This study identifies the meaning of students’ competence conceived by 26 secondary school business teachers in Hong Kong by using phenomenographic research and dicusses how these conceptions draw implications on business education. Findings show that students’ competence is seen as possessing: (1) work-based skills, (2) good subject knowledge, (3) professional attributes, (4) critical thinking ability, (5) practical experience, and (6) a belief in lifelong learning. These six conceptions are illustrated with sufficient extracts and further covered in three dimensions: performance, personal, and integrated. They are basically in line with the views on developing competent youth in knowledge-based society and empower the latest development of business education in a global sense.
[Copyright © 2006 International Vocational Education and Training Association.]

Though recent curriculum reform of Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Taiwan all include creativity as one of their major learning objectives, however, creativity-enhancing teaching methods are seldom implemented in real classroom practice. This study presents a systematic method for designing Physics learning activities for fostering student creativity in traditional educational context, like Hong Kong. It suggests a comprehensive set of learning objectives, strategies for generating new activity designs, and rationales for selecting activities, and more than 20 different kinds of learning activities that are simple and easy to be infused into normal Physics lessons. To understand teachers’ and students’ opinions on these activities, they were tried-out in two secondary classes, and were introduced to 120 senior Physics teachers of Hong Kong. On the whole, teachers and students gave positive feedback and support the usefulness and suitability of this set of instructional designs. Results also revealed some obstacles in fostering creativity of Hong Kong students and some shortcomings of these activity designs.
[Copyright © 2004 HKIEd APFSLT.]

Personal observations and evaluation reports on teaching practice suggest that PE teachers attending training at the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) tend to "over teach" in the sense that they talk too much and put too much emphasis on scientific details such as the mechanical properties of a movement. As more time was spent on explanation and other phases of teaching, learning through play in the applying phase was reduced. Observations also indicated that PE teachers tended to use drills rather than plays or modified games to allow pupils to acquire the criteria performance. A study of 250 lesson plans written by 24 students of an Advanced Certificate of Teacher Education (ACTE) course and 30 students of a Teacher Certificate (TC) course in the HKIEd has also revealed the same tendency. Evidence indicates that the mean time allocation for the applying phase shown by these students is lower than that suggested by textbooks/documents in pedagogy (approximately 50%). "Over teaching" in the above sense may be a socio-political measure in response to the academic movement of our discipline. Drills, which in general facilitate skill refinement, neglect the interest of different ability groups and the two sexes.
[Copyright © 1998 Department of Physical Education, Hong Kong Baptist University.]

This paper analyzes the development of social welfare, social work education, and the social work profession against the background of Hong Kong's socio-economic and political development before and after the historic 1997 transfer of sovereignty. The change from a British colonial regime to China's Special Administrative Region has not changed Hong Kong's welfare regime, which provides the context in which the social work profession and education developed. The welfare sector has been increasingly subject to managerialist control by the government. Marketization in higher education in general has resulted in the proliferation of social work education programs. On the other hand, social work education has ventured new directions of development to face up with the challenges of increasing globalization.
[Copyright © 2010 Marshall Cavendish Academic.]

This article aims to investigate teacher insights on curriculum integration in liberal studies (LS), particularly under the existing Advanced Supplementary Level (ASL) Curriculum, which is to be phased out in Hong Kong 2012, and the New Senior Secondary (NSS) Curriculum, which has been implemented since September, 2009. In comparing the existing ASLLS curriculum with the NSSLS curriculum under the “334” curriculum reform, interconnectedness in learning is highlighted, and learning linkages within and beyond LS are emphasized (Curriculum Development Council and Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, 2007). Studies have suggested the importance of curriculum integration in LS (Maritain, 1971; Henderson and Smith, 2002; Lacy, 2002; Graham, 2004). ASLLS panel heads from six secondary schools in Hong Kong were interviewed in 2007/2008 academic year to investigate the concepts and practices of curriculum leaders regarding LS curriculum integration. Finally, teacher concerns over NSSLS curriculum integration were identified.
[Copyright © 2010 Common Ground, Wai Lun Anthony Leung.]

