The current study was based on the Integrated Field Studies (IFS) course of an in-service Bachelor programme in early childhood education in Hong Kong. This qualitative study aims to examine how the supervisors and their students could work together through their experience of teaching and learning in the IFS course to facilitate the professional growth of each other. Data was collected through interviews and course documents. The findings showed that the IFS course was characterized by four features: 1) the focus on individual student’s area of interest for investigation; 2) students being perceived as active learners; 3) an opportunity for a continual and practical research experience; and 4) the provision of an interactive learning environment.

This paper begins with an account of the various measures for promoting the professional development of teachers and principals as the complementary strategy of the Hong Kong government when it introduced a new accountability framework in 2003. Then, drawing on the evidence derived from a landmark study in Hong Kong secondary schools that looked into the impact of principal leadership on student outcomes using both cognitive and affective data, this paper presents part of the findings that showed how principals also tend to emphasise the professional development of teachers and key staff as a way to strengthen alignment within the school and between school and government policies. Specifically, this leadership dimension was most highly correlated with the dependable variable, the school condition Alignment, Coherence and Structure. Using hierarchical multiple regression, this leadership dimension was also found contributed to about 20% of the variance. This paper further seeks for evidence in interviews with principals and their key staff to explore the significance of professional development in schools demonstrated continuous significant school improvement. Teachers reported that their principals could succeed to align school policies with the contextual demands imposed on the schools, such as medium of instruction policy and the New Curriculum Structure by setting goals for teaching and learning. While these principals could enhance teachers' aspirations and translate meanings for their work, teachers' achievements in administration and teaching further strengthened their confidence and reinforced their participations. Many current key staff teachers who took up new, and more, duties were not necessary those teachers who were previously responsible for more formal roles such as vice principals. Many effective principals reported that they led their staff to meet strategic goals in an accountability context by mentoring and training and development. This builds up

Recently, the school and co-operating teachers have an increasingly important role, by offering stronger support during the teaching practice. Being congruent with similar developments in teacher education programmes in other countries, this development in Hong Kong is strengthened by research studies examining the process of learning to teach. By arguing that the process of learning to teach can be examined from a personal constructivist view of learning, this paper examines the experience from the student-teachers' perspective. The finding reports on the problems perceived by the student-teachers during the student teaching practice and the support provided by the co-operating teachers. The problems encountered and the support obtained were compared and contrasted to reveal the possible roles of the co-operating teachers. The process of learning to teach is extended from a personal view to include support from the social milieu. This paper proposes to consider the process from a social constructivist view of learning. Drawing on the findings, it concludes with implications on how the school and the teacher education institute can collaborate and support the student-teachers from a social constructivist view of learning.
[Copyright © Nanyang Technological University & National Institute of Education.]

In this paper, qualitative results of a case study about the professional knowledge in the area of argumentation and proof of future teachers from universities in three countries are described. Based on results of open questionnaires, data about the competencies these future teachers have in the areas of mathematical knowledge and knowledge of mathematics pedagogy are presented. The study shows that the majority of the future teachers at the participating universities situated in Germany, Hong Kong and Australia, were not able to execute formal proofs, requiring only lower secondary mathematical content, in an adequate and mathematically correct way. In contrast, in all samples there was evidence of at least average competencies of pedagogical content reflection about formal and pre-formal proving in mathematics teaching. However, it appears that possessing a mathematical background as mandated for teaching and having a high affinity with proving in mathematics teaching at the lower secondary level are not a sufficient preparation for teaching proof.
[Copyright © FIZ Karlsruhe 2008.]

This paper aims to validate a theoretical model for developing teacher collective learning by using a quasi-experimental design, and explores the management strategies that would provide a school administrator practical steps to effectively promote collective learning in the school organization. Twenty aided secondary schools in Hong Kong were selected by cluster sampling, and 777 teachers took part in the questionnaire survey. A structural equation model was applied to identify the interrelationship of the 5 disciplines of Senge’s (1990) learning organization model. Results showed that personal mastery and systems thinking are individual and collective level predictors respectively for teacher collective learning. Building a mental model and shared vision in a sequential order predict systems thinking. Management strategies in cultural, policy and leadership domains are recommended to school administrators who wish to promote teacher collective learning as a means of coping with the changes generated by the curriculum reform in Hong Kong.
[Copyright © 2011 David Publishing Company,USA. The journal web site is located at http://www.teacher.org.cn/]

Noting that there are few studies conducted in Hong Kong to clarify the critical issues of the teaching of science process skills at the primary schooling level, the author made an effort to investigate primary teachers’ perceptions concerning the teaching of the skills. A total of 159 General Studies (GS) teachers in 30 primary schools responded to a questionnaire survey. The analysis shows that, first, 68.6% of GS teachers had not studied science at the matriculation level and in post-secondary courses, with many of them had had studied science merely up to F.3 level. Second, secondary science education is a crucial training in building up primary teachers’ self-perceived ability in teaching science process skills. And third, the teachers themselves were deficient in such high-level science process skills as inferring, predicting, formulating hypotheses, and investigating. Implications are discussed.
[Copyright © 2002 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]