In Hong Kong and Macau, educational practitioners and student teachers who are committed to a career in education usually join some professional organizations in their local communities. In the past, little effort had been made by professional organizations to pull students, educational practitioners, and the interested professionals in the two territories - Hong Kong and Macau - together. In 1998, the ACEI: Hong Kong and Macau Branch was founded by a group of teacher educators with the aim at linking students, parents, education practitioners, and other interested professionals of the two territories together in a collaborative effort to promote education quality, professional growth, exchange of ideas, as well as the inherent rights and well-being of children in home, school and community. Also, it fosters interaction among student teachers, teachers, administrators, counselors, and educators to exchange ideas and develop friendships across international boundaries (Hong Kong, Macau, USA, and other countries), as well as to provide an opportunity to publish materials that help members keep up with the important issues and current trends in the field of education. The Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) was founded in 1892 by a group of school teachers and other interested professionals in the United States. With over 130 branches in the US and other countries, ACEI is now one of the oldest organizations of its kind which shares a dual commitment to the fulfillment of every child's potential and to the professional development of classroom teachers. This workshop will help participants understand more about the functions of the ACEI: Hong Kong and Macau Branch. Information will be shared concerning how professional development of student teachers and educational practitioners in the two territories could be enriched through regional and international linkages, cooperation and participation in ACEI activities.

This paper examines the role of government in promoting information and communication technologies in teacher education, including pre-service and in-service teachers on the one hand, and analyzes the professional development of teacher educators at the Hong Kong Institution of Education on the other.

This paper reports on research through four case studies of Integrated Education in Hong Kong schools that aimed to provide a better understanding about the integration process, what the barriers are, how they might be overcome and how Integrated Education might further facilitate quality education. The study used five research questions that framed the results. Case Study methodology involving interviews, open-ended questionnaires, examining school documents, observations and their analyses was used. Findings led to a cross analysis which showed emergent commonalities and unique features. Results include findings that co-teaching led to effective teaching; parent involvement is a key factor, and social interaction and Whole School Approach schemes are very supportive of Integrated Education. Common teacher education needs were identified. Implications for education and research are made.

Moving towards the end of colonial rule and socio-political transition, educational practitioners and researchers have witnessed unprecedented challenge and rapid development of education in Hong Kong and Macau. This symposium, conducted by HKIEd colleagues with experience in teaching and research in Macau and Hong Kong institutions, will examine and compare some recent patterns of development and school problems and related issues within/across the two systems of education in terms of curriculum changes in early childhood and primary education, teacher education, school administration and policy, nature and equivalence or recognition of academic qualifications, juvenile delinquency, expenditure and improvement of equity and quality in education, etc.

Global trends have led to marketization of higher education. The rapid development of Information Technology and the Internet challenge the established paradigms of educational enterprise. Hong Kong has restructured its economy in line with the Asian Pacific region and is undergoing change in order to establish itself as service based and technologically driven. This paper address online higher education in Hong Kong, with a focus on non-government funded continuing and professional education. Three cases of online education courses organized by public funded universities are identified together with online higher and continuing education in the private sector. Public-private partnership is developed between the higher education institues (HEI) and the online education service providers. The state intervention is only on traditional higher education programmes but the area of cyber education for adults is left to the market.