Change is endemic to Hong Kong, particularly in the new era when the Chinese government overtakes the sovereignty from Britain after one-and-a-half centuries of colonial rule. According to the Sino-British Joint Agreement signed in 1984, Hong Kong people can live under ‘One Country, Two Systems’ for a period of fifty years. Both of the capitalist and communist systems have exerted influence in the formation of the new government for a period of fifty years. As education policy changes significantly under the purview of the Basic Law, traditional curricula are no longer adequate for the rapid changing political scenario. Politicians and educators are seeking new directions in shaping our education agenda. Civic education, which has never been important in the curriculum in the past, is gaining attention as people are finding ways of harmonizing nationalism, capitalism, communism and patriotism in the new era. The use of Chinese instead of English as the first language of instruction also causes significant change in education. With the influx of migrants from China, there is a call for adjustment programmes for new migrants and the deprived. Affective education, such as personal and social education, guidance and counselling, moral education and sex education is gaining importance particularly. It is timely for us to modify the curricula for the needs of society and potential development of students. It is also interesting for education researchers to look into the development of the new curricula, particularly the effectiveness of the personal and social education developed in the new era.

In the recent education reform, teachers are encouraged to take a more active guidance role in teaching, learning and solving student disciplinary problems under the comprehensive school guidance system promoted in public documents in Hong Kong. The whole school approach to student guidance has been evolved for more than a decade in schools, but to what extent is the comprehensive guidance system approach an advance in education leadership, or just another empty slogan? This paper investigates how teachers coping with change in five primary schools perceived their changing guidance roles under the system approach model: from understanding the aims of education and guidance; strategies used for teacher-student interaction and solving student problems, participation in guidance activities in schools; to the design and implementation of the personal growth and guidance curriculum since the education reform in 2002. Qualitative research methods include the use of survey questionnaires; in-depth interviews, classroom observation and school visits. Results showed that teachers appreciated the education and guidance rationale for whole person development for the majority of students with educational, developmental and preventative approaches whilst specialists would be provided for remedial service. Most participant teachers considered that teaching was their primary role and sitting for the competence language tests was their immediate concern for job survival in the current education reform. Although teachers were more prepared to take a broader perspective to respond to the needs of students implicitly, to participate more in the guidance activities and involve more in the design and implementation of the guidance curriculum, they found it difficult to achieve an effective guidance role owing to the lack of time and resources. Unless more resources and support are provided for teacher development, the comprehensive guidance system approach for a child’s whole person development

Education values and beliefs in whole child development underpin the aims of education in the 21st century. Literature shows that teacher's belief in humanistic approach in bringing out the holistic development of a child plays a significant part in fulfilling the education ideology. The study of a group of 35 in-service primary school teachers in Hong Kong in 1999/2000 revealed that although a considerable number of them believed in the affective approach, they had technical difficulties in the implementation owing to the constraint of time and resources, whilst teacher development in understanding humanistic education is essential to facilitate the change.

Teachers' beliefs in human values significantly affect their interaction with students in effective classroom learning.! Whether a teacher has taken a humanistic approach or behavioral approach in the classroom is a curious question especially in a culturally mixed Hong Kong society. In response to this question, the researcher attempted to find out what the teachers believed in human values and how they practiced their beliefs in the classroom. As part of the major research,! this paper aimed to elaborate on the teachers' beliefs and practice during teacher pupil interaction and whether their] beliefs and practice were affected by the East and West educational philosophy. Education values and beliefs in whole child development underpin the aims of education in the 21st century. Literature! showed that a teacher's belief in humanistic approach in bringing out the holistic development of a child plays an important role in fulfilling the education ideology. The study of a group of 35 in-service primary school teachers in Hong Kong was launched in 1999/2000 regarding their teacher-pupil interaction. The research methods mainly included in-depth interviews, questionnaires and classroom observations. The research findings revealed that the participant teachers] practiced both humanistic and behavioral approaches, and the cultural perspective on humanistic or behavioral approach] was not prominent. Although a considerable number of them believed in the affective approach, they had technical] difficulties in the implementation owing to the constraint of time and resources. The research outcome implied that further] teacher development in affective education is essential to facilitate student learning in the current educational change.