It is probably true that the teaching hierarchy in primary schools in many countries remains gendered, as men still disproportionately occupy more leadership positions than women. However, in recent years, some countries, such as Hong Kong, also notice a steady growth of female head teachers in the teaching force. How can we make sense of an increased access to leadership positions of women? And more curiously, how do male head teachers in primary school make sense of the rise of female leaders? This paper attempts to explore the situation by critically examining the perspectives of male principals in primary schools – a “successful minority” who is thus far an under-researched group in the field of gender and education. By focusing on the narratives of 12 male head teachers who talked about the rise of female leaders and any possible differences between female and male principals, this qualitative study aims to problematize men’s views and illuminate the complexity of gender equity in education. As the paper unfolds, all male principals interviewed regarded the rise as “natural” not simply because there are more female teachers in the pipelines, but more importantly women have now overcome their obstacles, as they become more educated; get married later; bear fewer or no children; stay single; and are more career—minded. More importantly, it has also identified three main discourses that men used to make sense of “gender differences”: a) women and men principals communicate differently; b) women are more thorough but men think ‘big’; c) women manage and men lead. However, when those “differences” are closely examined, most men actually perceive women principals and their styles of leadership as less competent. In other words, even though some women have gained access to position of leadership, their effectiveness as leaders is being questioned by their counterparts, as “leadership” is still conceptualized as a male and masculinedominated domain. Implications of this

Celeste Yuen points out that with their ever increasing migrant populations, diversity is a pressing educational issue for Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai. Teachers’ worldview and intercultural sensitivity link with school effectiveness. This paper presents nine case studies of student teachers with high, medium and low intercultural sensitivity from three teacher education institutions as measured by the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) questionnaire survey. An attempt is made to tease out the life factors that contribute to intercultural development, and implications for teacher education are discussed.

This paper is based on research conducted with principals in Hong Kong which is a replication of a study conducted Virginia, United States of America (USA). The paper outlines the implementation of Quality Leadership strategies used by both sets of principals to restructure their schools in a changing society. Principals report their leadership role can no longer follow the traditional autocratic model. Both sets of principals are changing the strategies they use to manage their schools. Research on the implementation of Quality in education made the following observation even stronger evidence of Quality implementation existing at the school level. It is apparent that principle have attempted to change the way they relate to their staffs and manage their buildings. These principals have shared decision-making responsibilities with faculty and support staff through various means. Continued study is warranted to assess benefits to students as well as the role the principal plays in successful implementation. (Bryant, 1995) This case study research was conducted using qualitative methodology to study and compare the differences in the principal's leadership role in the United States and in Hong Kong in the implementation of the components of Quality as defined by the Virginia Department of Education, based on the XEROX Leadership Through Quality model. This case study research is based on extensive research conducted on principals in Virginia and reported by Bryant (1995). Data for Hong Kong was gathered through the use of the in-depth interview developed by Quality and methodological experts. The interviews were conducted on site. The findings include an analysis of the differences in the leadership roles between principals who participated in publicly funded TQM project in Virginia (CTQP) and in a similar School Management Initiative (SMI) Project funded by the Department of Education in Hong Kong. Initial findings indicate that the leadership of the principals in

The concept of God and spirituality has often been considered crucial in the development and form of an individual’s personal faith and faith development in most of the developed western countries while little research has been done in the case of Hong Kong. The aim of this study is to trace dimensions in God concepts of preschoolers in two Hong Kong Chinese Kindergartens by documenting what young children know and believe about God and Spirituality orally and by pictures/artwork that the children drawn. Parents and teacher’s concept of God and spirituality would be examined by interviews as to see their relations with young children’s God concepts and spirituality concepts. Through a qualitative investigation on the origins of these concepts from the perspectives of two young children in a K3 class, their parents, head teacher and teachers in the form of case study, it is anticipated that a deeper understanding on the form of young children’s personal faith and spiritual development could be gained on the part of the ECE practitioners and the parents. Implications from findings could be drawn for fostering a suitable curriculum for the young children.

The popularity and desirability of English language education has become somewhat unbeatable in Asian countries. In this essay, highlighting the examples of Taiwan and Hong Kong, I seek to understand the multiple threads of reasoning systems that come together to constitute and sustain the desirability of English learning. In that, I conceptualize that language education is more than teaching and learning a new/foreign language. Language is intertwined with the sphere of culture. Thus, I hope to encourage an alternative perspective for rethinking the “heat” of English language education in Asian countries.In that, I seek to underscore that it is imperative to rethinking the effects of English language education.

Driven by the forces requiring rapid innovation in competitive world markets, today's knowledge economy is enabled by ICT's capacity to search, filter, store, transmit, encapsulate, process, and manipulate information. Workers of a knowledge economy are expected to possess ICT literacy: the ability to use technology to develop 21st century content knowledge and skills. This new kind of literacy is considered a key '21st century skill', together with global awareness, civic engagement, financial, economic and business literacy, and learning skills that encompass problem solving, critical thinking, and self-directional skills (Partnership for 21st century Skills, 2005, p.15). 21st century schools are seen to play a critical role in producing a workforce that is highly educated and skilled to support a country's economy. This recognition of education as a key contributor to the economy has led school curricula in many countries to mandate ICT as a central component, with teachers being increasingly expected to infuse ICT into the teaching and learning processes. This paper examines some of the major developments and strategies related to ICT in the education reform of three countries where the author has worked professionally. Lessons will be drawn from their experiences in enhancing music education curriculum reform for a technology-infused future.

