Promoting home-school relations is one of the aims of education reforms in Hong Kong. This paper contains research data collected through qualitative methods aiming at capturing the thoughts and perceptions of twelve parents in three primary schools in Hong Kong so as to explore whether they are psychologically prepared for being involved in their children's education. Findings indicate that parents demonstrated low degree of cognitive and affective readiness for participating in school. To promote parent-school collaboration, it is important to consider the influence of Chinese culture on parent involvement. The paper also serves to provide scholars with academic insights for further investigation and policy makers with practical knowledge in developing appropriate strategies to promote homeschool relations.
促進家庭與學校的關係是香港教育改革的其中一項目的，鼓勵家長參與學校教育更可提升家校合作。本文引用定質研究方法去探討家長十二位家長是否有心理準備去參與他們子女的教育；研究結果顯示家長在認知和情感上有不足的準備。在建立策略去促進家校關係的同時，我們須考慮中國文化對家長參與的影響。
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]

The present study is unique in being one of the few conducted with the teacher trainees in Hong Kong to gather and analyze relevant data related to environmental education. In this regards, this study aims to investigate (i) the environmental worldviews, (ii) the environmental dispositions, (iii) the perception on the urgency of major local and global issues, (iv) perception towards various environmental protection issues, (v) various aspects of green behavior, (vi) environmental knowledge and (vii) the related academic background, of the teacher trainees of the Hong Kong Institute of Education. The research method adopted is basically quantitative, in which a set of questionnaire serves as the measuring instrument to access the teacher trainees' environmental attitudes, behavior and knowledge. These findings will provide useful information for curriculum development purposes such as developing relevant and appropriate teaching content, strategies and methods for new and existing environmentally related modules.
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]

This paper reports some preliminary findings of a needs assessment exercise conducted by the Hong Kong Institute of Education for thirteen Hong Kong primary schools towards the end of the British rule. The thirteen schools are members of a school-institute collaborative project and the needs assessment results are used as the basis for follow-up development programmes. The findings indicate that there are challenges faced by schools and that school heads and teachers perceive diverse and common needs for school development. This study provides empirical evidence for school-institute collaboration in school development and research activities.
本文報導在香港回歸前一份有關十三所小學發展需求的初步分析報告。該十三所學校屬教院「院校合作計劃」成員，調查由香港教育學院請師主持，而調查的目的，在方便成員學校作個別學校發展的根據。調查發現：個別學校固然面對不同的發展需要，而校長和老師，對學校發展的看法，亦有差異。調查也顯示了教院和學校在學校發展和學術研究方面合作的可能性。
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]

In the process of Hong Kong's political transition to the Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, various political forces have been generating impact on the curriculum changes. This paper aims to use the secondary History subject as a case study to demonstrate the implications and complications of curriculum changes in addition to analysing how politics and curriculum interact in the dialectical web of localism, nationalism and globalism. It is expected that it will shed light on the role played by History curriculum in helping pupils to develop local identity in national context while cultivating a sense of global citizenship.
在香港的政治過渡為中華人民共和國特別行政區的過程中，不同政治力量一直對課程的轉變產生影響。本文以中學歷史科為個案，展示課程轉變的含義與複雜性，並分析政治與課程如何在一個地方主義、國家主義和全球主義的辯証關係網絡中產生互相作用。作者期望本文能闡釋歷史課程如何能幫助學生在國家體系中發展本地身份認同而又同時培養世界公民的意識。
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]

Hong Kong classrooms are populated by a significant number of culturally diverse students, most predominantly newly arrived students (NAS) from Mainland China. These NAS come to school with the same hopes and aspirations as their Hong Kong counterparts and with a wide range of abilities. The huge diversity presents demands on today's Hong Kong teachers. Too often, the NAS are failed by the educational system because their perceived needs are not being addressed. This essay serves as an exploratory study on teachers' pedagogical effectiveness in response to the challenges of educating the NAS in Hong Kong schools. It draws special reference to the lessons learned from a one-year professional teacher support pilot project for the education of the NAS. Implications are drawn to provide support for the need and value of the integration of the cultural relevant elements in continuous teacher education programmes.
香港學校收納了不少文化多元的學生，他們多是內地新來港的學生。他們擁有不同的能力，然而，他們跟香港本土學生一樣對學校抱有相同的夢想與素求。他們本身的多元性為今日的香港老師帶來了不少的要求。很多時，他們的學業失敗是因為本港教育制度不能照顧他們的學習需要而致。本文是一個為期一年的探索式先導計畫，研究專注於香港老師回應新來港學生教育的挑戰的教學效能。由香港優質教育基金贊助，名為「新來港學童教育專業支援計畫」。本文總結先導計畫成果，並把所得的啟示作為支持在教師持續教育課程中加入文化適切元素的需要和價值。
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]

In early childhood education (ECE), curriculum encompasses prevailing theories, approaches and models. Curriculum is planned appropriately based on the knowledge of theory and research about how children develop and learn, with special attention given to individual children's needs and interests in relation to program goals. In this paper, focusing on ECE, I discuss the underlying rationale, principles and meaning of developmentally appropriate curriculum (DAC) as developed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) in the United States in 1987. Drawing from relevant literature, I discuss issues of relevance, and application related to DAC with specific reference to ECE experience in Hong Kong.
幼兒教育課程包括了不少流行的理論、方法與模式。適切的課程是基於幼兒理論、研究與設計，而課程目標能照顧兒童的身心發展、學習、個別需要和興趣。本文旨在探討由國際幼兒教育協會(NAEYC)所倡議的發展適切幼兒課程之理念、原則和意義。作者探用相關文獻資料，引用香港之事地實例來討論發展適切課程的相關和應用。
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]

