This study compares the development and placement of teacher education within the tertiary education in Japan and Hong Kong. Historically both places initiated formal teacher education separate from university training as part of binary systems, and later moved teacher training into the university secotr. Both places retain mono-technical teacher training institutions along side teacher training within comprehensive universities. Both societies are involved in major educational reforms in order to respond to the economic challenges of globalization and current social ills attributed to shortcomings in the educational system. These reforms are closely linked to improving the quality (knowledge, skills and attitudes) of teachers. At the same time, demographic realities have significantly lowered the demand for teachers in both societies, and both governments are under pressure to reduce the scope of teacher education programs, primarily through institutional consolidation. Research on mergers indicates that these processes are more costly than usually expected, and may not result in the economy and efficiency that often drives the process to begin with. This paper concludes that is important to initiate merger processes with care, and not to sacrifice other important goals (such as innovative approaches to the production of high quality teachers) in the course of consolidation.

Realizing the changing needs of Hong Kong special schools, the Department of Special Education of the Hong Kong Institute of Education included the elements of assistive technology and multimedia teaching in the module "Technology in Special Education" for in-service teachers in special education courses. Funded by a UGC Teaching Development Grant, the module teaching team started research and launched this project on using multimedia technology in special education. In the project, the Special Education Multimedia Teaching Resource Unit (SEMTRUP) was successfully set up in the Department in September, 1998. This paper will introduce the details of the project and illustrate how the teaching and learning quality is improved during the process.

Computer education in Hong Kong secondary schools has a short history. The histories of Computer and Information Technology education in junior secondary and primary schools are even shorter. This report is part of the comprehensive review of the development of teacher education of Computer and Information Technology in Hong Kong. It focuses mainly on computer courses for teachers, especially those developed in the colleges of education and the Hong Kong Institute of Education. There are three different stages: (1) before the implementation of the Certificate-Level Computer Studies; (2) from the implementation of the Computer Studies subject to the formation of the Hong Kong Institute of Education; and (3) after the establishment of the Hong Kong Institute of Education. Implications of the development in computer teacher education will be discussed.
[Copyright © 2000 The Hong Kong Institute of Education]

Teachers are the key to any successful educational development or reform and hence teachers' education is always a major aspect to consider in any changes towards quality education. Research and experience world-wide have shown that initial teacher education, no matter how long or how comprehensive, is not sufficient for meeting the career-long needs of teachers, especially for coping with the new challenges brought about by changes and reforms. To keep teachers up-to-date, to help them achieve professional development and meet new challenges for quality education, teacher education has now been widely accepted as a career-long, continuous process, consisting of three distinct stages as depicted by the "Triple-i model". Following the first stage of initial teacher education (first "i"), teachers should be supported throughout their career, both in the first one or two years on entry by "induction" support (second "i"), and continuously thereafter by various forms of "in-service education" (third "i"). To support the systematic planning and provision of induction and in-service education for teachers, a model for an "In-service Education Ladder" has been proposed by the author earlier, based on some earlier research of the author as well as a pilot study of the views of teacher educators at the Institute. This model conceptualized the professional education needs of serving teachers into four major categories: namely, (1) induction, (2) updating and retraining, (3) extension and (4) conversion. Following "induction" needs during the first one or two years of teaching, all teachers possess different ongoing "updating and retraining" and "extension" needs at different stages of their professional career. As they are promoted or as they take up new responsibilities, teachers will have additional "conversion" needs as well. This paper reports on the author's further work on the establishment of the "In-service Education Ladder" for the new millenium, including fine-tuning

In facing the challenges of economic and social developments in the new century, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the community are making efforts to review and improve school education and teacher education. This report aims to provide an overall description of the background and current situation of the teaching profession and teacher education in Hong Kong; to analyze the existing constraints and challenges in teacher education; and to report ongoing policy review and initiatives for upgrading the teaching profession and improving teacher provision and education. Particularly the report will discuss the professional quality of teaching forces in kindergarten, primary schools and secondary schools, the existing features of teacher qualifications, teacher education programs, and professional development paths, and the characteristics of teacher education institutions and policy making bodies. In the light of existing educational changes towards school-based management and educational quality and effectiveness, the report will report the direction of teacher education review and reform in the new century. It is hoped that the teacher education development in Hong Kong can provide a good case for ongoing policy discussion and teacher education reforms in both local and international communities.
[Copyright © 2000 The Hong Kong Institute of Education]