This article first describes the lesson study practices in Hong Kong, with reference to three General Studies lessons taught in three local primary schools. Data on children's understanding of the concept taught was collected through pra-j and post-interviews and questionnaires, part of the action research cycle. Data on teachers' understanding, choice of teaching strategies and the change in their conception of teaching was collected by interviews, teachers' reflection, both before and after the lesson. The data collected are drawn on to highlight challenges to lesson study and to discuss if this kind of practice is a powerful way for teachers to improve themselves.

The Bachelor of Education (Languages) Programme (BEdL) of the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) was first implemented in 2001-02. As an integral part of the programme, the design of the Field Experience curriculum has its own characteristics. In addition to the traditional practice on classroom teaching, ranging from collaborative to independent teaching from Year Two onwards, the programme provides student teachers with opportunities for school visit and attachments through which they can better understand the requirements of language teaching in school contexts. Among all school attachments, the one-day-per-week attachment to a local secondary school in the second semester of Year One has received controversial feedback from various stakeholders. Such feedback reflects diversified considerations from schoolteachers involved about whether they will continue to support similar activities. Based on the feedback received in the past two years, this paper will first synthesize voices of current Supporting Teachers and student teachers of the BEd(L). Then the authors will discuss the effectiveness of such a mode of school attachment in preparing student teachers for classroom teaching. Taking the voices of Supporting Teachers and student teachers into consideration, we hope that this paper could help reveal a comprehensive evaluation of the design, and more important, enhance the quality of Field Experience with a view to forging a closer professional partnership between the Institute and schools.

What dispositions and orientations did pre-service PE teachers bring to their PE teacher education programme? This paper responds this question by presenting an interpretive study of how twenty pre-service teachers gave meaning to their anticipatory socialisation experiences. Data were collected through interviewing and writing in a reflective journal. Three themes concerning their career choice, image of a good PE teacher, and conceptions of PE experience emerged from the data. The participants were found to possess orientations towards coaching, teaching affinity, pragmatic considerations, apprehensiveness, and an easy-going style before joining the programme. They identified "sports skills and knowledge in PE", "instructional and interpersonal internation skills", and "personal attributes" as characterisitcs of a good PE teacher. They were concerned about the "sports training", "learning in the PE lessons", "sports experience in the primary school", "winning and losing episodes", and "negative modelling of the secondary school PE teachers" as critical incidents of their notable PE experiences. The findings provide a better understanding of the type of pre-service PE teachers attracted to the programmes. It is further noted that teacher education programmes are advised to include information regarding "commitment to teaching" and "life-long learning" as early as possible in their programmes.

In the Education Reform in Hong Kong, music is a discipline of study within the Art Education Key Learning Area. The music curriculum for primary and secondary schools takes on new considerations both in content and in implementation. Up to the present, the reform has been in place for over two years being introduced in 2000. The success of the implementation is governed by the contributions of various stakeholders including the schools, public bodies rendering educational services and supports and the education policy makers of the Government of Hong Kong SAR. A brief review of the state-of-the-art in schools will be presented, followed by an overview of the development of the music curriculum guide by the Curriculum Development Councial Committee on Art Education Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; a document which is currently in its final stage of consultation. The merits of the guideline and the possible challenges to music teachers in schools will be discussed. The new insights in the provision of music in primary and secondary schools requires a refreshing of music teacher education programmes, including those offered at Hong Kong Institute of Education.

教學實習是教師教育中關鍵的一環，除了在本地進行教學實習外，跨文化教學實習在職前教師培訓中亦漸趨普遍。本文闡述一個六位實習教師學習歷程的質性個案研究，此六位實習教師在香港接受小學學位教師教育文憑課程，課程中有兩次教學實習，在第一次教學實習中，其中四位實習教師在澳洲、加拿大及中國內地進行跨文化教學實習；其餘的教學實習均在香港小學進行。本文集中探討實習教師在跨文化及本地教學實習環境中的學習經驗；研究結果顯示跨文化體驗有助建立實習教師的文化導向，同時亦討論實習教師在教學實習中「行動環境」、「社羣專業環境」及「視導環境」三個範疇所面對的挑戰與支援，及他們在教學自我上的建構。是項研究的發現讓我們對實習教師的專業學習有更深的認識，並對發展高質素的教學實習帶來啟示。本文是香港教育學院資助之研究項目Teacher learning (Phase I): Embarking on the learningtoteach journey 的成果。