Over the past decade, the education systems in mainland China and Hong Kong have implemented major changes to language policy. In China, English has been introduced at Primary 3 level, while in Hong Kong the initial post-handover guidelines have been effectively reversed by the so-called “fine-tuning” of the language policy in 2009, which favours English as the Medium of Instruction. In both places, there is also huge parental demand in the Kindergarten sector for helping young children to learn English. This paper uses the triadic framework of Fagerlind and Saha (1995) that comprises political, socio-economic and educational perspectives, to understand the phenomenon of English in terms of its role and status in education in mainland China and Hong Kong, and to identify the implications of these language policies. It finds that, while the learning of English at a young age can benefit the children in preparing them for socio-economic advancement, there are issues of social equity, identity, resourcing and curriculum balance that need to be addressed. While the focus is on mainland China and Hong Kong, the findings are relevant to many education systems in the Asia Pacific region where English is a foreign language.

In Hong Kong and Macau, educational practitioners and student teachers who are committed to a career in education usually join some professional organizations in their local communities. In the past, little effort had been made by professional organizations to pull students, educational practitioners, and the interested professionals in the two territories - Hong Kong and Macau - together. In 1998, the ACEI: Hong Kong and Macau Branch was founded by a group of teacher educators with the aim at linking students, parents, education practitioners, and other interested professionals of the two territories together in a collaborative effort to promote education quality, professional growth, exchange of ideas, as well as the inherent rights and well-being of children in home, school and community. Also, it fosters interaction among student teachers, teachers, administrators, counselors, and educators to exchange ideas and develop friendships across international boundaries (Hong Kong, Macau, USA, and other countries), as well as to provide an opportunity to publish materials that help members keep up with the important issues and current trends in the field of education. The Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) was founded in 1892 by a group of school teachers and other interested professionals in the United States. With over 130 branches in the US and other countries, ACEI is now one of the oldest organizations of its kind which shares a dual commitment to the fulfillment of every child's potential and to the professional development of classroom teachers. This workshop will help participants understand more about the functions of the ACEI: Hong Kong and Macau Branch. Information will be shared concerning how professional development of student teachers and educational practitioners in the two territories could be enriched through regional and international linkages, cooperation and participation in ACEI activities.

Learning Study has been used as a teacher professional development programme in the hope of improving classroom teaching and learning in the cities of both Gothenburg and Hong Kong. This case sharing session first presents two English Language Learning Studies focusing on teaching reading comprehension strategies: one is a Primary Six case conducted in Gothenburg and the other a Secondary Two case in Hong Kong. Then comparison is done between the two cases, with their similarities and differences discussed and highlighted. The session is finally concluded with implications drawn on conducting Learning Study and improving the teaching and learning of reading comprehension strategies in English Language.

This study examines the problem of sexism in English language teaching materials used in Hong Kong and Australia. The study investigates the relative frequencies with which females and males are referred to or depicted in verbal and pictorial texts, the order of appearance of males and females, the depiction of their domestic, occupational and social roles, and the use of masculine generic constructions.

The purpose of this study was to compare attitudes of final year students in teacher preparation programs in Hong Kong and Taiwan toward including students with disabilities into regular settings, and to further examine the influences of attitudes on the development of adapted physical education programs. A 15-item questionnaire was used to investigate students' attitudes and concerns toward inclusion. Seventy-seven students from Hong Kong and Taiwan participated in this study. The results of the survey indicated that students in Hong Kong and Taiwan philosophically support inclusion, although there were many concerns and different opinions regarding inclusion. The survey indicated that students from both locations thought special schools and teachers with special training will provide better education for students with disabilities than general teachers, and indicated the needs for more academic preparation for inclusion. The findings also suggest that without well prepared support services and other accommodations, students with disabilities will not benefit from these educational environments.
[Copyright © 2005 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]

Over the past decades, the art curricula of the Hong Kong Institute have undergone revision in response to the current trend of art education and the needs of the society. In the process of on-going review and modification of course structure and contents, it is essential to study similar programmes offered by other institutions, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. This paper aims to review the strength and weakness of the BEd. (P) art major programme by comparing its rationale, course structure and teaching contents with similar programmes of East China Normal University of Shanghai. The different approaches in course design in relation to individual regions’ historical contexts will be explored and recommendations will be made for future development.

This paper will describe a project that was designed to encourage dialogue and exchange between students taking courses in Special Education at the University of North Texas and The Hong Kong Institute of Education via the Internet. The project was designed for the to develop a peer mentoring relationship sharing their experiences, increasing their cultural awareness, and examining their philosophy. Information will be presented on the manner in which the project was designed. Details of the mechanics of the project, samples of the exchanges and the evaluation of the project as well as future plans will be presented.

This paper reports data from a study about the challenges of educational reform through play carried out by three in-service preschool teachers in Hong Kong. Intending to abide with the new paradigm shift to quality teaching and learning originated from the West, these teachers tried to adopt the Vygotskian social constructivist theory and the Deweyan learning theory through the application of scaffolding technique to foster a democratic child-centred classroom through play. Case study methodology is employed in the study. The findings highlighted the differences and similarities between the types of scaffolding techniques employed and the situation on which to apply respectively by the West and those adopted in the East in the case of Hong Kong. The paper concludes with a discussion that education is a complex and complicated endeavour involving a plethora of judgments, ideologies and belief system which will affect diverse people and the "meaning" of their experiences, lives and Institutions. Implications are drawn through some reflections gained in this study. Future research work on the comparative studies on the belief system of the teachers and its relationship with the application of pedagogic approaches for a 'democratic' early childhood classroom between the East and the West is recommended.
[Copyright © Comparative Education Society of Hong Kong.].

The acceleration of e-Learning around the world has driven the major cities/regions in the Asia–Pacific region such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Beijing to plan and implement official policies on e-Learning for enhancing the quality of school education. This article aims to review experiences and then draw lessons of these four major Asian cities/regions in the development of e-Learning policies on the dimensions of infrastructure, curriculum integration, students learning, teacher professional development, as well as leadership and capacity building. It is identified that each of the four major Asian cities/regions has its own area of emphasis in the planning of future e-Learning policies, with Singapore focusing on scaling up good practices of e-Learning among teacher community; Hong Kong focusing on creating digital classrooms supported by wireless networking for student-centered learning; Taiwan focusing on cultivating students with 21st century skills through daily subject teaching; and Beijing focusing on providing digital resources and e-textbooks geared to school curricula. Five implications with regard to e-Learning policies are further made in order to provide a point of references for other cities/regions to develop future e-Learning policies for school education in the 21st century.
[Copyright © Springer].