Trees are living organisms that are subject to attack by decay or disease-causing natural enemies as well as weather adversities and long-term climate change in the course of their life span. When they suffer from these intrusions or extensive damage by typhoons, they often express visible symptoms, which may be structural or physiological. Initiated by a group of scholars at The Education University of Hong Kong, with the involvement of student-teachers as well as teachers and students in primary and secondary schools, a project, “Life Education and Citizen Science through Tree Protection and Conservation”, was launched with the objectives of caring, respecting and acting for our nature from preserving trees and enhancing citizens’ contribution to protecting the environment. The initial project experiences revealed that students acquired knowledge and skills in tree assessment and also cultivated positive attitudes towards tree conservation, which are relevant to the balanced development of knowledge, skills, values and attitudes in this new century. Copyright © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Kerry J. Kennedy, Margarita Pavlova and John Chi-Kin Lee; individual chapters, the contributors.

Life education, originating in the West, has been an increasingly important source of moral and values education in the Greater China region. Life education, to some extent, is linked with different kinds of values education that encompasses moral and citizenship education, environmental education as well as religious and spiritual education. In the 21st century, life education could also be complementary to positive education that is related to the development of positive (life) values and the pursuit of well-being. Life education also echoes with health education under the impact of COVID-19 along with life and planning education including life-long learning perspectives. This chapter explores the theoretical and practical connections between life education, positive education and other values education and proposes an integrated and holistic approach to curriculum development for the context of Hong Kong. Copyright © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Kerry J. Kennedy, Margarita Pavlova and John Chi-Kin Lee; individual chapters, the contributors.

Unprecedented developments in communication and technology have resulted in numerous opportunities for personal and professional contact. The emerging trend of actual and virtual spaces for professional engagement demands that younger generations be equipped with values and skills that govern their everyday interactions with people from diverse backgrounds. Although determining the role of education in preparing future generations should be straightforward, devising inclusive education and supporting students with diverse educational needs in schools is demanding. This chapter investigates the intersection of inclusive education, soft skills and hard values and situates the discussion in the educational context of Hong Kong. It identifies the issues and challenges of inclusion in Hong Kong’s education system and underscores the lack of focus on soft skills and values in education. It then proposes ways to cultivate soft skills and values among students and teachers to promote inclusive education in the city. In addition, this chapter highlights possible ways that schools can prepare students with special educational needs for a competitive working environment and offer equal learning opportunities for all students. Copyright © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Kerry J. Kennedy, Margarita Pavlova and John Chi-Kin Lee; individual chapters, the contributors.

The quality of teachers is an essential element of a strong vocational education and training (VET) system. VET performs many important functions in society, including responding to a constantly changing labour market as a result of rapid changes to the economy and society. Recent changes in VET have focused specifically on meeting the needs of the world of work in order to support countries’ development agendas. These improvements, which target the efficiency and effectiveness of VET systems, also need to be reflected in VET teacher training. This has become a priority for governments and other stakeholders, however, there are numerous challenges related to different aspects of VET teacher training, including curriculum design. This chapter provides an overview of VET teacher training in Mainland China (with some reference to Hong Kong SAR), and highlights the approaches/models used for teacher training, as well as the challenges encountered in improving the effectiveness of teacher training in response to the various development trends in VET. The overview is based on a review of literature, curriculum and policy documents. Copyright © 2022 selection and editorial matter, John Chi-Kin Lee and Timo Ehmke; individual chapters, the contributors.

Reorienting existing educational programs in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) for the purposes of advancing the attainment of sustainable development goals (SDGs) through skills development significantly depends on the capacity of educators. This capacity can be enhanced through teacher training and professional development programs based on principles of adult learning, as well as through the use of sustainability related resources designed for use in student-centered TVET classrooms. This paper considers how TVET educators respond to the reorientation of the curriculum towards Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) through the inclusion of generic green skills in a green module that was delivered by one TVET institute in Hong Kong. It examines how different types of teachers respond to sustainability related, work-based training conducted through action research. Four teachers’ attitudes are examined, based on their expertise in ESD and their motivation to change current practice. Based on the findings, this paper puts forward a work-based learning model for the professional development of TVET teachers that encourages them to learn with researchers and students together. The model can be adjusted to meet the needs of different types of teachers and it has the potential to enhance teachers’ capacity to implement green modules that will support students’ generic green skills development. Copyright © 2019 PAVLOVA/CHEN.

How schools could play a role in facilitating youngsters’ transition from school to work or from secondary school to post-secondary institution has become an important educational issue. Against this backdrop, this chapter intends to examine the means of two different secondary schools in Hong Kong of providing support for postschool planning and how these two schools and their teachers make use of the funding from the government to strengthen their support for students’ postschool planning. The two schools under review promoted classroom-based career education programmes which operated from S1 to S6. Talks and visits to businesses, companies and local universities were also organised. However, authentic career-related learning was relatively not dominant in these two schools. The implications for promoting school’s support for postschool planning are discussed.

