Since Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty, national identity building became an important part of school education meeting some resistance in Hong Kong society. In 2012, thousands of school stakeholders protested against the introduction of the 2012 Guide of Moral and National Education (MNE). These conflicts have influenced teachers’ attitudes towards MNE and curriculum choices. Employing the Model of Teachers’ Perceptions of Moral and National Education, this research investigates the factors affecting teachers’ perceptions of MNE, as a national identity building curriculum. The findings indicated that “perceived other support for MNE,” “perceived non-monetary cost–benefits,” “perceived concerns of MNE,” and “comparison with the previous system (Moral and Civic education)” were the significant predictors for teachers’ receptivity of MNE. The results suggested that if teachers were supported by others, they were more likely to support MNE; and they were less likely to support the implementation of MNE when teachers had serious concerns about it. The results recommended adding media and socio-political factors into the Model of Teachers’ Receptivity to curriculum changes. The discussion will employ identity grafting (Lee in Managing Chineseness: Identity and ethnic management in Singapore, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2017) as a point of comparison to identify the theoretical implications of MNE. Copyright © 2020 Springer Nature B.V.

Currently, the challenges deriving from the complex and dynamic socio-political context in Hong Kong influence principals’ and teachers’ relationships and interactions. Academic autonomy in Hong Kong secondary schools is not simply granted by the principals, it is influenced by the society, school conditions and key stakeholders. This study employed qualitative methods to examine how principals negotiate the political context surrounding citizenship education and how these practices influence the civic learning in schools. The results revealed that in school citizenship education, when principals lacked a clear vision of citizenship education, most teachers were compliant and avoided discussing controversial political topics with their students. Such teachers had less autonomy and consequently less self-efficacy. When principals mediated the diverse needs of students and balanced the different expectations of school stakeholders, there were both compliant and critical teachers. Teacher autonomy and self-efficacy were also affected by the current socio-political context in Hong Kong. When principals had a clear school civic mission, the results differed across schools. These findings suggest that principals have to reflect on their own understanding of the purposes and perspectives of citizenship education significantly to meet the multiple demands of a complicated and turbulent socio-political environment. Copyright © 2020 The Author(s).

Citizenship education has been implemented in Hong Kong primary schools in the name of moral, civic and national education (MCNE). In the context of the backdrop that schools have been granted autonomy for implementation, this chapter explores teachers' perceptions of the implementation of MCNE in Hong Kong primary schools. The findings indicate that Hong Kong teachers in general hold an eclectic attitude towards MCNE. With these prevailing attitudes, MCNE was loosely defined and flexibly implemented. Although the whole-school permeation approach was considered ineffective, teachers did not support MCNE as an independent subject due to an overcrowded curriculum and assessment issues. Some teachers illustrated that the issues that arose in the implementation of MCNE were related to time and resources, the marginalization of MCNE, professional development training, and a contradiction between the teachings of schools and parents. Despite the many issues that have arisen in the implementation of MCNE, the findings suggested MCNE could be taught through history (including Chinese history) which could help strengthen students' knowledge of the world community and the country, and prepare students to live in the complex real world. Copyright © 2021 selection and editorial matter, Kerry J. Kennedy; individual chapters, the contributors.

Given substantial school autonomy in Hong Kong, different school leadership practices can yield different school environments for teachers, different degrees of teacher empowerment, and different civic teaching approaches. Principals can influence their school environment in civic learning and allocate resources to support civic education. Considerable attention has been given to the concept of ‘leading for learning’ (Goker, 2006) but there has been little attention given to civic learning in schools and how it might be facilitated by principals (Xu and Law, 2015). Given the volatile and uncertain external environment that students as future citizens face, civic learning must now be considered a priority. Kennedy, Li and Chan (2015) and Kennedy and Li (2017) have shown that school level factors can influence students’ civic learning, although the results are somewhat mixed, clearly this requires further investigation. This study extends this line of research by examining how principals create school civic teaching environments and how these 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 dis-cussing 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 vison 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

Purpose: Catering for learner diversity is a key issue in the recent educational reforms in Hong Kong. The present study addresses this issue through an investigation of the relationships between students' learning styles and approaches to learning in Hong Kong secondary schools.Design/Approach/Methods: A total of 6,054 junior secondary students in Hong Kong responded to a questionnaire consisting of two instruments. A series of confirmatory factor analysis, two-way analysis of variance, and structural equation modeling analysis were conducted.Findings: The results identified three types of learning style among the students which are characterized by a cognitive orientation, a social orientation, and a methodological orientation. Some significant gender- and achievement-level differences were revealed. Compared with the socially oriented learning style, the cognitively and methodologically oriented learning styles were more extensively and strongly related to students' approaches to learning, even though these students showed a greater preference for the socially oriented learning style.Originality/Value: It is unwise to blindly cater for students' learning styles in classroom teaching and curriculum design. Teachers should adopt a comprehensive and balanced approach toward the design of curriculum and teaching which not only highlights the congruence between students' learning styles and teacher's pedagogy but also integrates the constructive frictions between them into classroom teaching. Copyright © 2020 The Author(s).

