The emphasis on all round development and life-wide learning as proposed in the recent Education Reform in Hong Kong suggests that students should be exposed to a broader experience to help them understand their abilities and aptitudes. Developing school-based curriculum materials is one means to support the learning and teaching in schools. This paper reports on the collaborative work between the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) and some secondary schools in developing school-based curriculum materials in technology education. Initial ideas on the curriculum topics for implementation were first discussed with teachers during school visits by Institute staff. These ideas were further developed during the period of school teachers’ attachment in the Institute. The materials were piloted in the schools concerned and student feedbacks were solicited on their attitudes towards the teaching and learning materials. The general responses from the students were encouraging and they favoured the use of modern technology that helped facilitate their understanding of the subject matters.

From the perspective of a teacher education institution, the most important partner to work together is certainly the school itself. In fact, the partnership between tertiary and schools has received considerable attentions from teacher educators and policy makers since the late 80s. In Hong Kong, recent developments in teacher education programmes have also placed increasing emphasis on establishing links with the school sectors. This paper reports a pilot study of the Honorary teaching Adviser (HTA) Scheme, which seeks to involve school teachers to support the professional development of participants on pre-service and in-service initial teacher education programmes for cultural and technology subject teachers. The research aims to compare, between pre-service and in-service initial teacher education, the supporting strategies adopted by the HTA to facilitate student teachers' professional learning and the mode of team teaching and professional dialogues engaged in by the student teachers and the HTA. Views of the stakeholders including school principals/school co-ordinators, Institute supervisors and Honorary Teaching Advisers towards the partnership are solicited. Finally, issues and challenges in the HTA Scheme of pre-service and in-service initial teacher education programmes are identified for future implementation.

Whilst institute-school partnerships have been investigated extensively as potentially valuable routes for the professional preparations of student teachers (Booth, Furling and Wilkin, 1990; McCullough and Fidler, 1994), considerably less is known as to how co-operating teachers/ teaching advisers process their roles and the nature of effect of their dynamic relationships with student teachers on their own professional lives. This paper attempts to present the voices of four teaching advisers who participated in the Honorary Teaching Adviser Scheme of an initial teacher education programme in Hong Kong. Data collected through semi-structured interviews, lesson observations, and post-observation conferences present a general picture of the challenges and promises of the Scheme as perceived by the teaching advisers on their own professional growth. Findings point to the need for re- envisioning the full potential of mentoring in teacher preparation and continuing professional development. Data from a previous study will also be contrasted to illustrate teachers' progression from resistance to readiness to assume an expanding role in teacher preparation. The paper will conclude with suggestions for fostering an effective and productive professional learning experience for both student teachers and teaching advisers.

The development of institute-school partnership to facilitate the implementation of the field-based component of initial teacher education programme has been a dominant theme in teacher education. This paper outlines the development of the Honorary Teaching Adviser Scheme of an initial teacher education programme for cultural and technology subject teachers of secondary schools in Hong Kong. It presents the process of how inputs from a cross-section of stakeholders are integrated in the development of the Scheme. The integration is done through consultation and collaboration between the teacher education institution and the school community. Consulting different groups of stakeholders lays the ground for the introduction of the Scheme. The stakeholders include academics from different departments of the teacher education institution, academics from local and overseas higher education institutions as well as principals and teachers of the school community. Collaboration is done through inviting members of the school community to work on piloting the Scheme before its full implementation. Insights gained from consultation and piloting the Scheme inform its further development. The attempts on consultation and collaboration represent a move from a unidimensional model of institute-school partnership to some form of complementarity (Bines & Welton, 1995). Such development involves a complex process of managing change and redefining roles and responsibilities of higher education and school personnel in initial teacher education.

Whilst institute-school partnership have been affirmed as potentially valuable routes for the professional preparations of student teachers (Booth, Furlong & Wilkin, 1990; McCullough & Fidler, 1994), relatively less is known as to how teaching advisers perceive their roles and the impact of their collaborative relationships with student teachers on their own professional lives. This paper attempts to present the voices of four teaching advisers who participated in a mentoring scheme of an initial teacher education program in Hong Kong. Data collected through semi-structured interviews, lesson observations, and post-observation conferences present a general picture of the promises of the scheme as perceived by the teaching advisers in enhancing their own professional development, as well as challenges at the 'action' level. Findings point to the need for re-envisioning the roles and responsibilities of teachers for their own professional development as well as that of others. The paper will conclude with suggestions for fostering an effective and productive learning experience for both student teachers and teaching advisers.
[Copyright © 2004 De La Salle University, Philippines.]

One of the principles adopted in the Review of Education System in Hong Kong is to give more room and flexibility for students to be masters of their own learning. (Education Commission, 1999). This is particularly important in teacher education programmes which aim to prepare student teachers who, in turn, will influence the learning approach of their students. Problem Based Learning (PBL) is generally a student centered learning approach in which students are encouraged to participate in the learning process. Two groups of students, one group studying the Technical Teacher Certificate Course and the other on Certificate of Education Course, form the subjects of this research project. A real contextual problem was posed to the students and the lecturers act as facilitators during the whole learning process. Students feedback and their attitudes were solicited after the first cycle of implementing PBL. The first week of the PBL process was most crucial and it is important that students fully understand what PBL is and what are the roles of lecturers and students in the learning process. The second phase of the project was administered with reference to the comments from staff and students made after the completion of the first cycle. Follow-up interviews were conducted to report on the needs of the students in the learning process. It is anticipated that this study can foster more student involvement in the learning process and that deep learning is encouraged and supported.

This study examined the views of teaching as a career choice held by Hong Kong students in their final year of upper secondary school (Secondary Seven). Significant differences were found between students' interest in teaching and demographic characteristics such as gender, religious beliefs, household income and parents' education levels, as well as their public examination scores and streams of study. Three attractive and three deterrent factors were identified among the reasons influencing students' choice of teaching as a career, respectively. Among 20 listed occupations, teaching was ranked relatively high by the students both as the occupation they 'most wanted' and 'most respected'. The paper discusses the implications of these findings and draws conclusions which may be helpful to teacher education providers and policy makers on measures to recruit prospective students to initial teacher education.
[Copyright of Journal of Education for Teaching is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02607470500168974]