Emotional Intelligence has been a hot topic for both parents and educators in Hong Kong in recent years. Conceptually, emotional intelligence should be related to students' life satisfaction, positive attitudes towards life, and the attainment of various education goals. However, despite its growing popularity, there is relatively little empirical evidence showing these relationships. The purpose of the present study is to provide some empirical evidence to examine these effects in Hong Kong. A group of 30 university students helped generate emotional intelligence items and 20 of these items were selected empirically from the responses of another 100 university students. Then a sample of 225 six formers completed a questionnaire which measured their perceived emotional intelligence, life satisfaction, and powerlessness in their lives. Their form masters evaluated their performance in moral and social development. Attainment in intellectual education of these students was estimated by their HKCEE results. As expected, results indicated that emotional intelligence is positively related to life satisfaction, and performance in moral, social and intellectual development. It is also negatively related to powerlessness in life. Limitations for this study and implications for future emotional intelligence research are discussed.
近年情緒智商成為香港的家長和教育工作者的熱門話題，理論上，學生的情緒智商應與其生活滿足感、正面的生活態度及不同的教育目標有關，但有關的實微証據則不多，本研究的目的是在香港探索這幾個概念的關係，我們先以三十名大學生提供情緒智商的測量項目，然後以一百名大學生的資料選取其中最佳的二十項，接著我們請225 名預科生回答問卷，而他們的班主任則評估他們在德育和群育的表現，智育表現則以他們中學會考成績為指標，結果証明情緒智商與生活滿足感、生活態度、德、群和智育有關。最後，我們討論了本研究的限制及未來研究的方向。
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]

In the past three decades, the Hong Kong primary Social Studies curriculum experienced several changes. Since each phase of development has been influenced by various internal and external factors, the curriculum itself could naturally reflect the social physiognomy and spirit of the time. By utilizing the methodology of documentary analyses, this paper aims to analyse the changing features and meanings of the Hong Kong primary Social Studies curriculum at each developmental phase from 1967 to 1997. It is hoped that the paper will shed light on how the Social Studies curriculum has responded to and reflected the contextual changes of different times.
三十多年來，香港的小學社會科課程經歷了數次的轉變。由於每一次的轉變都受各種內在及外在因素所影響，故課程本身亦反映不同時代的面貌及精神。本文以文獻分析的方法，探討小學社會科課程在一九六七至一九九七年期間不同發展階段的特色和意義，並展示它如何配合及反映不同時代的環境轉變。
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]

The objectives of this study were to examine (i) behavioral differences in popularand unpopular children; (ii) the ability of kindergarten teachers to identify children with peer interaction difficulties; and (iii) strategies teachers use to guide appropriate social behaviour in the kindergarten classroom. Forty-eight 4-5 year-olds completed sociometric interview. Eight children including two Popular, two Rejected, two Average and two Controversial were observed during free play. Popular children had good social skills; they were able to initiate and maintain peer contact, communicated clearly and were co-operative. On the other hand, Rejected children were more physically and verbally aggressive with peers and showed low levels of co-operative behaviour. Teachers had some difficulties to identify the social status of children in their class, suggesting that they placed more emphasis on academic development than social development. They did not typically interact with children during free play. However, they occasionally tried to enhance the cognitive complexity of children's play. The implication of these findings for teacher-training are discussed.
本文旨在探究i)幼稚園內受歡迎與被拒絕的兒童之行為差異; ii)幼稚園老師對於辨別兒童與兒童之間難於彼此互動的能力; 及iii)老師在課室引導兒童適當社交行為的策略。 48 位四至五歲的兒童獲邀完成了面談, 而其中8 位兒童被選為觀察對象: 包括了2 位受歡迎的兒童、2 位被拒絕的兒童、 2 位表現平均的兒童和2 位表現較爭議性的兒童。受歡迎的兒童有良好的社交技巧, 他/她們能展開和維持與同伴的接觸、具清楚的溝通能力和表現合作的行為。相反地, 被拒絕的兒童愛用言語和身體攻擊同伴,並有不合作的行為表現。教師對於辨別兒童在課室內之社會地位表示有些困難, 因教師們較著重兒童學術發展多於社交發展。兒童在自由活動的時段內, 教師沒有與兒童互動,但她們也偶然地嘗試提升兒童遊戲的複雜認知能力。有關教師培訓會從結果中顯示出來。
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]

This paper will consider the use of English medium textbooks in bilingual situations and will briefly present the results of a survey of 24 schools in Hong Kong. Language and textual constraints may both inhibit the efficient reading of content subject textbooks in school. It will be argued that textbooks are "inconsiderate" in not making rhetorical (top-down) structures clear and that this is a neglected cause of student difficulty. Practical examples for making books more "considerate" will be offered.
本論文探討在雙語環境中英文教科書的使用及簡述在二十四間香港中學進行意見調查的結果。結果顯示，語言及原文的約束可能妨礙學生有效地閱讀學科教科書。本文的論點是教科書沒有顯明「由上而下」的修辭結構，實為學生閱讀困難的被忽視的原因。本文將提出教科書應如何顧及讀者的實際方法。
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]