Language textbooks are written to help students develop language proficiency as well as have a better understanding of the culture of the target group. English instructional materials are usually arranged in the form of linguistic structures and communicative functions, with culture being presented through how native people eat, play, work, dress and live. According to Pfister and Borzilleri (1977), five major cultural themes can be distinguished in foreign language textbooks: the social sphere, family unit and the personal sphere, religion and the arts, political systems and institutions, and the environment sphere. On the other hand, Cortazzi and Jin (1999) suggested another three categories to evaluate English language textbooks: the source culture (the learner’s native culture), the target culture (British or American culture), and the international target culture (other English and non-English speaking cultures). In the present study, a series of popular English language textbooks for primary students, recommended by the Education Bureau in Hong Kong, was compared with the authorized English language textbooks used in mainland China. The aim was to examine how culture is presented in the two regions so as to heighten students’ awareness of being Chinese citizens in a global community and foster international understanding. The research findings could also raise the consciousness of textbook writers and publishers on the need to remove biases in textbooks, and to promote a multicultural environment in the classroom. Copyright © 2018 ACLL.

Considerable attention has been paid to the concept of ‘leading for learning’ (Goker, 2006), but little attention has been paid to the teaching and learning of civics in schools, and to how these might be facilitated by school principals (Xu and Law, 2015). This study adopted a qualitative approach to examine how principals can create civics-based teaching environments, and how these may influence teachers in their roles as “civic educators”. The results showed that the complex historical-cultural and socio-political contexts of Hong Kong have influenced school leadership when it comes to teaching civics, and the researcher has highlighted three main patterns of school leadership needed for civics teaching. When school leadership lacked a clear vision of citizenship education (pattern 1), most teachers were compliant and avoided discussing sensitive political topics with their students. When school leadership mediated the diverse needs of students and balanced the different expectations of school stakeholders (pattern 2), there were both compliant and critical teachers. When school leadership had a clear vision of the school‘s civic mission (pattern 3), the results differed across schools. These findings implied that principals have to significantly shift their understanding of the purposes of citizenship education and of their own roles, in order to provide greater autonomy for teachers. Copyright © 2018 APNME.

戲劇教育自1980到1990年代輸入臺灣和香港的幼兒教育，作為一個課程改革的方法，過去多數研究集中在教學的實踐，很少以社會文化對照的角度分析這個來自西方的教育模式在地化過程。本文以「全球在地化」的理論，運用視像人種誌的研究方法，透過臺港兩地教學案例，探索與描述兩地幼兒機構進行戲劇教育全球在地化的實踐。研究結果發現，在戲劇教育模式、課程定位及教學方法等面向，臺灣具有調和、主軸及兒童本位的特點，而香港則是單一、邊陲與劇藝的特性。究其因多半和社會文化背景、教育體制、教師培訓和戲劇教育推動方式等方面的差異有關。另外，兩地戲劇教育研究員也從對話中找到可互相參考的全球在地化策略，做為未來亞洲國家發展戲劇教育在地化的借鏡。As a pedagogy for curriculum innovation, drama education was introduced to Taiwan and Hong Kong early childhood education in the period between 1980 and 1990. Previous studies have mostly focused on the use of drama education, but rarely looked into the localization of this western teaching mode from a socio-cultural perspective. Based on the theories of glocalization, this paper examined lesson samples from Taiwan and Hong Kong by visual ethnography to explore and describe the processes and modes of glocalization of drama education in the two regions. The results showed that with respect to the drama education approaches, curriculum positions and teaching methods, Taiwan implements drama education with a mixture of various approaches and views it as a child-centered, core practice, while Hong Kong uses it in a relatively homogeneous, peripheral and theatrical manner. This discrepancy mostly resulted from different colonization backgrounds, education policies, teacher trainings and ways of promoting drama education. In addition, through dialogues the researchers of drama education from these two regions have made reference to each other's strategies of glocalizing drama education, with which they may provide suggestions for the attempt to localize drama education in other Asian countries. Copyright © 2018 中華民國課程與教學學會.

Background: Teachers' subjective well-being (SWB) has received much attention, in the light of the major increase in sick leave as well as job quitting among teachers across different cultures and countries. Studies on SWB of kindergarten teachers are still scarce, since most of the academic literature is focused on teachers of primary and secondary schools.Aims: The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare kindergarten teachers' SWB in Hong Kong and Italy.Methods: 367 Hong Kong and 243 Italian kindergarten teachers completed a self-report questionnaire containing: the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the General Health Questionnaires-12 (GHQ-12). The questionnaire collected also socio-demographics data.Results: Hierarchical regression analysis showed that country belonging plays the strongest predictive role on self-esteem and mental health. Moreover, the independent t-test showed higher levels of job satisfaction among Italian teachers, while Hong Kong teachers were more satisfied in pay and promotion, but less in supervision, operating condition, co-worker relationship, nature of work, and communication.Conclusion: Results are interpreted in the light of the differences between the two contexts considered, in terms of cultural values and educational systems. Copyright © 2018 Benevene, Wong, Fiorilli and De Stasio.

