The findings presented here are derived from a subset of data from a larger study, the Global Concerns Study (GCS). GCS was a two-year study (1999-2001) that addressed the following question: What do pre-servi ce and in -service social studies teachers in Hong Kong, southern China, and Minnesota consider to be the most important citizenship and environmental issues that need to be addressed in the 21st century? This paper reports and compares survey results from the two Chinese samples., reporting on what a sample of educators in the nearby but politically and economically separate cities of Hong Kong and Guangzhou think are the ideal characteristics of future citizens. With the historical events that divide the two cities, the author finds different emphases, but also a common tendency in both places to emphasizes the less political and controversial elements of citizenship education. Despite some ambiguities, the findings of this study are consistent with other findings of a tendency in both Hong Kong and China to prioritise the non-political dimensions of citizenship education. There is enough congruence in the findings for the two samples to suggest that there are strong common cultural themes that overcome radically different historical experience in the past 150 years. At the same time there is enough evidence of difference in emphasis to suggest that even with cities in such close proximity these historical and social forces have had some impact. Whether this evidence of future divergence or convergence, or perhaps a combination of both, it is too early to say.

Numerous educational change and school reforms have been conducted to pursue educational effectiveness and educational quality in different parts of the world. Unfortunately, most of the past educational reforms with focus on fragmentary improvement and remedial treatment are not sufficient to bring holistic school development and long term effectiveness, and inevitably many of them have experienced serious frustration if not failure. This paper aims to propose a new direction including ten important tendencies for ongoing and future educational reform and school reengineering in Hong Kong and international contexts. The tendencies are: (1) Towards multiple school functions from simplistic purposes; (2) Towards school autonomy and self-initiative through school-based management; (3) Towards school healthy functioning through a knowledge-based profile; (4) Towards school continuous learning and development through strategic management; (5) Towards human initiative through multi-level self management in school; (6) Towards school multiple effectiveness through a dynamic process; (7) Towards holistic education in school through layer management; (8) Towards synergy and effectiveness through congruence in school; (9) Towards total home-school collaboration and community support for resources, ideas, and legitimacy; (10) Towards school driving force through transformational leadership. The educational reforms in this new direction can support schools to facilitate continuous development of students and staff, increase support of parents and community, improve technology in education and management, and pursue multiple functions more effectively at different levels of our society. Hopefully, all those concerned particularly our students and teachers can benefit from the coming educational reforms.

The Gary Plan of "work-study-play" was the brainchild of William Wirt (1874-1938) and praised for its progressive features by educators such as John Dewey (1859-1952). Introduced in 1907 to the schools of Gary, Indiana USA by Superintendent of Schools Wirt, the plan reorganized the school day and included curriculum features that fostered hands-on activities relating to occupations and daily life. It was also an articulated structure and program, offered from primary through secondary grades. The increased notoriety of the plan's social and financial benefits led the new mayor of New York City to invite Wirt as a consultant to transform their overstretched schools. What followed were several acrimonious years of position papers, posturing and propaganda by many political actors regarding school change. Nearly 100 years later, Hong Kong is also going through major changes in schools. Policy initiatives orchestrated by the new government have influenced the medium of instruction used in schools and classified subjects under Key Learning Areas for all students to study. Recently, the government has proposed to reduce secondary school years from a 3+4 system to one that is 3+3, as well as a new compulsory upper secondary subject called Liberal Studies. Similar to New York City, Hong Kong has its own political actors. Lessons can be learned from New York City's initiative regarding the potential for successful school change in Hong Kong.