Curriculum initiatives in both primary and secondary mathematics are nderway in Hong Kong. New visions of learning and teaching expected to be found in the new curricula would make new demands on teachers: to help students to investigate, to explore, to discover mathematics, to solve mathematical problems, to learn and to appreciate mathematical structures, to enjoy mathematics, and to prepare themselves for a rapidly changing technological world. Are the teachers of mathematics sufficiently prepared for the new curriculum ? Because teaching and learning is so complex, there can be many factors which influence students' achievement and attitude in mathematics. However, it cannot be denied that a teacher's classroom practices and his/her abilities in implementing the curriculum could be one of the many factors affecting students' chance of acquiring the relevant knowledge, skills and attitude. To enable an informed planning of the Refresher Training Course (Secondary) (RTC(S)) with particular reference to the teaching methodologies part offered to course participants taking mathematics as an elective, the general and specific teaching strategies acquired by some of the inservice teachers of secondary mathematics were studied. A questionnaire of two parts was constructed. The first part was intended to elicit the general practices by teachers, and the second part teacher activities relating to the specific strategies in the teaching of mathematical skills, concepts and principles. An unstructured group interview was conducted after each part of the questionnaire was completed, results collected, processed, and distributed. The first part of the questionnaire consists of open ended questions.The teachers were asked to state the most and least frequently used teaching strategies during their last two weeks of mathematics teaching. Only three teachers claimed to use the discovery teaching often and the rest teachers simply used exposition as the only means in order to cover

Research in the area of student's learning approaches has been conducted by numerous educators since the late 1970's (e.g. Marton & Saljo, 1976; Ramsden & Entwistle, 1981; Biggs, 1985, 1987). Marton & Saljo (1976) have suggested two basic approaches to learning, viz. "surface" and "deep" approach. A surface approach describes the intention to reproduce information in compliance with externally imposed task demands while a deep approach involved an intention to understand. Biggs (1985, 1987, 1993) added a third one, the "achieving" approach. According to Biggs (1993), the achieving approach is based on the ego-enhancement aiming at the achievement of high grades. Similar to the surface approach, the focus is not task-centred but on the recognition gained from top performance. The strategy is to organize time, workplace, and syllabus coverage cost effectively, with much use of cue-seeking, systematic use of study skills, planning ahead, allocating time according to task importance. Biggs (1985, 1987) has developed two different versions of questionnaires in his survey study with Australian tertiary and high school students, viz. "Study Process Questionnaire" (SPQ) and "Learning Process Questionnaire" (LPQ) respectively. Many of these studies of learning approaches were conducted with university / college students in western countries to identify what kind of study approaches were adopted and to relate the chosen study approaches with other variables such as academic achievement. Judith's (1992) study of the learning processes in distance learning students concluded that deep motivation was a way to success, but to succeed in gaining credit and good grades, deep strategy, achieving motive and achieving strategy were also needed. This was in support of the meaning assigned by Biggs to achieving approach. Studies employing Biggs' instruments have also been replicated in various situations and contexts, (e.g. Biggs, 1992; Watkins & Hattie, 1981, 1985; Watkins & Ismail, 1994

This paper aims to examine the relationship between school management practices and teacher leadership. The exercise of teacher leadership within school organization is proven to be contributed to the improvement of school effectiveness (Leithwood et. al. 2000). How to encourage teachers to exercise their leadership for school improvement become an important management issue to be explored. However, only few attempts have so far been made at identify the management practices that affect teacher leadership. If the relationships between them are explored, school administrators can fine tune their management practices for enhancing the exercise of teacher leadership contributes to school improvement. This study intends to identify the roles of teacher leadership that would provide school administrators practical steps to involve teachers in exercising their leadership effectively. The theoretical framework of this study was theoretically constructed and empirically validated. Weick's (1976) Organization theory of loose-tight coupling in school management and Katzenmeyer and Moller"s (2001) three-dimensional teacher leadership model were adopted for constructing the theoretical framework. 360 teachers from 20 aided secondary schools in Hong Kong took part in the questionnaire survey of this study. A three-dimensional teacher leadership model includes instructional coaching, instructional leadership and administrative leadership and a model of loose-tight management practices includes bureaucratic control and professional autonomy was theoretically and empirically identified by structural equation modelling. Results showed that there are positive predictive effects of professional autonomy and bureaucratic control in instructional coaching, instructional leadership and administrative leadership. This study contributes theoretically to our knowledge of the relationship between management practices and the roles of teacher leadership, and proposes practically a model for school

This paper examines teachers’ (un)thoughtful actions in the dynamic and contingent classroom moments through classroom anecdotes obtained from the author’s most recent research project in Hong Kong context. It raises the research question of how we should cultivate teacher’s pedagogical thoughfulness. Experiential stories of unexpected/contingent classroom moments have been obtained through teacher/student interviews and writing exercises, and then interpreted using the hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry. From these descriptions, reflections on quality teaching, meaningful learning, embodied knowing and pedagogical thoughtfulness are generated, with a special discussion on the quality teaching requirements and its implications for pre and in-service teacher preparation programs.

