Background: During the period of British colonial rule, the nature of civic education in Hong Kong was characterized as denationalized, depoliticized and decontextualized. The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration substantially altered the nature of civic education. The "China Today" module of Liberal Studies (LS) was one of the results of the re-engineering the civic education. The teachers' paradigms of the "China Today" module were explored because the module used national themes as materials to inculcate values in students and is directly related to both citizenship education and national education.
Aim: The aim of this study is to examine teachers' paradigms of the "China Today" module through their conceptualization of citizenship and their perspective on teaching. Samples: Four secondary teachers of the "China Today" module were invited to participate.
Methods: Questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and non-participant observation were used to assess the teachers' perception and practices.
Results: Data from the questionnaire and interviews revealed that the four teachers highly valued moral, socially concerned citizens and democratic citizens. In terms of aims and approaches to citizenship education, the four teachers embraced the notion of citizenship as competence as aim and reflective-inquiry approach, but only two teachers were able to carry them out in the classroom setting. Another two teachers used transmission approach.
Conclusion: Framed by the notion of citizenship as competence as their aim and equipped in issue-enquiry or reflective-inquiry approach, and experienced in developmental perspective on teaching, the CSS2 and CSS3 teachers were able to cultivate in student' dispositions and skills. Teachers unaware of the citizenship framework and unfamiliar with the developmental perspective on teaching found it difficult to cultivate rational aspects of students.
背景：在英國統治期間，香港公民教育有以下的特色：就是課程不涉及祖國和政治，並且沒有脈絡。1984年，中英聯合聲明大大改變這本質

背景： 香港課程發展議會2006年發布的《學前教育課程指引》提出採用「學習歷程檔案」，幫助記錄幼兒的學習與發展過程。有見及此，本研究遂致力探討幼師對它的認識和意見，從而提出優化推行幼兒學習檔案的建議。
目的：本研究先探討幼師認為為幼兒建立「幼兒學習檔案」的目的，然後探討他們對為幼兒建立「幼兒學習檔案」的意見。
調查對象：研究對像是香港幼稚園教師，研究樣本選取自2006-2007年度，修讀香港教育學院舉辦的幼稚園証書課程的學員。
調查方法：本研究採用定量研究和定性研究兩種調查方式。定量研究是採用問卷調查方法，共派發了一百四十份問卷，收回一百二十一份，回收率達百分之八十六。定性研究方法是採用與教師面談方式，訪問十位元教師，他們來自不同的學校，教齡在五年以上。
調查結果：幼師明白學習檔案的目的是作記錄和評估幼兒的學習，但是卻忽略了記錄幼兒學習情況背後的意義：幫助幼師瞭解和分析幼兒的需要，從而調適教學策略。幼師認為為幼兒建立學習檔案對家長，幼師和幼兒三方面都有裨益，但同時很多幼師認為要為幼兒建立學習檔案是很有壓力，例如他們缺乏時間記錄幼兒的學習，也要用大量時間來填寫評語，他們難在課堂中兼顧教學、觀察、記錄和評估幼兒學習的情況，他們對如何觀察和評估幼兒學習也欠信心。
總結：本研究發現大部分幼師都認同幼兒學習檔案的作用，但在幫助幼兒建立檔案的過程中卻遇到不少困難和壓力。要成功在幼稚園推行學習檔案，必須要加強幼師專業培訓、配合適當的教育政策、增加學校和家長對幼師的支援。本研究有其局限性，由於研究對象全是修讀幼稚園証書課程的學員，研究的發現因此不夠全面。
Background: According to Hong Kong Pre-education Guideline pressed in 2006, the use of children portfolios has been introduced in Hong Kong kindergartens. Thus, this study helps to explore Hong Kong teachers' understanding and comments on the use of children portfolios. It is suggested how to better use children portfolios at kindergartens.
Aims: Firstly, it is to explore teachers' understanding of the aims of using portfolios at kindergartens. Secondly, it is to find out teachers' comments on helping children to develop the portfolios.
Sample: The sample was chosen from the in-service kindergarten teachers who were enrolled in the teacher certificate course offered at Hong Kong Institute of Education during the academic year 2006-2007. They were qualified and experienced teachers.
Method: The study employed a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, with data being collected through questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires were sent to 140 in-service kindergarten teachers and 121 returned the questionnaires, the return rate is 86%. A total of ten teachers were interviewed, all are experienced teachers with at least five years of teaching.
Results: Most teachers have the basic understanding of the use of children portfolios

