Because of the changing needs of society, brought about in part by workplace, family and social structures and partly by the decline of moral and ethical values, it is becoming increasingly urgent to address issues of values education at all levels of schooling. Recently there has been an increasing body of literature challenging those who teach adults at universities or other higher education institutions to incorporate values education, either directly or indirectly into the learning environments they create. This challenge extends to distance higher education, although there are many questions about how this can be done in an environment that is typically intended for independent learning with a focus on cognitive development. This paper reports the outcomes of interviews with three small groups of distance educator stakeholders at the Open University of Hong Kong, namely course co-ordinators, tutors and students, to explore their feelings and beliefs about values education being a component of their programmes. The interviews sought opinions about three broad questions: Should we take responsibility for values education in our distance education programmes? Can we take responsibility for values education in our distance education programmes? Do we take responsibility for values education in our distance education programmes? Responses suggested that, in the context of this study, we should and that it is possible to do so, particularly directly through the use of counselling and support services and indirectly through incorporating appropriate examples into course materials, but that currently not very much is being done. While the course co-ordinators and tutors were concerned that students might resent the inclusion of values education in their courses, the students themselves appeared to be more open to the suggestion.
[Copyright of International Journal of Lifelong Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's

This study deals with the issue of incorporating values education in music education in Hong Kong's primary and secondary schools. It includes the development of the state's cultural and national identity since its handover from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China (PRC). Thirty primary and secondary school music teachers were interviewed in order to understand how notions of "musical values" and "non-musical values" have been addressed in the curriculum. In particular, this study focuses on music teachers' perspectives on teaching world music, traditional Chinese music, the PRC national anthem, and non-musical values. This paper questions the effectiveness of existing curricular and pedagogical attempts to encourage the students' musical experience and extra-musical education. It concludes that values education must have clear conceptions of "values", "musical cultures", and "national identity" in order to maintain unity amidst the intensifying plurality of ethnicities and cultures in Hong Kong.
[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/10.1080/02188790600937383]

Fifty Hong Kong Chinese teachers rated the importance of 25 characteristics and 14 competencies for teachers of gifted learners. While all 39 characteristics and competencies were endorsed as important, the characteristics classified as philosophical ideals were rated most important, followed by characteristics related to professional predispositions. Personal attributes were rated least important. Regarding competencies, specific skills related to identifying, teaching, and counseling gifted learners were rated more important than global strategies. While the selection of teachers of gifted learners might proceed with selecting teachers with the desirable characteristics to meet the needs of gifted learners, the present findings indicated that the development of philosophical, professional, and personal characteristics conducive to effective teaching should not be neglected in teacher preparation programs. Further, desirable skills and competencies that teachers require to teach the gifted well could be made the objectives, goals, and outcomes of teacher preparation programs for teachers of gifted learners. It is believed that the development of teacher preparation programs for teachers of gifted learners in Hong Kong and elsewhere might benefit from integrating Chinese thinking with Western empirically supported findings on the characteristics and competencies of teachers of gifted learners.
[Copyright of Roeper Review is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02783190109554098 ]

Education is so strongly emphasized in the Chinese culture that academic success is widely regarded as the only indicator of success, while too much physical activity is often discouraged because it drains energy and affects academic concentration. This study investigated the relations among academic achievement, self-esteem, school conduct and physical activity level. The participants were 333 Chinese pre-adolescents (aged 8-12) in Hong Kong. Examination results and conduct grades were obtained from the school records. Global self-esteem was measured with the "Physical self-description questionnaire" (PSDQ), while physical activity patterns of the children were assessed with the "Physical activity questionnaire for children" (PAQ-C). Results showed that high academic achievers consistently attained better school conduct marks. However, physical activity level was quite an independent entity that was related neither to academic achievement nor school conduct. Furthermore, regression analyses showed that only academically high-achieving boys and physically active boys had higher self-esteem.
[Copyright of Educational Studies is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03055690600850016]