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.

In general, the findings of the research project have shown that the pre-service teachers at the Hong Kong Institute of Education were not very competent in the implementation of civic education as embodied in the "Guidelines on Civic Education in Schools" prepared by the Curriculum Development Council and issued by the Education Department of Hong Kong in 1996. not that they lacked the skills in teaching, but they simply did not know how to transfer the skills into civic education both inside and outside the classrooms. Even worse, a majority of them revealed that they had not read the "Guidelines on Civic Education in Schools" and that they lacked the knowledge of Hong Kong, China and world affairs which are indispensable elements in pedagogical contents. Under such conditions, it would be inconceivable that the student-teachers could develop a positive and pro-active attitude towards civic education. By utilizing the method of documentary analysis and the approach of induction, this paper aims to identify the factors that have accounted for the deficiencies in civic education at tertiary level and explore the ways through which the pre-service teachers' competence and quality in such aspect could be enhanced. It is hoped that the suggested programmes or methods could help equip the pre-service teachers better for coping with the changes that have been taking place in Hong Kong and the challenges that the future world holds in store.

On July 1 1997, the People's Republic of China resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, in anticipation of change in the conditions of citizenship, there was a debate between a western conception of citizenship focusing on democratic citizenship evolved as a legacy of British rule and Mainland Chinese conception focusing on national identification with the motherland. This study, conducted in the qualitative paradigm and applying the Grounded Theory Method, explores the conceptions of citizenship of two groups of student teachers, one in Hong Kong and another in South China in the first three years of the reunion (1997-2000). A conceptual model for understanding conceptions of citizenship was derived. Its implication for citizenship education was discussed.

On June 30, 1997, the handover ceremony ended 155 years' of British colonial rule and marked the beginning of resumption of China's sovereignty over Hong Kong. However, did allegiance and sense of belonging of the people of Hong Kong drastically readjust to match the political transfer? What did the identity of 'citizen under "one country, two systems'" mean to the people of Hong Kong, especially the student-teachers sculptors of the mind of to-morrow? To match the political transition, Civic Education has been promoted in Hong Kong since the issuing of the First Guideline in 1986. Since that time, in the process of curriculum development in Civic Education, there has been a hot debate on whether the focus of Civic Education should be placed on democratic education or nationalistic education. This debate is bound to continue in the upcoming curriculum development and teaching in Civic Education. In this debate, what position did student-teachers take? In late 1996, it was decided that Civic Education should become an independent subject of study in Junior forms. The syllabus was compiled and drafts issued for public consultations. The finalized version is to be implemented in late 1998. To what extent were aims and objectives, and contents of the new guideline endorsed by student-teachers? This study included a survey by questionnaires of Social Sciences elective student-teachers in the Hong Kong Institute of Education. It was conducted in December, 1997. The questions in the questionnaire were developed basing on the aims, objectives and contents of the draft of the 1998 Civic Education Guideline and other policy papers related to Civic Education. It intended to find out student-teachers' conceptions of citizenship and citizenship education under "one country, two systems", focussing on the 2 key issues of democratic education and nationalistic education. It explored the extent to which the aims, objectives and contents of the 1998 Civic Education Guideline were endorsed