In the 2014 policy address, the Hong Kong SAR government decided to offer a grant for expanding the support of life planning education in secondary schools. It aimed to help students be better prepared for the transition from education to work. However, globalization and innovation of technology have increased future uncertainties. Students are suggested to have better preparation for different stages of life. Moreover, the expectations toward schools and education have changed. It is not limited to knowledge transfer but also whole-person development. Therefore, they were urged to provide life-based education to help students cope with various challenges in their life. This article discusses Life Planning Education promoted by the Education Bureau in terms of a Lifelong Learning perspective. It suggests expanding the current Life Planning Education to Life Education for covering all aspects of life and for achieving the goals of Lifelong Learning and whole-person development. It helps the student to be prepared for 21st century challenges.自 2014 年起，特區政府透過增加對學校的撥款用於推廣生涯規劃，協助學生訂立目標和計劃，從而面對畢業後在工作上所帶來的挑戰。然而時代的轉變，社會對教育和學校的期望亦有所提升和不應止於傳授知識。本文以終身學習的角度去討論現行生涯規劃教育，並帶出教育應該以生命為本。作者建議在現行教育局所提倡的生涯規劃教育加入生命教育元素，這不單有助培育學生發展終身學習的態度，亦能協助他們達至全人發展去面對 21 世紀所帶來的挑戰。 Copyright © 2019 Hong Kong Teachers' Centre Journal.

Under 'One Country, Two Systems', 'good citizens' ‐ as supported by pro-democratic positions ‐ and 'good citizens' ‐ as promoted by the Chinese government ‐ are seemingly in contradiction with each another based on their values and ideologies in Hong Kong. The competing values of citizenship are demonstrated by deep divisions within Hong Kong society, with pro-democratic groups advocating democratic values and initiating societal transformation, and their pro-establishment counterparts highlighting patriotic values and sustaining the status quo. From an educational perspective, teachers take on an essential role in the implementation of education policies designed to cultivate students who are 'good citizens'. This research employed a mixed-methods approach to examine Hong Kong teachers' perceptions of 'good citizens' based on their affinity with democratic and patriotic values. The findings indicated that rather than conflicting, patriotic values tended to be complementary to democratic values. Moreover, critical patriotic citizens with multiple identities who participate rationally and constructively in social and political activities might be more likely to facilitate democratic development in Hong Kong. These findings have implications for policy-makers responsible for the citizenship education and preparation of future citizens living within polarized and pluralistic societies, and they highlight the value of learning to live together in a complex world. Copyright © 2019 Intellect Ltd Article.

Since 1989 the Hong Kong government has taken an active interest in environmental education. The Guidelines on Environmental Education in Schools was issued in 1992 and both government departments and non‐governmental environmental organisations made efforts to promote the implementation of this curriculum change. However, there has developed a gap between the rhetoric of the ‘Guidelines’ and actual practice. Environmental emphasis has been primarily subject based and institutional commitment to environmental education in schools has been unsatisfactory. There are needs for policy reforms, teacher education curriculum and environmental education curriculum reforms and improved curriculum strategies such as resource provision and in‐service education. Copyright © 1997 Carfax Publishing Ltd.

This article is based on an investigation of the implementation of environmental education in Hong Kong primary schools using a questionnaire survey and case studies. It will be divided into three parts: one focusing on the gap between rhetoric and practice in environmental education in the questionnaire results; one highlighting curriculum organisation of environmental education through case studies; and one discussing the nature and content of environmental education in these case-study schools. Copyright © 2000 Studies in Education Ltd.

The purpose to this paper is to explore the relationship between teachers' perceived spiritual leadership and organizational commitment. A survey was conducted to collect data from a sample of 2,094 teachers from 117 primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. Questionnaire developed by Fry et al. (2005; Fry, 2003; Karadag, 2009) was used to measure teachers' perceived spiritual leadership and spiritual survival in their schools. Eighteen items were used to measure the three factors of teachers' organizational commitment: affective commitment, continuance commitment, and normative commitment (Meyer, Allen, & Smith, 1993). The analyses were conducted using multilevel confirmatory factor analysis (MLCFA) and multilevel structural equation modeling (MLSEM). The current study has illustrated how membership and meaning/calling play a mediating role between spiritual leadership and organizational outcomes. It has shown that the influence of spiritual leadership on membership is apparently stronger at the school level than is it at the teacher level. This reflects, to an extent, the observation that qualities operate at both individual and organizational levels. It also reflects the call for all members in an organization to engage in a spiritual journey – a journey of transformation to become a less ego-centered and more other-centered person (Fry and Altman, 2013, p. 69). Copyright © 2018 Leena and Luna International, Chikusei, Japan.