Many Christians are worried about the Old Testament portraying God as violent and commanding people to kill others or commit genocide. This study conducted a survey of Sunday school and seminary teachers to obtain their opinions about the ethical and theological challenges of these problematic texts, with the goal of identifying which perspectives and approaches to God’s violence tend to be adopted by Bible teachers in Hong Kong in their training classes. This study included a questionnaire survey of 300 respondents and interviews with 40 selected interviewees. The results identified different approaches to divine violence, related to those proposed by Eric A. Seibert. Then, the researcher analysed the approaches, perceptions, thoughts, and ideas of the different teachers, and their willingness and reluctance to discuss divine violence in their training classes. The survey responses yielded insights into how to approach and interpret such problematic texts in the Bible. Moreover, they offered pedagogical suggestions on how to teach about divine violence, as well as discussing the actual nature of God and the ethical framework for His divine action. The conclusion of the study is that no matter how people interpret these problematic Scriptures, which describe God’s violent behaviour, Christians and non-Christians should no longer use violence to injure others or justify their violent behaviour in society. Instead, mutual communication between Christians and non-Christians should be encouraged. All rights reserved.

本研究的目的是從洪堡特的教育哲學檢視香港的通識教育的理念與實踐，比較兩間傳統大學在課程設計和實踐的異同。本研究採用文獻分析的研究方法，將文獻與實證研究的結果進行批判性的分析和比較，由洪堡特的〈關於人之能力的發展法則〉、〈關於人之陶冶理論〉及〈關於人類的精神〉三篇文章探討其全人教育理念，並依此檢視香港兩間大學的通識教育。洪堡特全人教育有三個要點：第一、強調人的不同能力，如理性和感性之間的平衡、調和，甚至互相促進；第二、一方面強調經驗的多樣性，另一方面又強調人類心智的統一性，如此一來，如何透過前者的培育讓後者得到發展？第三、洪堡特的教育和陶冶哲學十分強調人的個體性，教育的目的不只是純粹技術性知識的灌輸，而是掌握科目一些重要的基本理念，以達致人格完整發展。本研究從這三方面探討香港兩所政府資助大學的通識教育的同時，尤其注意科目之間如何平衡上述不同的能力，以及如何做到又多元又掌握一些基本理念，並能培養學生跨科系的學習能力。最後，本研究亦從一些教師和學生對課程的意見，檢討香港的大學通識教育的成就和缺失。This paper aims to investigate W. von Humboldt’s educational philosophy and compare it with the idea and practices of general education in Hong Kong by applying documentary analysis and then compare them critically with the results of other empirical studies. Based on the three Humboldt’s articles, his idea of Allgemeinbildung can be summarized in three points: 1. the fullest development and harmonization of man’s different faculties such as rationality and sensibility; 2. the variety of experiences and unity of the human mind and character, how the latter can be achieved through the former? 3. emphasis of individualities. The aim of education is not only to transfer knowledge but also to master some basic and imperative ideas of the subjects to achieve the whole person development. It then investigates the general education in two government subsidized universities to see how different faculties can be balanced, and how various basic ideas can be mastered to build up students’ multidisciplinary competences. It compares the differences and similarities of curriculum design and practice between two universities in Hong Kong. Lastly, the achievements and deficiency of general education is discussed by looking at the opinions of lecturers and students on the curriculum. Copyright © 2020 中華民國比較教育學會.

IB課程中的漢語教學是國際漢語教學多樣化類別中的一個分支。在教學理念、教學方法、評估考核等方面，IB漢語教學均體現了IB的核心理念和特質，這對IB漢語師資的培訓提出了更高的目標和要求。本文結合IB課程理念及漢語作為第二語言教學理論，以香港教育大學漢語師資培訓課程作為個案，探索IB漢語師資培訓課程的任務和發展方向，為國際漢語教學的課程發展和師資培訓提供參考。 International Baccalaureate (IB) Chinese curriculum is a branch of the diversified international Chinese teaching. IB Chinese teaching should reflect the IB core concepts and attributes in teaching philosophy, teaching methods and assessment. This sets higher goals and requirements for the Chinese teaching training programme. Incorporating the concepts of IB and the theory of CSL teaching, this paper explores the mission and development direction of the IB Chinese teacher training programme by sharing the experience in The Education University of Hong Kong. Copyright © 2021 北京語言大學.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused massive school closures worldwide and many schools were forced to adopt online teaching mode. Purpose: This survey study aims to examine the effectiveness of online teaching in physical education (PE) and support needed from the teachers’ perspective. Methods: Responses from 294 frontline PE teachers were collected via an online survey between 4 and 29 January 2021. Results: Four major findings were highlighted in our study. First, most teachers reported that online PE lessons were not effective to improve motor skill acquisition and physical activity level, the major reasons for which were “lack of practical training”, “students’ lack of learning motivation/interest”, and “limited interpersonal interactions”. Second, most teachers encountered difficulties in online teaching, with major difficulties comprising “limited interpersonal interactions’ and “difficult to retain students’ learning motivation/interest”. Third, most teachers felt that online teaching was stressful due to the increased workload in preparation and safety concerns of the home-exercise programme. Fourth, many teachers suggested that schools or governments should provide online teaching kits, such as suggested online lesson plans or home activity recommendations, for their reference. Conclusions: In summary, the effectiveness of online teaching in PE during COVID-19 school closures was generally perceived to be low and difficult by the frontline PE teachers. Schools and governments should provide sufficient support, such as online teaching kits and concrete teaching guidelines, for PE teachers to develop creative and interactive online lessons, which will in turn benefit students in motor skill acquisition and physical activity level. Copyright © 2021 JPES.

