In the current curriculum reform of Hong Kong, the Curriculum Development Council (2002) recommends that teachers make use of co-operative learning to cater for their students' individual differences. A common feature of co-operative learning is that students help each other to learn in small groups towards a common goal (Cohen, 1994; Johnson & Johnson, 1999). For such kind of co-operative learning, the success of members of a group is interdependent to one another (Kagan, 1994; Slavin, 1995). The concept of co-operative learning is radically different from competitive learning in which a student's success builds on the failure of others. This paper aims to investigate the factors influencing teachers when they consider using co-operative learning in their classrooms. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of teachers (n = 179) from five primary schools conveniently chosen. Descriptive statistical analysis as well as factor analysis was performed on the data collected. The results suggested that the respondents agreed, to different extent, to all the twenty items of constraints as listed in the questionnaire. Four categories of factors that influenced teachers' decision to use co-operative learning were extracted. They represented the school and system levels, teachers' conceptions of teaching, pupils' ability and discipline, and classroom level. The study concluded that, in view of the various constraints, it would be difficult for teachers to implement co-operative learning to meet the curriculum re-structuring. Based on the findings, some recommendations were made.

The quality of the classroom teachers is a very significant determinant of the quality of an educational programme. One important indicator of a quality teacher is that he or she has high job satisfaction and hence is motivated. The education community needs to be knowledgeable and concerned about the factors in a teachers work environment which may enhance his or her feeling of job satisfaction. Considerable studies on teacher job satisfaction have been undertaken. However, surprisingly few inquiries have been done on the specific case of job satisfaction of kindergarten teachers. In Hong Kong this dearth of research on job satisfaction of kindergarten teachers is especially noticeable. However, in recent years, the quality of kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong is being addressed. The main concern of the study is on finding out the level of job satisfaction of kindergarten teachers. Also to identify the factors affecting the satisfaction and dissatisfaction of the target group will help to prepare and retain the motivated teaching force for the young children in Hong Kong. To investigate the job satisfaction of kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong in sufficient detail, qualitative research was used. Four informants were chosen to provide information for the study. These informants were selected on the basis that they had different length of working experience in the field. Three of them had worked in both profit-making as well as non profit-making kindergartens. The fourth one was a new teacher. Each of the informants was interviewed by the researcher separately. They were asked to describe how they feel about their teaching job. Then, they were asked to elaborate on factors that contribute to their satisfaction or otherwise. Contents of the interviews were analyzed.

Traditionally, Hong Kong teachers are trained and performed as subject teachers in the secondary schools. The present study aimed to explore teachers' beliefs about curriculum integration in a secondary school in Hong Kong. Curriculum integration in this particular school meant the fusion of three subjects, i.e. Geography, History and Economic and Public Affairs. Case study was adopted in this study. The unit of analysis was the individual teacher. Multiple methods were used, i.e. documentary evidence, interview and observation. Triangulation of data was ensured. It was found that the teachers generally perceived curriculum integration as a means to solve the problems of the crammed curriculum. Individual teachers' beliefs about integration varied according to their different profiles of professional development. Teachers' implementation was found in accordance with their beliefs. Discussions of the case were in three dimensions, i.e. the influence of school context on teachers' beliefs, the influence of teachers' personal judgments derived from past experiences and the dialectical relationship between teachers' working context and their personal judgments. The results of the study shed light on the literature of teacher development in the upheaval of curriculum innovation. For the policy makers, it is important for them to be aware of teachers' beliefs, which, as the results of the teachers' professional development, were significant factors to the access of curriculum innovation. For the teachers, it is important to help them to be aware of their own beliefs and their respective impact on educational practice.

The beliefs of a teacher may serve as the lens that affects his or her perception and interpretation of classroom experience in the world of teaching. Prior to becoming a trained teacher, students in pre-service and in-service early childhood teacher education programmes would have acquired certain beliefs about teaching young children, about children and how they learn, and about the goals and values of educating young children through “apprenticeship of teaching” in their experience of schooling, family and community life. In recent years, teacher educators who are concerned about reforming teacher education in Hong Kong have increasingly taken an interest in studying the impact of teacher education on teacher beliefs of pre-service and in-service teachers, as change in teacher beliefs is a crucial element in teacher development. In a series of related studies that we carried out either individually or as a team in the past years, we had access to teacher beliefs held by pre-service teachers at the time they joined a fulltime kindergarten teacher education programme, progressed through the programme, and in the first year of their teaching career as kindergarten teachers. We had access to teacher beliefs of in-service teachers before, during, and after going through teacher education. Studying the changes in teacher beliefs before, during, and after receiving teacher education will shed light on the impact of pre-service as opposed to in-service teacher education programmes in Hong Kong. For the purpose of gauging changes in teacher belief during and after receiving teacher education, we benchmarked teacher beliefs of kindergarten teachers at four points in the teacher development process: novice teacher, teacher-in-training, trained but inexperienced teachers, as well as trained and experienced teachers. Data were collected by individual interviews, focused group interviews, stimulated recall of classroom experience, and classroom observation and debriefing. As change

Perception involves the discovery, detection, impression, interpretation and comprehension of a particular event and is a kind of human mental activities. Lots of research investigate this psychological phenomenon by exploring the teachers' thinking processes and ways of construing their perception (Eibaz, 1981; Morine- Dershimer, 1009; Schon, 1983. As reflective practitioners, teachers develop schemata on how to teach or make decision effectively in their classroom teaching. They form judgments about their students' academic performance and classroom behaviors, and evaluate them to see if they are acceptable or unacceptable, typical or atypical, normal or deviant. These judgments become the basis of their decisions which lead to the subsequent responses or behavioral patterns. The ability of perceiving the nature and severity of classroom problems and making judgments is unique and crucial in the process of early identification. The schemata they use help them to identify the learning, emotional or conduct cause of a particular behavioral problem. However, teachers from different backgrounds (primary, secondary, special education, remedial teaching, pre-service or inservice teachers) will have a perceptual difference on behavioral problems. A survey investigating the teachers' perception of children with behavioral problems was conducted on 568 school teachers in Hong Kong. Teachers of different backgrounds were presented with the descriptions of some typical behavioral problems and they had to judge the learning, emotion or conduct cause of the cases. This study attempted to explore how well the teachers with distinct school backgrounds perceived the presented cases. The result revealed that most teachers perceived more learning problems but fewer conduct problems in the cases. The teachers found to be sensible to the learning and emotion causes of their children . Different groups of teachers held divergent views on perceiving the cases. More secondary and student