Traditionally, Hong Kong teachers are trained and performed as subject teachers in the secondary schools. The present study aimed to explore teachers' beliefs about curriculum integration in a secondary school in Hong Kong. Curriculum integration in this particular school meant the fusion of three subjects, i.e. Geography, History and Economic and Public Affairs. Case study was adopted in this study. The unit of analysis was the individual teacher. Multiple methods were used, i.e. documentary evidence, interview and observation. Triangulation of data was ensured. It was found that the teachers generally perceived curriculum integration as a means to solve the problems of the crammed curriculum. Individual teachers' beliefs about integration varied according to their different profiles of professional development. Teachers' implementation was found in accordance with their beliefs. Discussions of the case were in three dimensions, i.e. the influence of school context on teachers' beliefs, the influence of teachers' personal judgments derived from past experiences and the dialectical relationship between teachers' working context and their personal judgments. The results of the study shed light on the literature of teacher development in the upheaval of curriculum innovation. For the policy makers, it is important for them to be aware of teachers' beliefs, which, as the results of the teachers' professional development, were significant factors to the access of curriculum innovation. For the teachers, it is important to help them to be aware of their own beliefs and their respective impact on educational practice.

Since the launching of outcome-based learning (OBL) in higher education in Hong Kong, institutional reforms are evident and have aroused various concerns of the stakeholders. The major elements of OBL identified as tile intended learning outcomes, teaching and learning activities and assessments are assumed to be the areas of change in the curriculum contest. This paper reports the findings of the implementation in teacher education courses. Through the implementation f OBL in the courses of curriculum and teaching, it was found that various factors have contributed to the degree of success in the actual implementation. Although the OBL implementation is at its beginning stage, its rationale and value needs to be recognized by both the teachers and students.

In response to the open invitation of the University Grants Committee's (UGC) to adopt Outcome-based learning (OBL) in higher education sector, universities and institutes have started reforming their curriculum by using the outcome-based approach in Hong Kong since 2004. In the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) since 2007, seven generic outcomes expected of graduates were generated for learning outcomes to be further developed at different levels, such as faculty and department. In the following years, learning outcomes of various formats were formulated within departments under a "bottom-up" approach. The Department of Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) succeeded in constructing a set of six departmental learning outcomes after gaining the consensus of faculty members within the department. In the process, key features of the department and desired attributes of the graduates among thirteen core modules from Bachelor degrees and Postgraduate Diplomas were identified and reviewed and main principles of OBL were considered at the same time. This paper examines the puzzles and challenge we faced in the reform process and shares our experiences and insights gained from such curriculum reform in teacher education.

Outcome Based Learning (OBL) is an initiative from the University Grant Committee which emphasizes learning outcomes of university graduates. In view of such a requirement, the information and communication technology (ICT) educators reviewed relevant literature and came up with a list of desirable attributes of graduates who will teach ICT or related subjects at primary or secondary schools. A questionnaire was developed according to the attributes and the generic outcomes that represent the expectations of the Institute's graduates and also the distinctive attributes and qualities for ICT teachers in the primary and secondary education sectors. Since it is very important to know the desired expectation from the stakeholders, the questionnaires were sent randomly to teachers of schools, pre-service ICT teachers and related colleagues at the HKIEd. It was found that the respondents gave the highest scores to "graduates should be able to demonstrate responsible and positive attitudes towards the use of ICT" and the lowest to "graduates should apply pedagogies suitable for teaching the whole class and are not required to cater to individual needs". A chosen course outline has been revised to reflect the expectations of our stakeholders. Finally, the assessment methods and mind set of both educators and learners must also be changed.
[Copyright of International Journal of Learning is the property of Common Ground Publishing.]

This paper reports on a qualitative multiple case study that examined the implementation of innovations in English language education by three teachers in Hong Kong. Grounded in an analytical framework of teacher identity, in-depth interviews over an entire year provide a longitudinal understanding of the participants' experiences of simultaneously negotiating identity and implementing innovation in language teaching and learning within different schools in Hong Kong. Results point to a mutually constitutive relationship between identity and the implementation of these innovations. It is argued that the implementation of innovation underpinned the capacity of participants to both position themselves, as well as to be positioned by others, as particular types of teachers. The results also suggest that being afforded scope to explore their preferred professional identities, both discursively and experientially, is essential to the implementation of innovation. The analysis highlights that the implementation of innovation can be blocked or restricted if scope for the exploration of particular identities is denied to teachers, and that this may result in the marginalization of the identities teachers are seeking to construct. Implications for schools wishing to foster the implementation of innovation in language teaching and learning are discussed and suggestions for future research considered.
[Copyright of Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2012.750664]