This paper identifies and describes Hong Kong secondary business teachers' conceptions of student competence in business education, and their choice of teaching approaches to developing such competence. It also addresses the relationship between the conceptualisation of competence and teaching approaches in developing student competence. Phenomenography and grounded theoretical coding techniques were employed in the study, and the participants were 26 in-service business teachers. These teachers' conceptions of competence and their choice of teaching approaches were found to be multifaceted and semi-hierarchical. The identified conceptions address the basic and higher levels of competence that require different approaches in teaching. On the basis of the findings, it is recommended that teachers should not adopt an over-simplified view of the constitution of business students' competence and their competence development. They should be aware of their conceptions of competence, choice of teaching approaches and facilitation of student reflection in competence development.
[Copyright of Journal of Vocational Education and Training is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13636820802305603]

Using data gathered directly from over 100 executive MBA students in Hong Kong, this article reveals the reasons why executives decide to pursue an MBA and highlights significant differences in motivations by gender, age, educational background, and working experience that have important implications for MBA course and program developers.
[Copyright of Journal of Education for Business is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08832320009599021]

Introduction: This study investigated the impact of a Master of Family Medicine degree (via distance education) on GPs' career options, and in particular, whether they were more likely to adopt university positions after the course. A secondary aim was to examine whether those who undertook a research project as part of their Masters took up different career options than Masters graduates who undertook a more clinically orientated course.
Methods: A questionnaire survey was posted to all 192 graduates of the Master of Family Medicine degree. Approximately one fifth of these resided overseas, with the majority in Hong Kong.
Results: The response rate was 68%. Graduates stated that they benefited from the course, particularly in the areas of clinical knowledge and improvement in 'academic' skills. Changes in careers, with increases in non-clinical appointments, did occur after the course for both the Research and Clinical Masters graduates.
Discussion: Responses to the survey indicated that graduates benefited in completing the course and changes in their career direction following graduation. However, whether the Masters course provided new skills to enable career change, or the GPs were in the process of change anyway, cannot be determined with certainty. Further studies, including interviews, are required to establish the impact of a distance education higher degree.
Conclusion: The research output of general practice remains behind that of its specialist colleagues. Higher degrees for GPs might encourage them to undertake more academic pursuits, but the precise relationship still remains uncertain.
[Copyright of Medical Teacher is the property of Informa Healthcare . Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01421590701287905]

In this short paper, we review the geographical education research carried out in Hong Kong and discuss their relevance to teacher education. The methodologies used in these reviewed studies will also form part of our discussion here.
[Copyright of International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10382040308667538]