背景：校本評核是教育改革的新方案，不少國家引入校本評核輔助公開考試，拓闊評核的基礎，提升學習效能，然而很多研究發現教師對評核變革的信念足以影響其實施。
目的：香港中學會考中國語文於2005-06學年實行校本評核，本研究以個案形式探討教師對校本評核的信念及其如何回應此變革。
研究對象：兩位高中中文教師
研究方法：採用半結構式訪談及檔分析蒐集資料
研究結果：研究發現乙老師支持校本評核，採取積極態度，安排各種評估活動，豐富學習與評核的內容；而甲老師卻持觀望態度，採取最省時省力的方法實施校本評核而不影響教與學的常態，反而致力幫助學生應付公開考試。
結論：研究揭示教師的信念影響其態度、決策與行動，為政策制定者帶來重要的啟示。
Background: School-based assessment is a new initiative of education reform. Many countries from different parts of the world have introduced SBA to supplement public examinations, broaden the assessment base and enhance learning effectiveness. However, many studies uncover teachers' beliefs, which affect the implementation of SBA.
Aims: SBA has been implemented in Chinese Language of Hong Kong Certificate Education Examination since the academic year of 2005-06. This case study aimed at exploring teachers' beliefs on SBA and how they responded to the change.
Sample: two Chinese Language teachers who teach senior forms
Method: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and document analysis.
Results: The results showed that teacher B supported SBA and his attitude was positive. He was willing to arrange a variety of activities for assessment, enriching the contents of learning and assessment. However, teacher A with dubious attitude towards SBA, adopting time-saving and energy-saving strategies to implement SBA without hampering the norms of teaching and learning. Effort was focused on helping students prepare for the public examination.
Conclusion: This study highlighted the importance of teachers' beliefs, which exerted influence to their attitudes, decision making and action. The findings have important implications to policy makers.
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]

背景： 近年，香港推行教學和評估的改革，很多教師有機會參與不同的培訓課程，認識到語文教學和評估的新趨勢。他們對實踐評估理念提出很多意見。
目的：1. 探討教師對語文評估新趨勢理念的認識和實踐的情況 ；2. 探討教師在現行語文評估遇到的困難
調查對象：研究對像是香港小學中國語文科教師，選取2005-2006年度，修讀香港教育學院中文學系舉辦的小學語文科教師專業進修課程的學員為研究樣本。
調查方法：本研究採用定量研究和定質研究兩種調查方式。定量研究方法是採用問卷調查方式，派發了九十份問卷，收回八十份，回收率達百分之八十九。定質研究方法是採用與教師面談方式，訪問六位元教師，他們來自不同的學校，教齡在五年以上。
調查結果：調查發現大部分教師認同指引中提出的評估理念，但是對於如何落實新的評估理念仍存有疑問的。教師應用多元化評估方法遇到了不少的困難。同時教師卻深受考試「倒流效應」的影響，教師為了應付「全港基本能力評估」，常給學生操練式的練習和補課，影響教師的課堂教學，妨礙了教師實行多元化的評估。
總結：香港近幾年提出了新的語文評估理念，研究發現教師對實踐評估理念是有困難的。要確切落實新語文評估的理念，教師培訓人員、校長、教師和家長多方面的支持和配合是不可或缺的。
Background: In recent years, reforms on Chinese language assessment have been introduced in Hong Kong. Teachers have attended different seminars about the new trend of assessment in Hong Kong and they have opinions on it.
Aims: (1) To find out primary Chinese language teachers' perception and their implementation of the new assessment. (2)To explore the difficulties teachers encounter in the implementation of the new assessment.
Sample: The sample was chosen from the in-service primary Chinese language teachers who enrolled in the five weeks retraining course during the academic year 2005-2006. They were qualified and experienced teachers.
Method: Both quantitative and qualitative methods are used in this study. Questionnaires were sent to 90 in-service primary Chinese language teachers and 80 returned the questionnaires, the return rate is 89%. Then, a total of six teachers were interviewed, all are experienced teachers with at least five years of teaching.
Results: Finding indicates that many teachers agree with the rationale of the new assessment, however, they do not actually know how to implement it in their classrooms. They encounter difficulties in implementation. The 'backwash effect' has great impact on their teaching.
Conclusion: Finding indicates that many teachers encounter problems in the implementation of the rationale of new assessment. However, it is suggested that

