Despite the advantages of problem based learning (PBL) and the fact that it has been utilised for some time in conventional higher education settings, it is not widely used in distance education in Hong Kong. Recently, a small group of course co-ordinators at the Open University of Hong Kong engaged in a series of action learning projects to explore ways in which it could be incorporated into their courses. The purpose of this paper is to report the opinions of these academics about the suitability of PBL for a distance education environment. Generally, they concluded that it is possible, and perhaps desirable, to consider implementing PBL as one learning approach. However, most of the projects focussed on a fairly narrow application of PBL, namely in face-to-face tutorials. The limitations of the participants' interpretations are discussed in the light of the constraints they face, and some recommendations are made for other ways of implementing PBL into distance education.
[Copyright of Distance Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0158791000210206]

This study explores how an online integrated learning environment (ILE) to cater for individual learning differences is used by teachers in two primary schools in Hong Kong. The findings reveal a positive change in both perception and pedagogy of the participants. The results indicate that scaffolding activities led to an enhanced ability to engage in independent learning. Principals and teachers were prepared to alter systemic structures to support the use of the ILE. During the 3-year period teachers developed coping strategies which led to ICT-enriched learning, provision of extended learning opportunities and development of study units for online delivery. Evidence also suggests that adoption of the ILE allowed teachers to pay fresh attention to the need to engage students, to respond to them properly and efficiently and to ensure that at each step of the way the students fully understand the work they are doing and that the work set is at an appropriate level.
[Copyright of Educational Media International is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09523980500237807]

After reunification with the People's Republic of China in 1997, Hong Kong was turned into a special administrative region. The new government has repeatedly emphasised the development of national identity and patriotism. One of the locations where these issues might be expected to appear is in the teaching of Government and Public Affairs (GPA), an optional subject offered to secondary students aged 15-18. The aim of this paper is to study the perceptions of GPA teachers in order to address two issues. First, how do GPA teachers who teach politics in schools construe 'national identity' and 'patriotism'? Second, do the teachers believe studying politics through the subject GPA can enhance national identity and patriotism among the students? The findings show that the teachers understand national identity and patriotism critically. They insist politics should be taught in a rational way. At the same time, they think teaching politics in a rational way, with no appeal to the emotions as is the current practice, will enhance neither the students' sense of national identity nor their patriotism.
[Copyright of Compare: A Journal of Comparative Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057920601061729 ]

Mentoring may be seen as a process that helps student teachers become professional teachers. In this context, a variety of significant roles played by mentors have been identified in the literature. This paper reports on mentors' perceptions of the most important roles selected from a given list, as revealed through questionnaire and interview data. This analysis forms part of a large-scale evaluative project of a school-university partnership scheme initiated by the University of Hong Kong. The findings indicate overwhelming attention given to the role of 'provider of feedback', which stresses the provision of pragmatic advice given to student teachers according to their personal strengths and weaknesses. However, for those mentors whose perception of the most important role had changed over time, the direction of change was towards roles such as 'counselor', 'equal partner' and 'critical friend', which emphasize a more relational aspect of working together with student teachers to achieve professional development.
[Copyright of Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13598660500286267]