Mentoring may be seen as a process that helps student teachers become professional teachers. In this context, a variety of significant roles played by mentors have been identified in the literature. This paper reports on mentors' perceptions of the most important roles selected from a given list, as revealed through questionnaire and interview data. This analysis forms part of a large-scale evaluative project of a school-university partnership scheme initiated by the University of Hong Kong. The findings indicate overwhelming attention given to the role of 'provider of feedback', which stresses the provision of pragmatic advice given to student teachers according to their personal strengths and weaknesses. However, for those mentors whose perception of the most important role had changed over time, the direction of change was towards roles such as 'counselor', 'equal partner' and 'critical friend', which emphasize a more relational aspect of working together with student teachers to achieve professional development.
[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/10.1080/13598660500286267]

This article tries to explore some new direction for the in-service education of the teaching profession (INSET). The basic assumption for the present proposal of improving the lifelong professional development of teachers is that no substantial financial burden would be imposed on either the governments or the teachers. The present study was planned so that the data collected could be compared with two previous Hong Kong studies (Ho 1987, Ho and Chan 2000) done in the last 15 years. A questionnaire about INSET was designed for the study. Among the 2045 schools in Hong Kong, 102 schools (about 5%) were randomly selected for the study. Forty questionnaires were sent to each selected school for their teachers to complete. Fifty-nine schools sent back a total of 1363 questionnaires. The response rate was 58%. The results indicated that a great majority of teachers support the idea of partial pay leave as well as no pay leave. Governments and/or voluntary educational organizations are challenged to review their present policy of lifelong education of teachers.
[Copyright of International Journal of Lifelong Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0260137032000081511]

This paper characterizes early mathematics instruction in Hong Kong. The teaching of addition in three pre-primary and three lower primary schools was observed and nine teachers were interviewed about their beliefs about early mathematics teaching. A child-centered, play-based approach was evident but teachers emphasized discipline, diligence and academic success. Observations also revealed practices reflective of both constructivist and instructivist pedagogies. Results from interviews suggest that teachers' traditional cultural beliefs about instruction were challenged by western ideologies introduced in continuing professional development courses and by notions promulgated by the educational reforms. Both consistencies and inconsistencies between teachers' beliefs and practices were identified. Implications of the findings are discussed.
[Copyright of Early Years: An International Journal of Research and Development is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09575140802020917]

In this age of advanced technology, the pervasive influences of the media on pupils has aroused widespread concern among educators in general and religious educators in particular. This article argues for the teaching of religion through media education. It first discusses the interest of religious groups in media education and how media education might make an important contribution to the teaching of religion. Then it provides data from two schools who have adopted media education in the teaching of religious education to see how teachers and pupils have responded to this initiative.
[Copyright of Religious Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00344080600956723]

Substantial, broad and varied benefits can be gained from mentoring; however, the key to successful mentoring lies in the mentor/mentee relationship. The present study investigated the dimensions in the mentoring relationships that foster or impede the mentoring process between four kindergarten principals and four student-teachers in Hong Kong. The findings of the study support the view that relationship-building is critical in the mentoring process. The dimensions that may sustain an effective mentoring relationship appear to be a high comfort level, trust, openness, ongoing support, regular communication, and the mentors' expertise and level of commitment.
[Copyright of Early Child Development and Care is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0300443022000022404]