Cantonese Jyutping romanization is indispensable for effective teaching of Chinese as a second language in Hong Kong, a predominantly Cantonese-speaking city. Jyutping functions both as an auxiliary system that allows non-Chinese-speaking (NCS) students to read and write Cantonese words without knowing the characters, and a convenient way to input Chinese characters on digital devices. This chapter outlines the course structure of a 13-week intervention program that aims at teaching Jyutping typing to NCS students in Hong Kong. The intervention program was run three times, and the design was modified after each test-run to work around different pedagogical and linguistic issues. After the first intervention, hands-on typing sessions were added to every meeting, and the teaching order of Jyutping elements and teaching plans were also adjusted. These changes improved the overall effectiveness of the intervention. Two error analyses from post-tests of the second and third interventions show that the onsets z- and c- are the most problematic elements to NCS students. Our experience demonstrates how Jyutping can be integrated successfully into the broader Chinese curriculum. Copyright © 2019 selection and editorial matter, John C. Wakefield; individual chapters, the contributors.

After the change of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to People’s Republic of China, Mandarin has become increasingly important in Hong Kong society. However, it is observed that many native Cantonese speakers have problems mastering Mandarin tones despite the less complex tonal system. This study attempts to investigate the Mandarin tonal error patterns made by Hong Kong learners and the possible causes for these errors. A reading aloud test and a follow-up interview were designed to collect the data. The findings of the study show that a large number of students were confused about Mandarin tones and found them difficult to master, especially between tone 1 and tone 4 and tone 2 and tone 3. All the participants made these two mistakes in the test. This study hypothesizes that L1 negative transfer is the key factor that helps Cantonese speaking learners’ ability to establish a new tone in the L2. However, the reason for participants’ tonal mistakes is not due to one single cause; instead, the errors are caused by multiple factors, including lack of tonal knowledge, incomplete tonal acquisition, and tonal errors explained by the Speech Learning Model. Copyright © 2021 John Benjamins Publishing Company.

This study investigated the English writing anxiety experienced by preservice English as second/foreign language teachers in Hong Kong, and its impact on their written corrective feedback (WCF). A total of 34 highly proficient preservice teachers responded to the Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (Cheng, 2004), which measured writing anxiety in three dimensions (i.e., cognitive, somatic and avoidance anxiety). Ten were selected to provide WCF to a sample student writing and receive an individual interview immediately afterwards. Over half of the 34 participants were found suffering from moderate or high levels of writing anxiety, especially in the cognitive dimension. Compared to their less apprehensive peers who adopted more indirect feedback, highly anxious student teachers had a clear preference to direct and comprehensive feedback. Their WCF practices were found affected by five factors, including their conception of English writing, concerns of teacher professional credibility and work ethics, concerns of student cognition and motivation, confidence in students’ ability, and their feedback experience as students and student teacher during teaching practicum. These factors were synthesized into a grounded-theory model of four internal forces that drive student teachers towards either a focus-on-form, direct, comprehensive approach to WCF or a broad-based, indirect and selective approach. Suggestions were made for further research. Copyright © 2020 Qin Xie and Junting Yuan.

At present, there is a growing concern about cultivating virtue among youngsters in Hong Kong. Although moral and character education have been put on the education agenda, it is important to ensure that teachers have sufficient efficacy in moral and character education. Unfortunately, limited empirical evidence for this has been found within the Hong Kong context. Using a sample of 647 moral and character education teachers from 21 secondary schools in Hong Kong, this study examined teacher self-efficacy and its relations with teacher engagement and teacher emotional labour. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the construct validity of each scale. Structural equation modelling was used to test the theoretical model, indicating a good model fit. The strongest predictor of teacher efficacy for moral education was teachers’ personal teaching efficacy. The findings are discussed with implications for future practice and research. Copyright © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Due to it being generally regarded as an effective pedagogic approach, the flipped classroom has been widely applied in various disciplines in higher education in many places around the world, but has rarely been used in primary English education. This research investigated teacher and student perceptions of the impact, feasibility, and potential of the flipped EFL classroom by conducting a one-year project among 277 students and eight teachers in a primary school in Hong Kong. Teacher and student reflection, roundtable discussion minutes, and trainer observation and logs were employed as means of continual data collection. The results showed that the flipped classroom improved the teacher–student relationship and teaching and learning performance, and increased teacher and student motivation and confidence. This study demonstrates the high feasibility of using the flipped classroom for primary English education and its great potential for providing students with personalized learning, developing their self-regulated learning and active learning skills. Copyright © 2021 The Author(s).

This special issue on early STEM education collects ten articles that present a series of studies covering topics about curriculum and pedagogy, teacher education and professional development, family environment, and inclusive education for enhancing young children’s STEM learning experiences. These collected studies have presented empirical evidence obtained from diverse cultural contexts, including Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Singapore, and the United States. With varying designs and diversified approaches, these studies jointly present a vivid picture of the STEM world and may therefore provide some contributions to theoretical developments and practical improvements. Copyright © 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.