This paper aims at identifying and recording good music teaching practices that promote social inclusion, and at developing effective teaching strategies that incorporate student perspectives into the pedagogies. A music teacher in Hong Kong was selected for this study, and two different classes of Form 2 (ages 12-13) were observed. The teaching process was videotaped and reviewed. Afterwards the teacher and a group of students were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview to solicit their ideas towards good practice of music teaching. Findings reveal that the good practices observed were attributed to four factors: 1) teacher’s personality, 2) teacher’s pedagogy, 3) teacher’s musical competence, and 4) teacher’s philosophy of teaching.

A brief narrative description of the journal article, document, or resource. First-hand experiences in learning art are very important. In Hong Kong secondary art, teachers must follow the syllabus and examination schedule suggested by the Education Department. Thus, these teachers cannot undertake art projects because they are locked into the structure of the syllabus and the limits of the timetable. This paper investigates two artist-in-residence projects implemented in Hong Kong. One project is an artist based in a secondary school and the other is an artist based in the studio. The paper finds that the students had greater exposure to various artforms and developed new ideas to make their work more creative. The art teachers participated in different activities and gained new ideas and stimulation for teaching. The paper concludes that, through their participation in teaching and exhibitions, the artists made successful contributions to schools and the community.

Following the education reform in 2001, the Education Bureau (EDB) in Hong Kong initiated a review of early childhood education (ECE) in 2006. The main focus of this review is the quality assurance mechanism for ECE, including the training of teachers, teaching quality, the potential pressures on teachers to upgrade their qualifications etc. This review is supported by the Chief Executive’s Policy Address (2006), which outlines concrete ways to achieve the targeted goals. This paper compares the provision of music training at four major ECE professional teacher-training institutions and examines the perspectives of in-service teachers, principals and early childhood education lecturers on the music training of ECE teachers. Using focus group interviews and survey, in-service ECE teachers expressed their general satisfaction with their pre-service training in music teaching. However, they did not feel prepared and confident enough to teach music in their schools compared to other subjects. They suggested aspects of pre-service training which would have better prepared teachers to teach music and identified three areas of professional development needs of ECE teachers in music teaching. A practical framework of professional development is also presented.
[Copyright © 2007 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]

This paper examines the effects of computerised music instruction on student motivation to learn music through a case study of five secondary schools in Hong Kong. Two main types of music software were used: the sequencing Technology-based Music Learning (TBML) type for composing, arranging and creating sound projects and the closed-package Computer-assisted Music Instruction (CAMI) type for enhancing musical knowledge such as the introduction of the musical instruments, Chinese operas and music theory. The researcher observed 16 lessons and 2sessions of extra-curricular activities in all and interviewed 5 teachers and 44 students. Analysis showed that use of the divergent sequencing software generated more student interest. It also showed that peer and independent learning took place more readily and that students demonstrated musical understanding more vividly through their creative work. When using the closed-package CAMI software, most teachers and students enjoyed the attractive visual effects, the organised sequential instruction and efficient feedback. The results may help music educators to review several pressing issues in the 21st century, including music curriculum design catering for teenagers with different learning styles when using music technology. The results may also have implications for teaching styles, changes in the teacher’s role with increased student autonomy, and the need for hardware and software support for classroom music lessons.
[Copyright © 2002 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]

In order to help student teachers to clarify what they know about art, thus to improve the quality of learning and teaching about art for kindergarten teachers, an action research was designed and implemented during the Qualified Kindergarten Teacher Education Course offered by the Hong Kong Institute of Education. This paper presents the changes of conception of art for the student teachers in the course. Before and after the art activities, the students were invited to discuss as well as complete open-ended questionnaires to express their own ideas on art. They were requested to explain what they thought art is for themselves as well as for the early childhood children. It is interesting to find that after they had undergone the process of the project they showed that art is not only for art’s sake. Art activities mean more than an abstract term. Then the relationship between art learning and other aspects of children’s development was identified and disputed.
[Copyright © 2000 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]