As Philosophy for Children (P4C) is increasingly favored as an educational approach in other regions, the absence of P4C in traditional schools in Hong Kong raises controversy regarding its benefits for Hong Kong students. This paper investigates the potential of implementing P4C in Hong Kong by exploring the features of values education in Hong Kong primary schools. The study employs Stake’s curriculum evaluation model for systematic evaluation and suggests that P4C helps bridge the gap between the Intended Curriculum and the Observed Curriculum in the Transactions and Outcomes aspect, addressing the shortcomings of Moral and Civic Education (MCE). This study discusses the possibility of using the P4C approach for values education by comparing P4C and MCE educational principles, pedagogies, and learning outcomes. The two share similarities, indicating the possibility of integrating P4C into values education. Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). 

Informal learning space (ILS) has increasingly become important for higher education. Yet, most studies were conducted on a piecemeal basis, without considering the planning of the campus. This study adopts a systematic and data-driven approach in understanding the types of ILS, preferences and behaviors using a case study in Hong Kong, by first classifying ILS into user-defined types followed by usage behavior for each ILS types. A mixed-method approach was used by conducting qualitative interviews, focus groups, on-site fieldwork observations and large-scale quantitative survey ( N = 999) with students. Five types of ILS with unique characteristics were identified. This applied research seeks to suggest development directions and design input for ILS types, with implications for master planning in ILS development, extending to any universities using the same procedure. © 2023 The Author(s).

Schools have been considered crucial social contexts for character formation. Hong Kong’s recent education policy has put moral and character education on the agenda of early childhood education (ECE); it states that moral and character education should be integrated into the major kindergarten subjects. However, questions remain on how it should be integrated into the ECE subject areas. Music has been officially identified as part of kindergartens’ daily activities. Scholarship has established the inextricable interconnection between character development and music participation. This study aims to explore subject-based implementation of the moral education through the lens of musical instructions. Literature confirms school leaders’ impact on shaping the implementation of policy, hence, school leaders’ perceptions and challenges regarding the implementation of this newly emphasized policy was explored through semi-structured interviews with 12 purposively selected principals. The results reveal that the principals valued using music education to teach children about morals and ethics, but found that they faced hurdles in the implementation, e.g. teachers’ insufficient pedagogical content knowledge and parents’ attitude. This study identifies traditionalism as the most prevailing view in kindergarten principals’ conceptualizations of moral education. Musical activities for moral education that principals support are play-based but adult-guided. © 2023 The Author(s).

The disruptive effects of this pandemic are predicted to redefine the priorities of continuing professional development (CPD) in the educational sector and reconstruct the identity and role of educators in future educational systems. Accordingly, the primary aim of the proposed research is to critically assess the factors shaping post-COVID-19 identity formation amongst secondary school teachers in Hong Kong to determine the influence of CPD and systemic needs on teacher role perceptions and goal-setting. This study will apply a mixed-methods approach to the collection of quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interview) data from a sample of Hong Kong educators. Through a critical, comparative analysis of these findings and triangulation of the evidence with prior academic theories, a model of educator development and identity formation will be proposed to improve and target developmental support throughout normalisation and post-COVID-19 recovery. Copyright © 2023 Taylor & Francis.