percentages of the response presentation and the total teacher instructional time than the pre-service group. Whilst the pre-service student teachers spent significantly more time in planned presentation, equipment management, organization, behaviour management and overall management time than the in-service group. It is likely the different experience in physical education lesson teaching in school environment of the groups give account for the differences of their teaching behaviours. Findings of the present study implied that there were different teaching behaviour patterns and needs of pre-service and in-service student teachers during their practicum.
[Copyright © 2000 Department of Physical Education, Hong Kong Baptist University.]

Following the education reform in 2001, the Education Bureau (EDB) in Hong Kong initiated a review of early childhood education (ECE) in 2006. The main focus of this review is the quality assurance mechanism for ECE, including the training of teachers, teaching quality, the potential pressures on teachers to upgrade their qualifications etc. This review is supported by the Chief Executive’s Policy Address (2006), which outlines concrete ways to achieve the targeted goals. This paper compares the provision of music training at four major ECE professional teacher-training institutions and examines the perspectives of in-service teachers, principals and early childhood education lecturers on the music training of ECE teachers. Using focus group interviews and survey, in-service ECE teachers expressed their general satisfaction with their pre-service training in music teaching. However, they did not feel prepared and confident enough to teach music in their schools compared to other subjects. They suggested aspects of pre-service training which would have better prepared teachers to teach music and identified three areas of professional development needs of ECE teachers in music teaching. A practical framework of professional development is also presented.
[Copyright © 2007 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]

The incorporation of information and communications technology (ICT) in education is increasingly recognised as a priority for schools in Hong Kong. Teachers are now expected to undertake formal training to ensure they are proficient in the use of ICT and are able to use it effectively within the classroom setting. This colloquium highlights the important role played by school leaders in ensuring the successful transition of schools within the ‘information age’. It is argued that principals need to inspire, encourage and support teachers to meet the challenges that lie ahead. The colloquium reports on a case study of a pre-school leader’s practices in the use of ICT. The study investigates the strategies the principal used to promote the use of ICT in the pre-school and her influence on ICT use in the kindergarten.
[Copyright © 2002 Symposium Journals Ltd.]

Young children learn a great deal as they move about, explore, experience and interact with the world. Movement is seen as contributing to the total development of young children in preschools. It is an integral part in early childhood curriculum. The aims of this paper are threefold. It firstly examines the constraints of developing early childhood physical education (ECPE) curriculum in Hong Kong. Secondly, it advances a new curriculum approach in ECPE for enhancing whole-child development in early childhood settings in Hong Kong. The key elements of this approach are Creativity, Integration, Fundamental Movement Skills, and Movement Education Concepts. Thirdly, it investigates the effectiveness of the effectiveness of the new approach as implemented in a Hong Kong preschool. The findings of the study have supported that the approach as implemented in a Hong Kong preschool. The findings of the study have supported that the approach is appropriate for ECPE curriculum reform in Hong Kong.
[Copyright © 2008 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]