Teacher effectiveness has always been an active area of research in teacher education, aiming to improve the quality of both preservice and inservice teachers, subsequently promote the quality of teaching and learning. In this respect, various aspects of teacher development have been studied by researchers such as the stages of development, mentorship, practical knowledge, teacher efficacy, teachers thinking and belief (e.g. Calderhead & Robson, 1991; Kagan, 1992; Bullough and Baughman, 1993' Nespor, 1987; Clark & Peterson, 1986). As teacher educator for many years, the author attempted to conduct a survey study of a group of preservice student teachers to examine their focus of concerns in teaching and their perceived factors leading to successful teaching as part of the investigated areas of teacher development in a teacher education institute in Hong Kong, The Fuller (1969) model of concerns has been widely utilized in teacher education programmes to explain the stages of professional development of a teacher. In the model, Fuller (1969) theorized that teacher concerns could be classified into three distinct categories: elf concerns" which center around the individual concern for their own survival related to their teacher preparation program, including their student teacher experiences; ask concerns" which focus upon the duties that teachers must carry out within the school environment; and impact concerns" which are related to one ability to make a difference and be successful with his /her students and the teaching/learning process. Subsequently, the author wished to know whether the Hong Kong preservice teachers exhibited similar categories of concerns as put forward in Fuller model despite a different cultural context. Meanwhile, the author tried to explore the factors perceived by preservice student teachers leading to successful teaching and whether and how their focus of concerns and perceived important factors of successful teaching were related. It was hoped

The Target-Oriented Curriculum (TOC) is currently a major component of the Hong Kong school curriculum at the primary level. Given the central role of the teacher in all curriculum renewal initiatives, teachers’ professional competencies for TOC are a key factor affecting its implementation. This study, deriving from a large-scale Education Department commissioned research project, focuses on primary school teachers’ professional competencies for the implementation of TOC in the subjects of Chinese, English, and Mathematics. Teachers’ professional competencies are analyzed from two different perspective: that of teachers implementing the new curriculum; and from the standpoint of teacher educators involved in TOC teacher education. Data was collected through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observation. Triangulation via these three different research tools and from the dual perspectives of teachers and teacher educators enables a multi-faceted picture of professional competencies for TOC to be developed. From this analysis, implications are drawn for teacher education needs related to TOC and also wider issues of teacher development, curriculum change, and school-university partnerships.
[Copyright © 2000 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]

In this paper, we shall explore academic writing in the framework of academic literacy development among Hong Kong university ESL learners of language and education programs. We shall also discuss discipline-specific academic writing in terms of the continuum comprising academic writing in science, social science and humanities and the implications for developing academic writing skills of Hong Kong ESL learners. In particular, we shall discuss in detail a number of issues regarding academic writing in the disciplines of language and education.
[The International Journal of the Humanities Copyright © Common Ground, Zhichang Xu, Lixun Wang, Pui Man Jennie Wong, Matthew DeCoursey, All Rights Reserved. The journal web site is located at http://ijh.cgpublisher.com/]