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.

Learning to teach is seen as a continuous process. Graduation from the initial teacher education programme is thus the first stage on which further professional developments are based. Studies have shown that shifts in teacher concerns are an indication of professional maturity. Therefore, investigations into teacher concerns provide a substantial basis for planning and implementing teacher education programmes. The present study aims to portray the professional development of Hong Kong pre-service primary teachers at the exit point of the pre-service teacher education programme. Measurements of teacher concerns of the student-teachers at the point they graduated from the programme were made. Follow-up interviews were conducted to find out the influencing factors that affect the perception of the student-teachers. The paper concludes by drawing on the implications of the findings on the design of the initial and further teacher education programmes.
[Copyright © 2000 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]

The findings of this study reveal those attributes that are considered important for teacher success as perceived by some of the teachers who received the Outstanding Teachers' Award in Hong Kong in the years 1998 to 2002. The teachers chosen had different backgrounds, with respect to their type of school, age, and category of experience. In describing the perceptions of the concept of success, the award winners reveal their understanding of the nature of teachers as professionals and their conception of professionalism. The findings shed light on the different perspectives that were held by teachers, namely moral, technical and critical. Relatively speaking, the study shows that greater importance has been attached to the moral perspective. This study can enhance policy makers' understanding of teachers' perceptions of concepts of success. More comprehensive information on teacher success will be provided if the views of other stakeholders, including students, parents, principals and supervisors are all taken into consideration.

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

The development of environmental conservation and education in Asia lags far behind the Western World. It appears to the team that education ‘in’ the environment in particular has been lacking, regardless of the fact that it represents one of the three important elements of environmental education (about, in, and for the environment). This is partly due to the fact that environmental studies is a multidisciplinary subject that many in-service teachers find difficulty in locating a set of appropriate teaching materials tailor-made for the local environment. The training workshop will help fill the gap. Instead of adopting materials produced in foreign countries, teachers can make use of the local information from the training to organize good quality educational activities for their students. The teaching materials are designed for in-service teachers/technicians of Liberal Studies, Geography, Science or Environmental Education in secondary schools. The content covered both scientific and technological knowledge, consisting of teaching materials and guides with suggested topics and references demonstrating the standard methods of environmental pollution investigation. It will not only supplement the existing monotonous academic textbooks, but also encourage students’ a self-study outside classroom. From this training workshop, we aim to: (1) promote teaching effectiveness and quality of related courses by providing teaching resources for in-service teachers/technicians in secondary schools; (2) improve learning experience of secondary students; (3)enhance in-service teachers/technicians’ knowledge and understanding of various environmental pollution in Hong Kong; (4) provide practical information of some of the pollution status in Hong Kong for the participants; and (5) provide consultancy and technical supports for in-service teachers/technicians in environmental pollution studies.

The aim of the programme was to deliver a field-based mode of training for teachers in special schools and to set up a school cluster system for teachers to have a platform for an interactive exchange of ideas, resources, services, and expertise among different schools that mutually addressed the needs of children with special needs. During the training period, lectures, observation of demonstrations and cross-site visitations were held. From 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2009, a number of 12 school clusters were organized. Members in a school cluster included lecturers from the institute of education, specialist professionals of the supporting schools and teachers of participating schools. A total of four insittute lecturers and 26 school teachers participated in this programme as trainers. The number of trainees was 101. The responses from participants of supporting and participating schools were very positive. They believed that this mode could enhance the application of new teaching techniques into their own classroom or school settings.
[Copyright © 2010 The Special Education Society of Hong Kong Ltd.]