The present study aimed at assessing Hong Kong young children's gains in creativity and their teachers' application of arts education after a one-year artists-teachers collaborative arts education project that involves various art forms (i.e. drama, visual arts and integrated). Participants included 790 young children, 217 parents and 65 teachers in seven kindergartens and nurseries. Measures included the Test for Creative Thinking-Drawing Production, Story-Telling Test (STT), the subscales of parent-rated creativity, communication and motivational characteristics, and the adapted Scale of Application of Arts in the Classroom. Among the three art forms, children in the visual arts group demonstrated highest gains in verbal creativity as evaluated by the STT. Based on parents' report, there were significant differences in children's communication characteristics across the three art forms. Significant differences across art forms were also found in teachers' confidence in teaching arts to 3-4 years old and their perception of arts for arts sake. Both teachers and students take advantage of the professional and artistic input and guidance of practising artists in arts appreciation and production. Implications and limitations were discussed.
[Copyright of Educational Psychology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2013.875518]

Continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers must be situated within the context of the practice of teachers and be relevant to their teaching and learning needs. A CPD project was conducted in a Hong Kong kindergarten class. For five years prior to the CPD project, the class had used a mixed curriculum of project approach topics and thematic units. The novice teachers, however, repeatedly expressed their concerns regarding the project work, including their lack of control over its direction. The author (the school consultant) offered to conduct a school-based CPD project at the kindergarten in order to enhance the teachers' professional development using the project approach. This paper tracks a novice teacher's professional growth and development through her experience in the CPD project. Specifically, the paper discusses how a project involving kindergarten children evolved in the classroom, as well as the reflections of a novice teacher regarding the project approach and CPD.
[Copyright of Teacher Development is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2012.722440]

Commonalities and distinctions in Hong Kong-Chinese and German kindergarten teachers' conceptions of play and learning were examined. Six video clips of play episodes reflecting common play behavior and themes were selected from observations made during free play in two kindergartens in Hong Kong and two in Germany. Ten Chinese and seven German teachers viewed clips of children in their own and the other culture in small groups, participated in a semi-structured group discussion, and completed questionnaires, respectively. Results indicated that teachers in the two contexts had different views on the role of play in curriculum, teacher intervention during children's play, and learning objectives in play. These differences may be a function of different ecological environments and preset learning objectives. Findings suggest that teachers' cultural beliefs about play and learning are translated into actions (play arrangements) which, in turn, influence children's play behavior.
[Copyright of Roeper Review is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2011.623511]

This longitudinal study examined the relationship between pedagogical continuity in literacy education and early literacy development by comparing Chinese children in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Stratified random sampling was used to select 24 preschool and Primary 1 classes in four communities catering to middle-class families in each city. The 24 teachers were interviewed about their teaching methods and views on pedagogical continuity in individual sessions. Further, their teaching activities were videotaped over a period of a week. Their students (n = 758) completed a Chinese literacy attainment test at the beginning and at the end of the same academic year. Analyses indicated that Hong Kong students outperformed their Shenzhen counterparts in Chinese literacy attainment, at both preschool and primary levels, concurrently and longitudinally. This suggests that the holistic approach followed in Hong Kong might have a more positive impact on childrens literacy development than the approach followed in Shenzhen. Implications of the findings for early childhood curriculum reform 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/10.1080/09575146.2010.515944 ]