This paper examines the processes of implementing curriculum reform in schools. Specifically, it investigates how schools learn lessons from previous experiences of reform and apply them when challenged by new reforms. The context for this study is Hong Kong's New Secondary School Curriculum (NSSC), with particular reference to the subject of English Language. Research into the enactment of change over the last decade tells a story of weak leadership and management by policy makers, schools leaders and teachers. Key areas of weakness - poor management of change by school leaders, teachers' lack of understanding of the changes, and weak teacher collaboration - were pinpointed as reasons for the dismal results of curriculum change. This study investigates whether these areas of weakness were also in the implementation of the NSSC. Data collection comprised semi-structured interviews in nine secondary schools. The study reveals that lessons had been learnt from the previous experiences of implementing reform, and suggests that the capacity of schools to learn from a historical perspective should be taken into account in curriculum planning.
[Copyright of Asia Pacific Journal of Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02188791003722000]

Research Findings: Assessment and accountability have been given prominent attention in the field of education in recent decades. Educators have been debating what assessment is, how it is practiced in school, and how it is used for accountability purposes. A case study was conducted of the assessment practices in a Hong Kong preschool to understand the issues of assessment and accountability. This study investigates changes in assessment practices and explores implications for assessment and accountability. This research adopted various qualitative data collection methods, including interviews, site observations, collection of documents, and review of personal notes. The findings showed that there was a paradigm shift of assessment practice from an outcome-oriented approach to a process-oriented approach. Results revealed 4 major changes in the new assessment approach that involved the choice of assessment tools, the planning procedures, data collection methods, and new assessment activities. The major changes were built on the idea of assessment for learning and the strength of school capacity supporting self-improvement. The development of a culture of collaboration and professional learning communities helped to enhance teacher development and build school capacity.
Practice or Policy: This study urges the improvement of process-oriented assessment, school capacity, and the use of assessment data to understand the impacts of the new accountability system. The study supports a more balanced approach of combining school internal capacity and external systems to uphold school accountability and advocates the use of process-oriented assessment in early childhood education.
[Copyright of Early Education & Development is the property of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10409281003638717]

Research Findings: This article describes research into leadership practice for school improvement in Hong Kong preschools at a time when there was a move toward increased accountability. Two schools were selected for study, both of which were rated as excellent in the quality assurance inspections of the Education Bureau. Leadership practice for school improvement and related factors were investigated from the perspectives of various school stakeholders.
Practice or Policy: The findings indicate that the 2 case study schools adopted different approaches to the process of change. One school principal delegated more to her subordinates and sought a radical change in the curriculum. In contrast, the other school principal imposed more restrictions on the exercise of authority in decision making and delegation and tended to follow the logic of a quick-fix approach. Overall, though the 2 schools adopted different approaches to curriculum change, the exercise of leadership in both schools was still highly centralized. The characteristics of leadership practice as perceived by various school stakeholders were different from the concepts of distributed leadership documented in the Western literature.
[Copyright of Early Education & Development is the property of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10409280903582835]

Learning through play' in early childhood education is widely advocated, but studies show that play is not easily enacted in classrooms. The quality of learning through play has been questioned in various countries, especially when learning outcomes are a global concern. This paper examines how one teacher implemented learning through play within a formal and didactic Hong Kong pre-school classroom. Following this real-life adaptation of the play pedagogy, this paper aims to illuminate the practical theories of linking play with learning in the classroom. The findings support the adoption of 'play' in young children's learning and reveal tactful ways in which a teacher can encourage the evolving 'flow' of children's play while simultaneously scaffolding their learning. The paper analyses the tact involved in the above process and suggests key dimensions for realizing 'learning through play' in the classroom.
[Copyright of Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13598660903474163]

Governments are aiming to expand the intake to higher education, so it is important to understand what motivates students to enter university and choose a particular programme. The aim of this study was to see whether a motivational orientation framework, developed to explain motivation to study, could also be applied to motivation to enrol in a selected university programme. Data were collected through individual open interviews with 36 undergraduate students at three universities in Hong Kong. Analysis used a grounded theory approach. The motivational orientation framework consists of six continua, labelled: compliance, individual goal setting, university lifestyle, sense of belonging, career and interest. It was possible to interpret data on decisions to go to university and to pick particular programmes with the framework. Students could be allocated to a position on each continuum, which then characterised their initial motivation for study.
[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/10.1080/03075070903023510]

This paper is concerned with the general issues of ageing, learning, and education for the elderly. It also examines the more specific issues of why, how and what elders want to learn. The world's population is ageing rapidly. For example, it is estimated that by 2020 20% of the population in the USA will be 65 years old and over. It is predicted that 24% of the Hong Kong population will be over 65 years old by 2025 (Bartlett Phillips, 1995). The phenomenon has been described in colorful terms as the osilver tsunamio (Pew Report, 2001 cited in Summer, 2007). Ageing has an impact on all aspects of human life including the social, economic, cultural, and political domains. Understanding and providing for ageing is, therefore, an important issue for the twenty-first century. The World Health Organisation ([WHO], 2002) has proposed a model of active ageing based on optimizing opportunities for health, participation, and security in order to enhance quality of life for people as they age. The focus in this paper is on the education and learning aspect of participation as people age.
[Copyright of Educational Gerontology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03601270903182877]

Research Findings: Hong Kong launched the new mechanism of the Quality Assurance Inspection (QAI) in 2000 to enforce accountability and school improvement in the sector of early childhood education. The QAI comprises 3 stages: school self-evaluation, external inspection, and release of the QAI report to the public. To understand the roles of self-evaluation and external inspection and their interactions, we analyzed all 80 QAI reports released by the government from 2004 to 2007 and interviewed the principals and teachers of 3 kindergartens that had been ranked excellent, good, and satisfactory on Learning and Teaching performance in the QAI. The results indicated that (a) school performance on self-evaluation was significantly and positively correlated with Learning and Teaching performance but negatively correlated with the number of problems found in the QAI, (b) all kindergartens reported 4 types of challenges brought about by the external inspection (i.e., uncertainty, personnel, workload, and psychological burdens), and (c) the QAI was a facilitative and productive process for school self-evaluation and quality improvement. Practice or Policy: These findings suggest that an effective quality assurance mechanism should maintain a balance between external and internal evaluations and should work toward school empowerment and improvement.
[Copyright of Early Education & Development is the property of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10409281003638725]