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

This paper explores the autobiographical narratives of a cross-cultural life as a way of studying and understanding teacher’s identity and knowledge development. Crossing cultures and identities, the paper explores how experience is central to informing and shaping teacher knowledge. The experiences from the autobiographical narratives take place in the United States, China, and Hong Kong and move back and forth between East and West over a span of three generations. Positioned within an educational and curricular context, the research study explores the complexities of cross-cultural lives and their place in the curriculum. The inquiry explores what it means to live cross-cultural lives and how our personal experiential histories are integral to understanding an evolving and contested teacher knowledge.

This paper reports the implementation of a project designed to involve in service teachers in peer support for the learning of the core values of personal and social education so as to raise self-esteem, to enhance co-operation, to promote rationality and empathy. Project participants were 27 in-service teachers attending an undergraduate program of the Hong Kong Institute of Education. Project evaluation reveals that the project succeeded in generating for the teacher participants emotional, academic, social, technical, and extended supports, and that the benefits of the project also spilled over to their relationships with their primary school pupils and daily lives. Research and practical implications are discussed.
[Copyright © 2003 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]

This paper is concerned with a qualitative study of how three pre-service physical education teachers who were comparatively less skilful in sports, socialised professionally in their first field experience. It was a part of the two-year study project investigating the occupational scoialisation of pre-service physical education teachers in the Hong Kong Institute of Education. With the interpretive paradigm as the conceptual framework, data concerning the professional conceptions, socialising strategies and perceptions on their socialising agents during their first field experience were collected through interviewing and writing of reflective journals. The findings demonstrated a particular socialisation process of this type of recruits. Interestingly, they were found shaping their early belief from "being liked by the pupils" to "being proficient in sports skills and instructional competence" as important requirements for PE teaching after the first field experience. The wash out effect of the field experience on the physical education teacher programme was particular significant on them. The findings provide information about how a particular group of recruits socialised professionally in their first field experience. In return, such implications can be facilitated positively in teacher education.
[Copyright © 2002 Department of Physical Education, Hong Kong Baptist University.]

This paper describes the experience of a teacher educator in fostering teacher development in a reading project in Hong Kong. The teacher educator is interested in finding out the perceptions of teachers in the project and the factors affecting their perceptions and thus participation in the project. Teachers were interviewed and their lessons observed. A study of documents gave background information of the school. The interactions with the teachers in school functions, lesson observation, discussions and workshops recorded in the researcher’s diary had led to holistic interpretation of the teachers’ participation in the project. It is argued that the teacher’s sense of identity, value and moral purposed play an important but often neglected role in their involvement in an innovation.
[Copyright © 2004 International Society for Teacher Education.]

A qualitative research approach which was used to gather data on teachers’ perspectives on Information Technology in Education (ITEd). Data, drawn from three primary schools in Hong Kong uncovered four major themes. First, the definition of ITEd was inconsistent among schools. Secondly, most teachers were concerned about whether or not students could be motivated to learn by using IT. They viewed knowledge enhancement as the main objective when IT was incorporated into their teaching. Thirdly, ITEd was viewed only as one of the events in the movement for education reform in schools. Successful implementation was mainly determined by the perception of principals and veteran teachers. Fourthly, schools used information technology mainly for school administrative purposes in the early stage of the development of ITEd. This study reveals that insufficient consideration was given to the use of information technology for interactive and communicative learning in our case study schools.
[Copyright © 2007 James Nicholas Publishers.]