The purpose of this study was to analyze the current status of integrated physical education (PE) in general PE classes at elementary schools in Hong Kong. A questionnaire and cover letter were sent to 115 participants. A follow-up was made to contact non-respondents two weeks after the initial dissemination of questionnaires. Of those that were surveyed, 72.17% (N=83) responded. The results indicated that there were 12 different types of students with disabilities integrated into general settings. Most inclusive classroom integrated 1-3 students with disabilities and class sizes vary widely from school to school. Teachers received limited personnel support, faced more serious barriers for integration in the future, and possessed the need for professional development. Seven valuable implications of the results were discussed.
[Copyright © 2010 ACESS, Asian Council of Exercise & Sports Science. Authors are granted permission by ACESS to use their own material in subsequent publications, and to reproduce the material in total or in part for educational purposes or personal use.]

There have been many claims about the benefits that the use of technology can bring to music learning. In fact, examples of successful applications and high levels of motivation associated with computer-based music learning reported in the literature have evidentially substantiated both the feasibility and adaptability of technology applications to music education. This paper describes the experience of Information and Computer Technology (ICT) integration in primary school music education in countries where both pioneering and relatively advanced developments have taken place. A comprehensive study of related literature and curriculum documents has been undertaken, aspects including major software programs development for music education and its pedagogical orientation, hardware configuration and classroom organization, applications of ICT in music teaching and learning, requirements for curriculum, hardware and software, and technology competency requirements and related professional development for music teachers are studied. Findings from the literature reviewed and documents analyzed reveal that ICT can best support constructivist approach to music learning, particularly activities of creative nature such as composing, improvising and creative music making; in addition, resource and related circumstantial factor as well as music teacher‘s readiness were found to be the most influential factors of successful ICT integration. Coupled with these findings, conclusion and implications for ICT integration in primary music curriculum in Hong Kong are then drawn and discussed.
[Copyright © 2010 HKIEd APFSLT.]

This article explores pupils’ attitudes toward technology relative to academic banding as well as gender and other variables. Over 2,800 students in 22 schools completed questionnaires. Results indicated that students in lower band schools were more likely than students in higher band schools to participate in Design and Technology (D&T) programs. Moreover, many more students had computers in their homes than did when a similar study was conducted in 1997 (Volk & Yip, 1999). The implications of this study relate to improving the type of program that students in lower bands receive and encouraging positive attitudes toward technology regardless of which school a student attends.
[Copyright © 2004 International Vocational Education and Training Association.]

This study identifies pre-service business teachers' conceptions and ways of teaching business subjects by using phenomenographic and grounded theory research methods. All 25 students who were completing the Business Studies major of a four-year full-time BEd programme in Hong Kong were the research participants. The researcher observed how the participants conducted their business lessons in the practicing school, and asked them to describe good teaching of business subjects and the ways in which they taught. The participants displayed five conceptions of teaching business: (1) knowledge delivery, (2) cognitive skills development, (3) attitude and moral cultivation, (4) interaction promotion and (5) application enhancement. These conceptions were multi-faceted, and can be conceptualised into three dimensions: performance, personal and integrated. The two broad teaching approaches, teacher-centred and student-centred, were strongly related to the conceptions that the teachers held. Hence, it is recommended that pre-service teachers should be provided with up to date subject knowledge base and open learning environments to increase their understanding of teaching.
[Copyright © 2005 Common Ground, Christina, Wai Mui Yu.]

Psychologists have often been interested in the way individuals respond to and interact with the law. Socio-legal scholars have had a similar interest. This led to a stream of research that sought to identify the ‘legal consciousnesses’ of individuals as they experience legal ideas and situations. The study reported here sought to identify the ‘legal consciousnesses’ of a sample of Hong Kong adolescents in a unique socio-political context. The findings suggested that these young people possessed a ‘bounded’ legal consciousness indicated by their consistent support for obeying the law even when human rights were at stake. Nevertheless, they could envisage the possibility of questioning the law. Developmental and gender differences were identified in these attitudes.
[Copyright © 2009 Symposium Journals Ltd.]