Surveys at a university in Hong Kong indicated that graduates of discrete part-time programmes perceived significantly higher development in eight out of nine graduate capabilities than their counterparts in full-time programmes. Several possible explanations are considered and rejected. The conventional view that capabilities are nurtured through immersion in a stimulating campus environment was not applicable, as the part-time students spent less time on campus than the full-time ones. Other data in the survey suggested that the respective teaching and learning environments might be the principal cause. It appeared that the part-time courses had more teacher-student interaction, and were more likely to employ active learning approaches. Structural equation modelling was used to examine this possible explanation. A model in which the type of teaching and teacher-student relationships impacted upon capability development showed a good fit to the data. The greatest effect was from teaching approaches requiring active student involvement and aiming for understanding. There was a mutually reinforcing effect from good teacher-student relationships. The results suggest that a strong effect on the development of graduate capabilities may come through employing active learning approaches.
[Copyright of Studies in Higher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03075070500043127]

The expansion in the number of people entering higher education has resulted in a substantial increase in the proportion of students enrolling in nontraditional modes, such as part-time study. This study examined the question of whether part-time study curtails the development of the types of intellectual capabilities needed for a knowledge-based economy, because the students would have markedly less exposure to a stimulating campus environment than their full-time counterparts. Graduates from discrete full- and part-time programs from 1 university in Hong Kong completed a survey seeking perceptions of the nurturing of a range of capabilities, together with measures of teacher-student relationships and type of teaching experienced. Two hypotheses were tested by structural equation modeling: (a) the same mechanism for capability development operated for full- and part-time modes and (b) the principal element of the mechanism was the nature of teaching and the quality of teacher-student interaction. Hypothesis 1 was supported because configural invariance between hypothesized models for capability development between the 2 modes was found. Hypothesis 2 was also supported because the models showed that the principal influence on capability development came from teaching for understanding, through promoting active learning experiences and the degree and quality of teacher-student interaction.
[Copyright of Structural Equation Modeling is the property of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15328007sem1302_6]

The idea of active learning was first introduced to kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong in 1981 when they received their in-service teacher education. In a two-year, school-based project, 60 teachers in five schools were asked to create collaborative videos about models of good practices after sharing "effective" teaching episodes with peer teachers who were experimenting with "desirable" learning activities in their classrooms. This study reports on the planning, implementation, classroom ethos and adult support displayed in the project deliverables (videos) so as to portray the kinds of emergent innovations that were being adopted. The findings of the study suggest that there was some significance to the use of collaborative reflection to activate teachers' creativity and sensitivity in giving children's learning first priority in their pedagogy. As well, it points toward using collaborative reflection as an element of teacher education.
[Copyright of Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10901020701634864]

A constant concern for educators is how best to train the students. With the knowledge explosion and increasing complexity of the social problems, we have to look for ways to strengthen social work students' ability for continual development. Enhancing their lifelong learning competence would help them to face the future demands. To achieve this, the University of Hong Kong Department of Social Work and Social Administration ventured to use the problem-based learning (PBL) approach in some Year two practice courses of the Bachelor of Social Work program. This paper reports on the findings and shares some reflection on the experience.
[Copyright of Journal of Teaching in Social Work is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J067v26n03_07]

An under-explored area in social work is the development of theories of social work education. The author has made use of her own teaching practice in Hong Kong, systematically experimenting with some of the experiential learning theories developed since the early 1990s, to generate practice knowledge. This paper presents two major findings of one of the author's action research experiences that shed light on the process by which learners who are experts in a particular approach to practice gain new practice knowledge. The first finding contributes to the theoretical understanding of one of the factors that can prevent learners from acquiring substantive knowledge. In particular, the distinct frames that both teachers and learners bring to their teaching-learning experience determine how well learners gain new substantive knowledge. The second finding contributes to the development of practice knowledge, revealing how ineffective teaching and learning can change so that learners can adopt new, more effective frames.
[Copyright of Social Work Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02615470701456442]