The Learning Study module developed in one of the teacher training institutes in Hong Kong, the HKIED, is an attempt to enable student teachers to improve their lesson preparation skills through engaging in action research in the form of Learning Study. This 30 hour taught module, introduced in 2006 to all Bed Year Two students (about 400 in total), is designed to integrate with the practicum component of the programme to allow students to learn the related theoretical framework and then work in subject groups to conduct Learning Study projects in schools during their School Attachment. This paper will examine the implementation of the module after its first year of operation, with a focus on the difficulties encountered and the resolutions that have been sought. The paper will also evaluate, through questionnaires and interviews, the impact of the module on developing students’ understanding and skills in doing Learning Study and their collaborative group planning skills. Finally, the potential for using Learning Study as a model for collaborative practice in initial teacher education will be discussed.

The Hong Kong Institute of Education, the major teacher education institute in Hong Kong, is launching a personal tutorial system project in an attempt to providing student teachers with advice on personal and professional development in the process of whole teacher education. This paper aims to examine the student teachers' perceptions of the project and its effectiveness. A questionnaire will be administered to the whole sample involved in the project, followed by an interview of a selected sample. It is hoped that the results will have some implications to the 'Whole-Teacher Development'.

This paper is based on research conducted at the Hong Kong Institute of Education with student teachers. The paper outlines the implementation of portfolio assessment by some lecturers of the Curriculum and Instruction Department. The portfolio, which incorporates critical self-assessment, is discussed and presented as an alternative form of assessment. This form of assessment provides student teachers with the opportunity to demonstrate their progress in learning and metacognitive skills. This research was conducted using qualitative methodology to study the processes involved in portfolio assessment and the values which underlie the new assessment methods. Teaching sessions were observed, interviews of students and their lecturers were conducted, and documentary evidence (such as the teaching portfolios and students self-assessments) were examined. The findings include an analysis of the implementation of the process of portfolio assessment, the supports and constraints which impacted on the implementation, and the student learning outcomes. The research was funded by the Hong Kong Institute of Education.

While much of the current teacher training in Hong Kong adopts a knowledge transmission mode, a means allowing more active participation by story telling is introduced in our study. It aims to explore alternatives to the field of local teacher education. Our focus is on promoting learning and professional development among in-service teachers. This paper documents how we enhance the awareness of teachers’ experiential knowledge through story telling, and our reflections on the achievements and limitations in the study. The experience and implications drawn from this study helps us further develop a useful program for in-service teachers.

In Hong Kong, schools use either English and/or Chinese as Mol; the Chinese may be Cantonese and/or Putonghua. Teacher educators need to consider how best to prepare teachers to operate in this context. This paper describes one approach to meeting the challenge through the formulation of an internal language policy.

It is well recognized that primary school teaching in Hong Kong is a feminized, viz. female-dominant, occupation, yet the reasons and processes contributing to such a development have not received much academic attention. Similarly, as most people seem to know what a primary teacher is and does, the meanings of the category “primary teacher” have been taken as self-evident and is seldom subject to closer scrutiny. This paper attempts to fill these gaps by re-examining the historical development of primary school teaching via a gendering perspective. It will trace the historical changes of the teaching profession from the early colonial times to the recent context of educational restructuring, and illustrates how it has changed from “men’s work” to “women’s work” in responses to various colonial, economic, political and social factors. Moreover, the historical account attempts to also argue that the meanings of “primary teacher” are not fixed but gendered, i.e. we witness not only changes of number between male and female teachers but constant redefinitions of the role, status, and nature of women and primary school teachers. For instance, “women’s nature” has been associated with variable and malleable meanings and so does the “nature” of the occupation, which tends to promote and privilege a particular form of masculinity or/and femininity when circumstances required. At the end of the paper, some implications of a gendering historical perspective will be mentioned.