Background: Teacher Participation in decision-making is one of the recommendations of school-based management and one of the key characteristics of an effective school. Although teacher participation in decision making is claimed to be correlated with their affective outcome, few researchers have been attempted to verify the predictive effectiveness of participation in different decision domains under a multi-dimensional participatory model on their affective outcomes. This study intends to identify an empirical participatory model ought to help school administrators involve teachers in appropriate decisions for improving teachers' affective outcomes, which result in quality decision-making.
Aims: To examine theoretically the causal relationship between teacher participation in decision-making and their affective outcome for developing a participatory decision model, and identify the decision domains that would assist school administrators to effectively involve teachers in decision-making under the school-based management policy.
Sample: Questionnaires were sent to 20 secondary schools in Hong Kong. A total of 335 teacher-completed questionnaires were collected from all the target schools.
Methods: Theoretical model and questionnaires were constructed by synthesizing theories from literatures, principal axis factor analysis and reliability test were used to validate the constructed validity and reliability of the questionnaires. Structural equation modeling was applied to validate the participatory model and estimate the correlation among the variables.
Results: The results showed that a multi-dimensional decision was identified by the structural equation modeling, the relationship among the variables of the model were also explored. The three dimensional decision model includes instructional, curriculum and managerial domains; and the variables of the affective outcome include job satisfaction, job commitment and perception of workload. All

Background: The literature suggests two main types of orientations influencing teachers' choice of assessment strategies--"Knowledge acquisition and retention (K orientation)" and "Understanding and Conceptual change (U orientation)" with the former more directly related to surface learning types of assessment strategies and the latter more to do with strategies which encourage deep learning.
Aims: The study aimed to investigate what kinds of strategies teachers used to assess their students and how teachers' self-reported assessment strategies reflected the orientations suggested in the current literature. In addition, it identified the governing forces that impacted on the orientations of the teachers in their assessment strategy selection.
Sample: Ninety-four Hong Kong teachers from nine primary schools and six secondary schools took part in semi-structured interviews which focused on the strategies they used for assessing their students.
Results: The teachers reported using many types of strategies including tests, exams, projects, etc. The results of the study showed that there were forces that drew teachers towards "Knowledge acquisition and retention" orientation while selecting assessment strategies for use.
Conclusion: More effort has to be made to encourage teachers to attain a better balance between assessment aimed at measuring knowledge and assessment aimed at learning and understanding.
背景: 文獻指出教師在選擇評估策略上有兩種主要取向 - 「知識的獲取與記憶」(知識取向) 及「理解與概念的轉變」(理解取向)。「知識取向」的評估策略偏向淺層次的學習；而「理解取向」的評估策略是鼓勵深層次的學習。
目的: 本研究的目的是瞭解教師選擇甚麼評估策略來評估學生，分析他們選取評估策略的取向，及找出主導他們對評估策略取向的因由。
取樣: 本研究訪問了九十四位來自九所小學及六所中學的香港教師。
結果: 本研究的結果顯示教師曾經使用不同種類的評估策略，包括測驗、考試及專題計劃等。當教師選擇評估策略的時候，有一些外在的力量使他們傾向於選擇「知識取向」。
結論: 有需要增強相關的做法，令教師擺脫這些限制，使「用評估量度知識」與「用評估學習和理解」之間取得平衡。
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]

