The importance of school-institute partnerships for professional development is widely acknowledged by many studies. Through partnership, tertiary institutions can gain access to schools’ teaching practices, while schools can gain new ideas and knowledge. Such collaboration not only ensures teacher development but also makes action research feasible, which in turn promotes teaching and learning effectiveness in schools. The resultant school improvement is notable in the achievement of high quality education in Hong Kong. This chapter describes the successful experience of building a professional partnership in staff development between The Hong Kong Institute of Education and the Shanghai School for the Blind. Although there are dissimilarities in terms of vision, mission and target students between the two partners, the collaborative arrangement was found to be workable as a result of the explicit aims and shared goals. The experience gained in the partnership was meaningful and productive. Sharing responsibilities between partners not only minimized misunderstandings but also maximized the sense of involvement and contribution of the partners. The conclusion highlights the essential elements of a successful partnership, that is, mutuality, trust and reciprocal benefit (Anderson & Cheung, 1999; Fullan, Erskine-Cullen, & Watson, 1995; Goodlad, 1985; Osguthorpe, Harris, Black, Cutler, & Harris, 1995).
[Copyright © 2004 The Chinese University Press, Hong Kong Institute of Educational Research.]

The Learning Centre (LC) Scheme is a collaborative project between the Education and Manpower Bureau, a primary school, a secondary school, and the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) for facilitating the implementation of the recent education reform in various key learning areas. The LC teachers need to take up the role of cascading good practices in curriculum and pedagogical changes through working with other teachers in workshops and outreach school-based support. The LCs work with the HKIEd, which provides mentoring and consultancy services, and evaluates the project. The LC scheme is structured into three phases: the initial phase in leadership or teacher development understanding, the implementation phase, and the evaluation phase. Using structured interviews, the authors identified the professional development that the LC teachers experienced in the initial phase of the scheme, and the support and/or facilitating conditions they hope to obtain in later phases. The findings suggest that support from the funding allocation, the school administration and the HKIEd are essential for the success of the scheme. This support helped the LC teachers realize a new perspective in understanding learning and teaching from the standpoint of a teacher educator, and consider how to facilitate other teachers’ teaching by adopting innovative approaches. The chapter concludes with recommendations for further support and future directions of development of the scheme.
[Copyright © 2008 The Chinese University Press, Hong Kong Institute of Educational Research.]