The world is increasingly recognising the importance of addressing key issues such as climate change, environmental protection and clean air and water through initiatives such as Agenda 21 (United Nations, 1993), and the Sustainable Development Goals (United Nations, 2016). In 2013 Hong Kong Institute of Education launched a one-year full-time Master of Arts in Education for Sustainability degree, targeted at an international audience. The program is an educational innovation that seeks to graduate students who will reform the contemporary world. The first cohort commenced in September 2014, and this research investigates the motivations of students who enrolled in the first three cohorts of the program, particularly • where the students come from • their undergraduate background • their reasons for enrolling in the program • what they learned from the program • where they are now • whether the program changed their career directions. All students enrolled to date were to complete a questionnaire that addressed the above questions (approximately 100 students). Their responses were analysed thematically and provide insight into the role of the Masters degree in developing graduates' abilities to reform the contemporary world. This is particularly important in the Hong Kong SAR and China because most graduates come from mainland China, and China recently released its 13th Five-Year Plan on Education Development (CPC, 2017). The Plan defines the requirements for implementing ESD at all education levels in China for the next five years. This paper reports on how well prepared the students feel to work towards these goals in China and elsewhere.

This paper seeks to identify the factors supporting or hindering students' development of reflective thinking or reflection through working on e-portfolios at a higher education institution in Hong Kong. Six students were selected to participate in the study from one of the groups of GECC (General Education Consolidation Course) based on their scores in first reflective essay. Two in-depth interviews with each of the selected six students, totaling 12 in-depth interviews were carried out. The focus of the first in-depth interview was to understand what supported or constrained their reflective thinking from their perspectives. The second in-depth interview was carried out for some clarification purpose from the first interview and also to have more detailed information. The first interview was conducted after students had received scores for their first reflective essay. The second interview was conducted after students had finished their course work and submitted their e-portfolios to the supervisor. In addition, students' individual consultations with their supervisor were observed. Furthermore, all six students' e-portfolios were analyzed and each student's two reflective essays totaling twelve reflective essays were critically analyzed. The study found supporting factors such as support or training from the university; support from supervisor; peer feedback, to name a few. On the other hand the study also found hindering factors such as technical skills; limitation of the platform of e-portfolios; language skills, to name a few. The paper provides a detailed account of how all different factors interacted with students' development of reflective thinking.

STEM（科學、科技、工程與數學）教育，是近年香港教育當局力推的教育項目，並由政府以專項撥款的形式支援學校推行（小學為十萬港元、中學為二十萬港元）。政府在 2015年發表諮詢文件，並且計劃在 2016 年起的三個學年，推出不同的項目以推行 STEM 教育。本文將以香港三所小學（浸信會天虹小學、天主教博智小學、慈幼英文學校）為例，透過他們推行 STEM 教育的經驗，檢視現時政策與學校實踐之間存在著什麼問題，並且以他們的經驗，嘗試為香港未來推行 STEM 教育提出建議，供各界參考。

This chapter observes that branding is a stated strategic priority of four out of seven public universities in Hong Kong. However, the branding activities they propose miss the essence—the alignment of their various identities. By adapting the concept of corporate branding to the analysis of their self-representations in four distinctive types of communication materials (strategic plans, vision and mission statements, student recruitment materials, and press releases), we introduce a new approach to university branding study by examining the content alignment in addition to the content itself. Findings show that while all Hong Kong universities have balanced their self-representations between excellence and uniqueness, new technical universities that openly state branding as a priority show more signs of alignment in the communication materials.

Purpose: This paper examines the way in which higher education participation is democratized in the entrepreneurial city of Hong Kong by the policy innovation that encompasses internationalization. There is a dearth of empirical studies about transnational education in Hong Kong, except for a few which examine students' perceptions of transnational education from a user perspective, situated in marketized conditions (Leung and Waters, 2013; Waters and Leung, 2013a; Waters and Leung, 2013b). The minimal volume of existing research has ignored the innovative aspects of democratizing higher learning by internationalization, namely the operation of international degrees by overseas universities on offshore campuses. This policy innovation by transnational institutions is significant in an era of the globalization of higher education, as access to higher education cannot be otherwise realized given the local education policies. Design/methodology/approach: Employing documentary research, this paper presents and assesses the growth of community college international education at the University of Hong Kong and its unique facets, juxtaposing it with the marketized context of East Asian higher education. It engages in specific reviews surrounding the operational mode and academic collaborations of the international educational programs and practices at the Hong Kong University’s School of Professional and Continuing Education (HKU SPACE). Findings: This documentary research finds that the internationalized academic profession of partner universities enables curriculum design, pedagogy, teaching ideas and assessment methods to be informed by an diversity of international academic cultures and indigenous knowledge. Through this policy innovation, international education is institutionalized in such a way that it takes Hong Kong students beyond the community college context, which is relatively localized. It also illuminates the way in which the "ideoscape" of American community

