The field of education is vast and diverse with rare consensus and law-like research findings. An exception is an agreement over the fact that childhood should be protected and their education, fostered. Intriguingly, the concept of childhood did not exist in the West until well into the 17th century, and it owes its emergence not to ‘grand' advances in science but to social instability and degradation brought about by pre- and post-Westphalian inter-national conflicts. It is out of sense of pity for lost childhood that gave birth to its very concept. Honoring the theme of the 2016 Conference of the Comparative Education Society of Hong Kong, ‘Education for Peace', I examine conflict and post-conflict childhood as a unit of analysis in international and comparative education field. It is argued that comparative studies on conflict and post-conflict childhood tend to focus on the immediacies (in time and place) of ‘still-hot conflicts' but little attention is paid to mid-and long-term alleviation and preventive education.

虐兒問題近年備受香港各界關注，學者專家以此為研究題材的亦復不少，但以教師為研究對象的卻絕無僅有。事實上，教師是站在最前線，與兒童接觸最多，時間最長的成人之一，他們較了解兒童，較易得到學生信任及家長的尊敬。因此，他們在面對虐兒或懷疑虐兒個案時如何反應，會採取怎樣的態度和處理手法，和有否足夠的知識、技巧加以處理，都直接關係受虐兒童及其家庭的福祉。本文透過問卷調查150名本港中學教師，目的在了解他們對虐兒問題的認知及其處理。研究結果顯示，受調查教師對虐兒的定義及分類有基本知識，能在知性層面判辨虐兒個案所屬的性質；但基於專業訓練及經驗不足，加上教師工作繁重，在處理虐兒案時，大部份都顯得信心不足兼且不欲過份介入。筆者認為此現象有待改善，並提出了一些建議。
[Copyright © 2000 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]

It has been reported that poor psychological health of students is linked to the experience of being bullied by peers. In Hong Kong, there is a paucity of research on this form of social aggression and it is difficult to tackle the problem effectively. This study uses stratified random sampling techniques and a variety of research strategies (e.g. self-report, psychological assessment, questionnaire, interview) to collect data from students, teachers, school heads, and parents. The results will help throw light upon the antecedents, contextual factors, short- and long-term consequences of the problem so that appropriate intervention can be initiated.

This lecture explores evidence based approaches to meeting the needs of students presenting with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) in mainstream schools. It is argued that the SEBD phenomenon, although omnipresent, comes to particular public prominence in education in times of change. It is not surprising, therefore, that in a world dominated by social, economic and sustainability concerns, and in the concomitant educational climate characterized by sometimes competing emphases on performativity and social inclusion, that SEBD is a topic of particular interest in Hong Kong and across the developed world. After considering issues of definition and aetiology the focus of the lecture shifts to intervention. Particular attention is given to evidence on the qualities and skills of effective teachers and teaching in relation to SEBD, and the need for educators’ understandings of SEBD to be located within a biopsychosocial paradigm. The fundamental significance of physiological issues is discussed and the value of various empirically validated psychologically based interventions (e.g. psychodynamic, humanistic, behavioural, cognitive-behavioural and ecosystemic) is explored. Consideration is given to the sometimes neglected needs of teachers and parents in relation to SEBD. Challenges and questions elating to the cultural assumptions underpinning some of the dominant thinking in this area are discussed are also explored. Finally, policy and practice implications are addressed.
[Copyright © 2012 The Hong Kong Institute of Education]