This paper looks at the developmental needs of teachers in relation to facilitating the personal and social development of students. It goes on to describe a module, 'Personal and Social Education', offered to all pre-service teachers in the Hong Kong Institute of Education which aims at equipping trainee teachers to carry out the guidance role of a teacher in the context of Hong Kong, particularly in the role of a class teacher. It concludes with the results of a survey seeking the views of these trainees on the module they had undertaken.
[Copyright of Pastoral Care in Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-0122.00160]

Teacher education programs and teachers' own lives in the relatively homogeneous communities of the past have hardly equipped them to assist their students to become interculturally sensitive, global citizens. This study compares the levels of intercultural sensitivity of secondary school teachers in four Hong Kong schools using the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). Findings indicate unique IDI profiles at each of the four schools in the study and a wide range of IDI scores at each school. Implications of the findings provide the basis for recommendations for the professional development of teachers in these schools.
[Copyright of Intercultural Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14675980701327247]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate, the effectiveness of an in-service training program and understand teachers' receptivity to curriculum change in physical education. A total of 183 primary school teachers were recruited as participants on a voluntary basis. They were asked to respond to a questionnaire about their receptivity to changes in the current physical education curriculum as well as their views on, the effectiveness of a teacher development program that was organized by the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The results showed that the participant fell that in-service training was needed to equip them to implement a physical education program in line with the curriculum reform. The in-service training program was deemed to be practical and effective, bringing about good communication among school teachers, educational experts, and government curriculum officers. In terms of their receptivity to curriculum change, the participants generally had positive attitudes to the innovation and showed further support for the change after attending the program. The role of the principal and the need for school support for the reform are discussed in the concluding section.
[Copyright of Sport, Education and Society is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13573320412331302467]

This article is based on the findings of a study that examined the use of portfolios for assessment and learning purposes in an initial teacher education course in the Hong Kong Institute of Education. Progressive refocusing of the research led to an investigation of the extent to which the use of portfolios for such purposes promoted the development of reflective practice and teaching skills. Constraints and supports for the implementation of portfolios were identified through the use of observation, documentary analysis, surveys, video recordings and interviews with pre-service teachers and their lecturers. The implementation process and the teaching and learning outcomes are described. Teacher educators requested portfolio exemplars, more specific grading criteria and more examples to illustrate standards. Six principles that underpin the use of portfolios for assessment purposes, that emerged from an analysis of the research data and findings, are briefly described. An interactive CD ROM and a set of guidelines were produced as implementation resources. Details of these resources are provided.
[Copyright of Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09695940050118724]

The present research addressed the issue of 'life after a course'. The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of four in-service teacher-training courses at the Hong Kong Institute of Education in terms of their usefulness and relevance to the teachers' needs on return to school. An end-of-course evaluation questionnaire and a follow-up questionnaire were sent six months after the courses to see if there were any significant differences in the participants' views on the effectiveness of a course at two different time points. Qualitative data collected from interviews between the tutors and participants six months after the courses were also analysed to find out which aspects of the courses were considered to be most useful to the teachers on their return to school, and why they were useful. The findings from the research give valuable insights into the design of teacher-education courses.
[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/10.1080/1359866980260106 ]