As growing numbers of countries adopt market-oriented policies for steering higher education, there is increasing interest in accountability mechanisms that improve the capacity of colleges and universities to independently assure the quality of their academic degrees and student learning. Academic audit, first developed in the UK and subsequently adapted to countries such as Sweden, New Zealand and Hong Kong, offers such an approach. What problems have these countries encountered in implementing academic audits with regard to: the focus of audits; the selection and training of audit teams; the nature of audit self-studies; the conduct of audit visits; audit reports; and audit follow-up and enhancement activities? This paper reviews the lessons learned from these early experiments with academic audit and suggests guidelines for the design and implementation of effective audit processes.
[Copyright of Quality in Higher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13538320020005945]

This paper reports findings from an investigation of the implementation of "assessment for learning" in classroom music instruction in Hong Kong primary schools, focusing on the changes in assessment practice and music teachers' classroom instruction. Qualitative methodology was employed to document the cases of three music teachers. It was found that change in assessment practice in classroom music instruction led to a change in curriculum design which enhanced curricular alignment, as well as change in the mode of instruction which facilitated communication and interaction between teachers and students.
[Copyright of Teacher Development is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13664530701644599]

In Hong Kong, human rights education (HRE) is considered an aspect of civic education. For decades, HRE has been poorly attended. In 2009, a new compulsory subject, Liberal Studies, where HRE can be infused, will be introduced to senior secondary students (15-18 years old). This article reviews the development of HRE within civic education, followed by the analysis of Liberal Studies documents with reference to international human rights documents. It is concluded that Liberal Studies can be used as a vehicle for HRE. The aims and pedagogy proposed are similar to those adopted by HRE. International standards of human rights can be incorporated in the content. However, the HRE derived from Liberal Studies is a form of "action-poor HRE". Whether this "action-poor HRE" can adequately cultivate a universal human rights culture is an issue for further research.
[Copyright of Intercultural Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14675980802078590]

This qualitative study involving 30 teachers, followed by a survey of 895 teachers, investigated Hong Kong teachers' perception of a whole-school approach to guidance and its practice. Findings revealed that teachers perceived a whole-school approach as fostering student development and as a system of management. Teacher dedication, communication, and team spirit were considered as facilitating factors for its implementation. Findings also revealed an overall mismatch between teachers' beliefs about a whole-school approach and their perceived school reality, and that a wholeschool approach was not seen as practised in the majority of schools. There was a close relationship between schools' guidance focus and their implementation of a whole-school approach. Schools implementing a whole-school approach were considered to have both a preventive and developmental guidance focus and practice. Implications for the implementation of guidance are discussed.
[Copyright of British Journal of Guidance & Counselling is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/030698880220106528]