The human development (HD) model for religious education (RE) emphasises how students benefit from studying religion. However, detailed teaching practices for ‘learning from religion’ are not fully understood. In this article, lesson observations, school documents and interview data were collected from two Christian primary schools in Hong Kong (HK) . Two lessons were analysed as paradigmatic examples of the teaching for student development in RE lessons. This study found that the teachers helped their students engage in religion by giving them opportunities to associate religion with their lives through religious and moral-related contents. The use of daily life and religious experiences with discussions was the pedagogical approach for moving RE from just ‘the teaching of religion’. Moreover, various opportunities for student reflections to enhance personal and moral development were observed. Future studies should consider examining the theory of the adopted model and its classroom practice, which can aid understanding regarding the role of RE for student development and its global identity. Copyright © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This paper reports the findings of a case study that attempted to identify school-related factors influencing the quality of implementation of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong. The case study method was utilized to investigate perceptions of the program implementers of program effectiveness, and to identify the crucial factors for program success in a school with a religious background that admits students with high academic achievement. Findings demonstrated that incorporation of the program into the formal curriculum, good administrative support, efficient management from school, and presence of dedicated teachers contributed to program success. The present findings provide insight for the implementation of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in schools with a religious background. Copyright © 2011 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston.

香港自二零一二年起實施三三四新高中課程政策。然而,政府、政策研究者、學者等仍未對有特殊學習需要(SEN)高中生的學習情況,以及其畢業後的出路安排有足夠關注。本研究以小組訪談形式,收集了SEN高中生的家長對其SEN子女高中後轉銜的看法,包括對子女畢業出路的展望與態度、對現有政府支援體系的瞭解與評價,以及對於SEN學生高中後轉銜與支援服務的建議。小組訪談數據顯示,SEN學生家長均表示孩子高中後最理想出路是繼續升學,沒有升學機會時,才選擇工作。同時,他們主要擔心子女成績遜色,而在現今無論是升學或就業都講求高成績的社會中,其子女未能保持競爭力。另外,他們對於學校、政府和非政府機構等所提供的支援知之甚少,並且對社會支援,尤其是來自政府的支援非常不滿。此外,家長一致認為學校應負責SEN學生高中後的轉銜,並希望學校、政府或非政府機構所提供的資源能更多地考慮到SEN學生的個別特殊需要。最後,文末深入分析是次研究的重要性、局限及意義。 Since 2012, Hong Kong has implemented the New Senior Secondary (NSS) academic structure and curriculum. However, Hong Kong Government, policy makers and researchers have paid little attention to the educational situation and the career paths of the students with special educational needs (SEN) under the new curriculum. Thus, the current study was carried out, aiming to investigate parents’ opinions on their children’s post-secondary school transition. According to the results of focus group interviews, almost all parents of SEN students revealed that the most preferable career pathway was further study after their children graduated from senior secondary schools. Only when no study opportunities available would they consider job applications for their SEN children after they graduated. However, it should also be noted that a major concern of parents of SEN students was their children’s unsatisfactory academic achievement which could weaken their competitiveness, no matter whether they choose to work or further study as their post-school outcomes. In addition, the results indicated that these parents had little knowledge of current support services provided by schools, NGOs, and Hong Kong Government. Concerning current support services, they were particularly dissatisfied with those from the government. Noteworthy, parents all agreed that schools should be responsible for the post-school transition of SEN students. They also hope that schools, NGOs, and the government could take SEN students’ special needs into full consideration when these important stakeholders

明愛特殊教育服務於2005年成立「個別化教育計劃」聯校工作小組,旨在探討服務轄下六所特殊學校執行「個別化教育計劃」的實況,從而確立執行「個別化教育計劃」的基本原則。工作小組經歷近兩年的培訓、研習及互訪討論,並探討台灣方面的實踐現況。經多番討論後取得結論,認為香港的特殊教育服務在「個別化教育計劃」的整體定義及執行上仍未有一致的共識;然而,六所特殊學校實踐中卻確定了執行「個別化教育計劃」的十二項基本原則,包括:學生為本、課程為本、基線評估、學習目標選取、個案管理、團隊協作、課堂教學、進度匯報、學生學習歷程檔案、家長參與、檢討及跟進、轉銜處理及教師專業發展,值得工作小組作出深入探討,並將討論內容撮成摘要,以供明愛特殊教育服務同工參考。Caritas Special Education Service formed a Joint Working Group in 2005 to explore the practices of its 6 special schools in delivering Individualised Education Programmes (IEP) and to establish the basic elements in executing IEP. After almost 2 years of in-depth deliberation including staff training, professional consultation, inter-school visits and study of IEP implementation in Taiwan, the Joint Working Group came to a conclusion that there were great variations on the interpretation of the definitions and practices on IEP implementation in Hong Kong. The Joint Working Group isolated 12 basic common elements in executing IEP. They are student-centered approach, curriculum-based approach, baseline assessment, learning targets selection, case management, intra-disciplinary collaboration, classroom teaching, progress report, student portfolio, parental participation, evaluation and follow-up, transitional preparation and teacher professional development. The discussions of the Joint Working Group were summarized and documented for reference by colleagues under Caritas Special Education Service.
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香港最近經歷「3加3加4」的學制更改。這當中，有特殊教育需要的學生，他們應如何享有最合適與具成效的教育安排?本文介紹美國與台灣的相關學制與實行方式，提供香港政策者與教職同工、以及持份者(例如︰家長)參考，和藉此機會擴大討論，共同研商提昇相關服務的質素。 The Hong Kong academic structure has been restructured into a "3 plus 3 plus 4" system. Among practitioners in the local special education community, there has been extensive expression of concerns, preferences, and suggestions for improvement. What would be the best arrangements and practices for learners with special education needs (SEN)? This article tries to share experiences in the United States and Taiwan, for further discussion on better achievement and higher quality of service delivery, as well as best fulfillment of new senior secondary (NSS) and postsecondary students' critical educational and rehabilitation needs.
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