Many studies have found that the preschool curriculum in Hong Kong still reflects the influences of its social and cultural context that emphasises teacher-directed learning. Developing creativity in preschools requires teachers to change their familiar practices. A good understanding of teachers’ actual practices for facilitating creativity in the classroom is an important first step for educators dedicated to pedagogical change. This study aims to investigate the creativity-fostering pedagogy that teachers actually use in their classrooms to draw attention to the crucial aspects of effective creativity-fostering pedagogy in Hong Kong preschool settings. This study employed a qualitative research approach to explore and analyse the characteristic features of creativity-fostering practice in Hong Kong preschools with results presented in the form of case studies. Semi-structured interviews and classroom observations were used as data sources and content analysis was performed to examine the features and the effectiveness of teachers’ creativity-fostering pedagogical practices. Findings revealed that the three Chinese teachers held similar perspectives about creativity-fostering pedagogies and their perspectives were mainly rooted in Western pedagogies. However, the three cases demonstrated the different interpretation of these pedagogical perspectives, ranging from being strongly teacher-directed to strongly child-centred. A balance between teacher-directed and child-centred was found to be more effective pedagogic practice in the Chinese classroom. Results suggested that different creativity-fostering pedagogies might work for certain contexts and certain children and an awareness of both cultural and contextual appropriateness is important for creativity reform. Copyright © 2018 The Asian Conference on Education.

Learning Study, an enriched version of lesson study, developed during the education reform era in Hong Kong and evolved into a participatory action research model with a theoretical underpinning framework and collaboration between teachers and university researchers. It has once been used as a major model for enhancing partnership between a university and schools for the preparation of pre-service teachers in Hong Kong. In recent years, a shifting focus of this partnership model has been witnessed with recognition of broader needs of schools as well as the accomplishment of a wide range of educational goals including: promoting peer observation through open lessons which serve as a platform for professional exchange; fostering assessment for learning; developing self-directed learning and e-learning strategies, etc.. With the university school collaboration under the Learning Study approach, the value and applicability of the above new initiatives are put into empirical research.This paper reviews the Learning Study programs and projects developed since year 2000 in one of the major teacher training university in Hong Kong, the Education University of Hong Kong. Documents including reports, program books, case studies reports, monographs and related research papers are collected and reviewed in order to identify the challenges encountered and the resolutions found in developing the Learning Study approach in the school community in Hong Kong. Using the framework of Walse & Backe (2013) about the characteristics of effective university-school partnership, this paper analyzes the strategies and critical elements of the Learning Study approach to be developed as a long-lasting and major universityschool partnership model.This paper first illustrates the development of the Learning Study approach in Hong Kong since year 2000 to explicate the shifting focus of university-school partnership - from meeting the need of school placement to accomplish broader education goals by

This paper reports the results of a qualitative multiple case study of the fieldwork experiences of secondary Four (Year 10) students of five schools in Hong Kong. The study was an experientially-based one which aimed at understanding the fieldwork experiences of students and what meanings they had derived from such experiences. For most schools, there was an overt academic orientation to the objectives of the fieldwork undertaken. However, the study has revealed that fieldwork is, in particular, emotionally engaged learning because of students’ desire to be out-of-the-classroom, their expectation of fun and excitement, their undertaking of physical challenges and the development of new social relationships in the field. Based on these findings, an integrated model of experiential learning in postulated. It shows that intellectual, social and emotional experiences are inextricably integrated in the field. Finally, this paper proposes a few practical guidelines for fieldwork based on the need to go beyond intellectual and instrumental learning to heuristic, experiential learning. Copyright © 2000 Australian Geography Teachers’ Association.

Recently, more educators have argued for the need to attend to both the cognitive and the affective aspects of fieldwork in geographical and environmental education. Experientially based studies are seen as particularly valuable in understanding the fieldwork experiences of both students and teachers and what meanings they have derived from such experience. This study is a qualitative case study of two geography field trips for Secondary Four (Year 10) students of mixed abilities in a Hong Kong School. The teachers, focusing on the affective outcomes of fieldwork, were determined to let students attain unusual and memorable experiences by undergoing adventurous activities. The results revealed that while most students generally felt excited and delighted over the challenge, a number of students decided to withdraw from the experience. Students of higher academic achievement appeared to be more critical. Their frustrations were often related to academic learning and the lack of a collective learning atmosphere on the trips. The experience was characterized by a tension of purpose between academic learning on one hand, and fun and excitement on the other. Copyright © 2000 The authors.

The purpose of this paper is to document the experiences of program implementers of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong. Thirteen program implementers from three schools were invited to participate in three focus groups to discuss their views on the Tier 1 Program (Secondary Three Level) of the project. All program implementers regarded the program as beneficial to the program participants in different psychosocial domains, particularly interpersonal and personal levels. The program implementers also perceived the program positively and positive metaphors were used to represent the program. Consistent with the previous research findings, the present study provides evidence that support the effectiveness of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in promoting holistic development in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. Copyright © 2010 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York.

過去數十年持續的資訊科技革新，引發出強調以運用知識和創新為比併工具的新經濟年代。教育當局將社會各界對勞動力的期望，迅速反映到教育改革的政策上。今日的老師，作為學生學習的推動者，經常承受很大的工作壓力，使不少現職教師感到教學困難。假若不同中學相關學科的教師把他們工作上的知識，在網上建構一個知識庫，與其他相關學科的教師分享，不單相互增加對學科的認識，亦可減少彼此重複的工作，讓相關的老師有更多的時間空間來提升學習的素質和效果。The sustained advancement of information technology in the last decades initiated a new economic era, which emphasizes the application of knowledge and innovation as strategic tools for competition. The Ministry of Education reflected societal expectation on human workforce in educational reform policies. When teachers play the role of students' learning facilitator nowadays, they are confronted with high working pressure that makes the teachers difficult to handle their daily teaching routine. In case if secondary school teachers of the same subject from various schools work collaboratively to build a knowledge repository to share with others, it can benefit teachers with enriched subject knowledge and reduce the duplication of effort of each other. It also gives them more time to uphold the quality and effectiveness of learning. Copyright © 2011 香港教師中心.