In response to the Hong Kong government’s call for renewing and enriching “the curricula and learning activities of Science, Technology and Mathematics, and enhance the training of teachers, thereby allowing primary and secondary students to fully unleash their potential in innovation”, the author collaborated with a team of science teacher educators and scientists to develop a new dual major science teacher education programme called Bachelor of Education in Science (BEd(Science)) which prepares competent graduates for teaching two senior secondary science subjects (physics, chemistry or biology) as well as the junior secondary science. Compared with the conventional Bachelor of Science (BSc) programme offered by many other universities, our BEd(Science) has the special programme features of not only offering three kinds of dual majors (physics + chemistry/chemistry + biology/biology + physics) but also deliberately integrating subject knowledge with pedagogical content knowledge in many science courses, practising pedagogy in field experience (to be conducted in school environment) and delivering the programme by a teaching team composed of both scientists and science educators. Apart from five foundation courses in science and science education, there are nine advanced science subject courses plus a subject-specific pedagogy course in each chosen major. Besides, our design of the curriculum content of the BEd(Science) programme is based on a detailed examination of the local school science curricula so that it is ensured to cover all the subject knowledge necessary for the effective teaching of the corresponding school science subject. Hence, those advanced science courses or topics such as advanced quantum mechanics, which are usually required for specific scientific research but are not relevant nor required for the teaching of secondary science, will be replaced by other educational courses or topics which could effectively help school pupils remove their common

From the 2012/13 academic year, the undergraduate degree programme in Hong Kong higher education has been transferred from a three-year to a four-year structure, with introduction of a rigorous component of general education in the new four-year curriculum. The present study aims to evaluate the implementation and impact of a new general education program, the "General University Requirements" (GUR), in the new four-year undergraduate curriculum of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) based on the views of teachers. A total of 68 teachers who had taught different GUR subjects in 2013/14 academic year were recruited to fill in an evaluation sheet designed to understand their views towards the GUR subjects. A total of 75 qualitative evaluation sheets were collected. Both close-ended and open-ended questions were used to assess teachers' perceptions. Data analyses indicated that teachers generally had positive evaluation about the GUR. They perceived that the content, teaching methods, and assessment components of GUR subjects successfully engaged students in the learning process and helped students achieve the intended learning outcomes. Teachers also had positive impression and feelings towards the GUR subjects they taught, and perceived the GUR subjects as helpful in broadening students' knowledge, cultivating their characters and important generic competences. Meanwhile, challenges in the implementation process were also noted. Findings from this study indicated the basic effectiveness of the GUR at PolyU based on teachers' views. It also provided indications for further improvements of the GUR and general education programs in Hong Kong higher education.
[Copyright Nova Science Publishers, Inc. 2017]

This study explores the interrelationships between self-concept, motivation and academic and social experience among students from self-financing higher education institutions in Hong Kong. Although prior studies have investigated different aspects of self that drive various types of motivation in students' academic and social experience, most of them are related to publicly funded universities only. This study aims to extend our current understanding to the context of self-financing higher education, which is an alternative to students whose academic results are not good enough to secure tertiary placements at publicly funded universities. Using qualitative approach and the technique of friendship pair, 26 students from 12 self-financing higher education institutions in Hong Kong were recruited for semi-structured interviews. Data analysis revealed that participants constructed two dimensions of the self: the personal (i.e. the actual academic self, the possible academic self, the spiritual self and the extended self) and relational (i.e. the familial self and the social self) dimensions in the light of their university experience. The findings provide a better understanding of the contemporary university experience in relation to self and motivation among students studying at self-financing higher education institutions.
[Asia Pacific Education Review is a copyright of Springer, 2017]

Under the new education reform in Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has expanded its undergraduate education from 3 to 4 years since the 2012-2013 academic year. Along with the transition, the General University Requirements (GUR) has been developed as an integral part on general education of the new 4-year undergraduate curriculum of PolyU. The present study examined the implementation quality and effectiveness of the GUR in the 2012-2013 academic year based on focus group interviews with teachers. Twenty teachers who taught GUR subjects were interviewed for their perceptions and experiences about the GUR. Results revealed that the teachers generally had positive perceptions of the GUR in terms of its rationales, teaching and learning modes, and implementation quality. GUR subjects were also considered effective in helping students to develop in a holistic manner. The findings suggest that the first-year implementation of the GUR at PolyU was basically successful.