This study investigated Participatory Decision-Making (PDM) in Hong Kong self-managing secondary schools. It also examined teachers' job satisfaction, organizational commitment, role ambiguity and role conflict in relation to PDM. A questionnaire survey involving 959 teachers from 214 schools was conducted. Principal components analysis was used to study the underlying subscales of teachers' PDM and their affective work outcomes. Correlational analysis, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and multiple regression analysis were employed to examine the relationships between teachers' PDM and their affective work outcomes.
Two decision domains (managerial and teaching) emerged in Hong Kong secondary schools. Teachers were generally more involved in PDM in the teaching domain than the managerial domain. Teachers from School Management Initiative (SMI) schools had greater participation in managerial decisions than non-SMI schools, but there was no significant difference in PDM between SMI and non-SMI teachers in decisions related to teaching.
Non-SMI teachers were more decisionally deprived in both the managerial and teaching domains than were SMI teachers. However, both SMI and non-SMI teachers were more decisionally deprived in the managerial domain than the teaching domain. For both managerial and teaching domains, principals' support for PDM was a significant positive predictor for teachers' actual participation. Six subscales of job satisfaction emerged from the analysis: work itself, supervision, colleagues, indirect participation in PDM, workload and responsibility. There were two subscales for organizational commitment which include present and future commitment.
No significant difference between SMI and non-SMI teachers emerged for any job satisfaction subscales except responsibility. SMI teachers were less satisfied with their sense of responsibility for teaching than non-SMI teachers. SMI teachers may have diverted some of their time and

背景：香港政府自2000 年開始施實教師「語文能力要求」以及相應的「教師語文能力評估」。在這項政策之下，全港中小學的常額英文和普通話科教師必須在特定時限之前達到相關語文能力要求，否則將不獲准繼續任教英文或普通話科。政府的是項舉措在本港教育界引發了廣泛的爭論。
目的：本研究目的在於調查政府該項措施實施兩年之後，受影響的中學普通話科教師對政府此項舉措的一般意見和態度。
調查對象：本研究的調查對象為香港中學普通話科科主任教師。
調查方法：本研究採用直接問卷的方式進行。以郵寄方法向香港400 間中學的普通話科科主任進行問卷調查，成功收回問卷177 份。
調查結果：結果顯示，普通話科教師一般認為，政府的這項政策對於語文教師的專業發展有其必要；但是，由於政府強力推行是項政策，加重了教師的工作負擔，所以不受教師們的歡迎。
總結：如果想令到政府的這項政策得到語文教師的歡迎，政府必須有相應的措施有效地減輕受影響教師的工作壓力，因為是項政策的實施實際上加重了教師業已十分繁重工作量。
Background: Since 2000 Hong Kong government has pursued a new policy of Language Proficiency Requirement (LPR) and conducted Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers (LPAT). under witch all English/Putonghua teachers holding a permanent post in a public-sector schools or a local private primary/secondary day schools offering the full curriculum will not be allowed to teach English or Putonghua if he or she had not met the required language proficiency level by specific deadlines. This policy triggered off a heated debate from all sides of education circles in Hong Kong.
Aims: This study aims to collect the general opinions and attitudes of Putonghua teachers towards this new government’s policy two year after the policy had been put into practice.
Sample: Questionnaires were sent to 400 secondary schools and total of 177 questionnaires filled in by secondary school Putonghua subject chair teachers were collected.
Method: Questionnaire survey was conducted and the written responses received from the respondents were tabulated.
Results: This study found that the secondary school Putonghua teachers generally disliked the new policy of LPR which had been strongly carried out by the government, although the new policy was accepted as a necessary step for Putonghua teachers' professional development.
Conclusion: To make the new policy favorably received by language teachers, the government needs to do something substantially to lessen the burden of affected teachers, because

The present study is unique in being one of the few conducted with the teacher trainees in Hong Kong to gather and analyze relevant data related to environmental education. In this regards, this study aims to investigate (i) the environmental worldviews, (ii) the environmental dispositions, (iii) the perception on the urgency of major local and global issues, (iv) perception towards various environmental protection issues, (v) various aspects of green behavior, (vi) environmental knowledge and (vii) the related academic background, of the teacher trainees of the Hong Kong Institute of Education. The research method adopted is basically quantitative, in which a set of questionnaire serves as the measuring instrument to access the teacher trainees' environmental attitudes, behavior and knowledge. These findings will provide useful information for curriculum development purposes such as developing relevant and appropriate teaching content, strategies and methods for new and existing environmentally related modules.
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]