This article demonstrates how a Hong Kong primary school enlists students (aged 6 to 12 years) in school governance by having a student council and by creating a supportive learning context, including building a supportive ethos and offering training for student leaders. The significance of this study lies in its reporting of a successful case of a student council in a primary school and the impacts on the civic qualities of the students involved. This is an attempt at investigating: the educational impacts of a student council in a primary school setting in a Chinese context; and the collaboration between schools, teachers and a service provider in nurturing a school ethos and context favourable for student engagement. This study argues that although primary school students are young, they are able to speak up and act as office bearers in a student council in an effective way. They can contribute towards school governance by conveying informed views on school matters. A supportive school context consisting of favourable attitudes taken up by school parties, namely the school governing board, principal, teachers and students, is crucial. Hopefully, the study can shed light to the international communities on the nurturing of citizens through active participation in school community at an early age to have the competence to know, think, act, reflect and care in a new political environment marked by uncertainty and increasing political polarization. Copyright © 2018 Intellect Ltd Article. English language.

In the previous literature on gifted education in Hong Kong, there has been little mention of special schools for gifted and/or talented students in Hong Kong except for GT College, Hong Kong's first college for the gifted. Some notable researchers in gifted education in Hong Kong have described the college briefly with regard to its admission policy but have not discussed its programmes. The present article aims to provide a more extended introduction about how GT College successfully nurtures its gifted and/or talented students to become future leaders in Hong Kong. The present article comprises a systematic overview of the historical developments of gifted education in Hong Kong. This is followed by a historical review of GT College. Then, GT College's learning and teaching philosophy is addressed followed by its innovative curriculum for gifted and/or talented students--Talent Development Programmes and Youth Development Programmes.
[Copyright of Gifted Education International is the property of Sage Publications Ltd..]

This paper will present why and what transformational leadership is needed to pursue school effectiveness and development in the rapidly changing education environment and in the coming new century. First, the challenges to school leadership and the need for new leadership will be discussed in the light of the pursuit of multiple school effectiveness and the worldwide educational reform trends. Based on the recent research on principals' leadership in Hong Kong schools, some important insights will be drawn for leadership development and school development particularly in both local context and international contexts. Then the paper will illustrate the shifts of leadership concepts and explain why transformational leadership is do critical to meeting educational challenges in the changing environment. The conception of transformational leadership and its relationship to school-based management, strategic management, and school effectiveness will be illustrated and explained. Finally, a number of implications will be proposed for school principals to practice transformational leadership and achieve long-term and multiple school effectiveness. Establishing a principal centre for leadership learning and development will be a major direction.

Teachers play a key role in curriculum development and reform. One of the major targets of the present curriculum reform in Hong Kong schools is to strengthen and empower local primary school teachers to become change agents. To facilitate the local teachers to become curriculum change agents and action researchers, the Education and Manpower Bureau of Hong Kong has been recruiting experienced teachers for the position of Primary School Master/Mistress (Curriculum Development) (PSMCD) as curriculum leaders for initiating curriculum reforms and to develop local teachers to participate in action research in the local schools. To better equip the PSM(CD)s, a course specifically designed to train them was conducted. This is a study with 200 PSM(CD)s of their expectations and understanding of competence and knowledge needed to perform their duties of curriculum leadership. How much of their expectations have been met in their training? What problems have these curriculum leaders encountered? The results are enlightening for the course provider as well as teacher educators and school curriculum reformers. With a better understanding about the problems they encountered in schools, the education authorities concerned can then provide necessary and appropriate support for these curriculum leaders. Significant implications for school curriculum reforms are drawn.
[Copyright of Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) at http://www.aare.edu.au]

One hundred seventy secondary schools in Hong Kong responded to a questionnaire designed to assess their needs for leadership training of students in different domains of school activities and their endorsement of university-school collaboration in these activities. The questionnaire also assessed the extent and degree of support and involvement that schools intended to provide in training programs and in organized school activities for students to assume leadership roles in schools. Findings indicated that schools were in need of student leaders in different student activities, especially in those less related to academic concerns. It was stressed that in providing opportunities for student leaders to continue practicing their skills in school activities, other students might eventually benefit through participation in school activities and peer support programs organized by student leaders.
[Copyright of Roeper Review is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02783190009554049 ]

Trainers and developers of school leaders across the globe are currently searching for models of best practice leadership development programmes. Are there generic features and principles of design underpinning such programmes? This article argues that corroborative evidence of what works in leadership training and development – to influence principals' knowledge, skills, values and behaviours – is now emerging. It describes a model of best practice in Hong Kong called Blue Skies, founded on and derived from a body of international research-based evidence from successful principal leadership programmes, together with evaluation evidence from another recent Hong Kong leadership programme. First, however, the policy background to leadership preparation in Hong Kong since 1990 is outlined. This is followed by an explanation of the structure for school leader training and development established by the Hong Kong Government since 2000. It is argued that with the structure in place, attention has been able to shift to the design principles of effective leadership programmes that maximize leader learning. Designs based on research evidence of what works emphasize, inter alia , learning linked to real school contexts, substantial involvement of trained and experienced principals as mentors, flexibility to meet diverse needs, multiple opportunities for reflection, and cohort bonding and networking – all of which form the platform for Blue Skies .
[Copyright of School Leadership & Management is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13634230600589659]