Hong Kong has successfully implemented various education and curriculum reforms since 2000. Starting from 2009, the New Academic Structure with a new 6-year secondary (3-year junior secondary and 3-year senior secondary) curriculum and 4 years of undergraduate education has been launched. There was a review of the progress of senior secondary curriculum implementation which showed good progress and a gradual realization of the seven learning goals related to healthy lifestyle, breadth of knowledge, learning and language skills, reading habit, and national identity and responsibility. In May 2014, the Education Bureau (EDB) issued the document “Guide on Life Planning Education and Career Guidance for Secondary Schools” emphasizing that under holistic learning and lifelong education perspectives, students’ motivation on pursuing their career/academic pathway should be cultivated. Concomitant with the education reform, there was a decline or ignorance of vocational and technical education in Hong Kong in past years, but recently the government established a “Task Force on Promotion of Vocational Education” to map out a strategy to raise the awareness and promote vocational education and training in Hong Kong. Against this background, this chapter discusses how education reform has embedded and contextualized life planning and vocational and technical educations with the emerging socioeconomic changes in Hong Kong. It is argued that in senior secondary education, life planning education should not only focus on career planning and guidance but also embrace a comprehensive perspective linking life education and future-oriented approach promoting entrepreneurship and innovative spirit. For vocational and technical education, it needs to be repositioned not only focusing on vocational training but also highlighting the development of students’ generic and employment skills in knowledge-based society like Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, students with special educational needs (SEN) are able to access the senior secondary education in the 12-year free education. Teachers teaching students with SEN have to prepare their students with knowledge, skills, and competency for overcoming the challenges of lifelong learning and career planning. It is well noted the post-school transition period signifies the transition to adulthood and independent life. A successful transition may lead to students’ adaptive motivation to continuing higher education or employment opportunities, which contributes to good quality of life. However, for students with SEN, they often need to face more challenges than regular students do. This chapter first discusses the contextual analysis for the education of students with SEN in Hong Kong schools by analyzing the increasing number and complexity of disabilities, concerted effort in school support and pathways of postsecondary education. However, teachers always reported the uncertainties and difficulties in supporting the smooth transition of the SEN graduates. By taking account of the research done by the authors specifically through a series of focus group interviews to a wide range of stakeholders, the chapter identifies variables affecting the post-school transition outcomes of students with SEN in Hong Kong. With reference to the contextual needs, the identified variables inform the policy change in career guidance and support for students with SEN. Implications and recommendations at individual, school, community, and policy levels are discussed. In regard to the development of career guidance and planning in schools, this chapter will finally conclude the intensive support, supporting strategies, and multiple pathways for students with SEN in Hong Kong.

School to work transition is an important aspect of lifelong learning that has increased in significance as the knowledge-based economy takes off in developed countries. Rapid structural economic changes, the importance of innovation, and a shorter lifecycle of products require education systems to adjust to the needs of economies and individuals. Educational reforms in many countries aim to improve school students' readiness for their important move to post-school life. Countries organize different pathways for students following secondary school level that are designed to meet both students' demands and the needs of economies. This article explores Hong Kong students' aspirations and realities. Although the majority of students plan to complete the final year of high school and 91.5% planned to undertake the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) to be eligible for higher education, in reality a significant number of school leavers do not perform well and should undertake training for employment. In addition, many students who are eligible for tertiary education cannot be admitted to government sponsored universities due to the limited number of places. This article begins with a consideration of students' aspirations, and then outlines the realities of transition and current issues. It concludes with some suggested policy measures that could improve equity during this school to work transition period.
[Educational Research for Policy and Practice is a copyright of Springer, 2017]

Schools are one of the major agents of socialisation in society along with the family, community, mass media and peer group. One of the important functions or purpose of education and schooling is to equip learners to live and work effectively in an ever-changing and evolving society. As new and growing challenges emerge which need to be met, such as concerns about environmental issues including destruction of the environment, global warming and an expanding carbon footprint, schools are one of the key agents of socialisation in society which seek to bring about changes in behaviour into more desirable directions. This chapter reports on the results of a research study that examined whether the schooling provided in Hong Kong has been successful in actually getting learners to modify their behaviour in ways and directions which are likely to successfully promote improvements to the environment and sustainable development. The results show that although there was a perceived increase in knowledge of the selected environmental issues, with regard to behaviour changes, 29.4–50.6% of students believed that their environmental behaviour had not changed. The chapter then examines pedagogies that can be successful in changing students’ behaviour and argues that to increase effectiveness of environmental studies, particular types of learning should occur, including discovery learning, systems thinking-based learning, critical thinking-based learning, interdisciplinary learning, problem-based learning and participatory/collaborative learning. Teachers should provide an opportunity to engage students in pro-environmental activities and address values that are going beyond an economic imperative.