This paper discusses the educational policy, curriculum development, and the gap between planning and implementation of Personal and Social Education in Hong Kong schools. The future development in reducing the gap and improving the quality of Personal and Social Education is explored. Finally, the implications for teacher education and research are discussed.

The author notes that personal and social education is a new area of development in the educational field in Hong Kong. Further, given that much of the literature of personal and social education are Anglo-American or European, one needs to address a question: what is the influence of the largely Chinese settings in Hong Kong? This paper examines some of the debates of what constitutes personal and social education (development). Comparisons are made between Western and Chinese views (especially from Confucianism) on personal and social education.