Empirical Research Background: Our analyses and report in this study were based on data from the IEA Civic Education Study conducted by the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) in 1999. The IEA Civic Education Study is the largest and most rigorous study of civic education ever conducted internationally. This research tested and surveyed nationally representative samples totalling 90,000 14-year-old students in 28 countries. In our study the analyses and report focuses on the Hong Kong sample: 4,996 students aged 14.00-14.11 from 150 schools in Hong Kong. Empirical Research Aims: Our study aims to construct benchmark estimates for scales to be used to measure changes in citizenship attitudes and knowledge in Hong Kong students since 1999. In that case it is necessary to reveal any extra scales and/or variations of dimensions within a scale from the Hong Kong sample that were not reported in the IEA Technical report published in 2004, where common scales were adopted for all country comparisons. Empirical Research Sample: An instrument containing attitudinal items towards citizenship, including sections A to N, was administered to students in 28 countries, including Hong Kong, during the Civic Education Study (CivEd) of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) in 1999. A two stage stratified cluster sample design was used in line with those adopted for other large scale assessments. This involved schools being selected within a stratified sampling frame as the first stage and single intact classes being selected in the second stage. Two explicit strata were used in the sampling frame: district and financial mode, with the number of schools selected within each stratum proportional to the total number of schools. 150 Hong Kong schools were included in the sample in order "to obtain sufficient data for reliable analysis at school and class levels". The population was made up of students who are from 14.00-14.11 (Form 3)

This is a review of the curriculum of religious education of the Catholic primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong over the last three decades. Of the subject matter of religious education, there has witnessed an obvious shift of the focus from an emphasis on transmission of biblical knowledge to the call for reflection of life experiences of students in the light of the biblical teachings. As far as the teachers are concerned, a phenomenon has persisted that most of them are not properly prepared for the job in terms of their mastery of essential subject matter knowledge and pedagogical knowledge. The most notable feature of the learners in the context of this study lies in the fact that over 95% of them are not baptized Catholics. The challenge of religious education in such a context has thus become a matter of relevance and attractiveness of the subject to them. Finally, the school milieu has been found not particularly favourable to religious education as academic achievement, instead of character formation, has been given top priority in even prestigious Catholic schools.

On July 1, 1997, the hand-over ceremony ended 155 years' British colonial rule and marked the beginning of resumption of China's sovereignty over Hong Kong. The implementation of the "one country, two systems" began. Did allegiance and sense of belonging of the people of Hong Kong readjust to match the political transfer ? What does the identity of 'citizen under "one country, two systems'" mean to the people of Hong Kong, especially the student teachers珦culptors of the mind of tomorrow ? This paper is the report of a two-year longitudinal study of student teachers' conceptions of citizenship under the "one country, two systems". Two surveys were conducted in the Hong Kong Institute of Education, one in Dec. 1997 and another in Nov. 1998. The samples were the Certificate of Education (secondary) student teachers who had at least one Social Science subject as their elective subjects. The instruments were two more or less identical questionnaires. In this report, comparison between the 1997 and the 1998 surveys was made. It aimed at revealing the evolution of student teachers' conceptions of citizenship after the transfer of sovereignty; agents that helped to shape such conceptions and student teachers' opinions related to Civic Education curriculum development. Implication on the development of Civic Education in Hong Kong was discussed and suggestion made.

In a revealing passage of his Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle cites a popular saying with approbation: a friend is someone with whom one shares a single soul. It is a man who values friendship as indispensable to human flourishing. Aristotle claims that it is necessary to value our friends in the way that we appropriately value ourselves. So much is neither haughty nor excessively self-occupied (Shields, 2014). A review of literature has ascertained that it is not uncommon to understand that young children enter school with a wealth of unanswered questions. By incorporating the philosophical elements into the curriculum, teacher could facilitate young children to rediscover and validate their innate curiosity. Philosophy of young children is about asking important questions about life and its immediate contacting environment, such as people and things related to life. In the process of looking for an answer for their teachers, young children’s creative thoughts in these arenas are revealed. The aim of this research study is to unfold the creative mind of the young children through the technique of questioning and scaffolding by their teacher in a preschool in Hong Kong. This research has employed the qualitative method of case study for its conduction. The research outcomes met with the aims of the research. In the process, new philosophical ideas of young children have been identified by the teachers through their use five types of scaffolding techniques. Two themes in philosophy have emerged in this research. One is on “friendship/love” and the other is on “Man who abduct young children”. This paper is going to report the case studies themed on friendship. The researcher has tried to identify the meaning of friendship collected in the research and compare with those identified in the Aristotelian concept of friendship through analyzing the data. It is interestingly to find that the concept of friendship as explained by the young children in this research has matched