In Hong Kong, the principle of 'one curriculum framework for all' applies to all students, including students with special educational needs (SEN) (EDB 2020. "Special Education Needs." https://www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum-development/major-level-of-edu/special-educational-needs/index.html). Students with intellectual disabilities (ID) are expected to achieve the same learning targets as their counterparts in mainstream schools. Within this common curriculum framework, students (age 6-14) study Music with one of its overall aims 'to develop creativity' (CDC 2003. "Music Curriculum Guide" ("Primary 1 - Secondary 3"). Hong Kong: CDC, 11). This qualitative multiple case study reports a sample of nine music teachers fostering the musical creativity of students with ID. A discussion of the findings reveals that in this sampling: (1) instructional strategies focus on the process not product of musical creativity, (2) creative fostering strategies embody gamification and (3) these music teachers re-frame creativity as being innate and commonly held by their students with ID. Copyright © 2021 Routledge.

In this paper, taking as our point of departure the importance of China's " boya " education (BYE) and the West's liberal arts education (LAE) in an era that will be increasingly dominated by information technology (IT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), we examine the importance of BYE in Mainland China and LAE in the U.S. and Hong Kong. We argue that (a) the recent resurgence and growing significance of LAE in the world has been due to the right skill sets it provides in the information technology era in which many new jobs will be created and existing jobs destroyed ; (b) professional or technical training is not only compatible with the fundamental values of boya or liberal arts but also important in showcasing the strengths of BYE and LAE; (c) the combined benefits of BYE or LAE and professional or technical training may be achieved by adopting the main features of LAE such as its broad-based curriculum and whole-person development approach to undergraduate education or by combining a student's undergraduate and postgraduate studies over time; and (d) for BYE to achieve its goals in China it should occupy a central rather than tangential role in the undergraduate curriculum. Copyright © 2021 Elsevier.

The purpose of this study was to explore how instrumental teachers reflect their professional development pathways with reference to their own apprenticeship experiences. The participants were three female instrumental teachers who taught the piano and violin. Reflections of teachers’ own learning experiences on their career pathways and professional development were collected from the participants through interviews, teaching diaries, and field notes. Several themes emerged from the data collected over an approximately six-month period. First, all the participants experienced long musical apprenticeships. Second, the teachers rarely perceived pedagogical skills are ‘learnable’ skills as performing skills. Finally, all the teachers were only interested in practical, examination-oriented professional development programmes, as opposed to academic or pedagogically-oriented outcomes such as journals or conferences. The unitisation of professional development choices would appear to be the most urgent and pressing problem faced by instrumental teachers. Copyright © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Transmitting traditional music for sustainability has been a common theme in global music education. Recently, the school systems of Hong Kong and Guangdong have been encouraged by governmental authorities to teach Cantonese opera aiming at enhancing the sustainability of the genre and promote a Chinese cultural identity within students. This paper details a survey of school music teachers working in Hong Kong and Guangdong examining the current state of Cantonese opera teaching in the schools of both regions and investigate how it is affected by teacher variables including their interest in Chinese opera, the confidence in teaching the subject, and their perceptions of their Chinese cultural identities. A total of 1,974 valid questionnaires were received and examined. Descriptive and inferential statistics including MANOVA and chi-square tests were used to analyze the data. Findings reveal that Cantonese opera teaching is limited in both regions. While teachers are modestly interested, confident, and knowledgeable about teaching the genre, there is a significant relationship between the music backgrounds of teachers and their interest in Cantonese opera. The article discusses the findings within the context of a historical predominance of Western music within music education curricula and wider societies. Implications for policy makers are proposed. Copyright © 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Many Christians are worried about the Old Testament portraying God as violent and commanding people to kill others or commit genocide. This study conducted a survey of Sunday school and seminary teachers to obtain their opinions about the ethical and theological challenges of these problematic texts, with the goal of identifying which perspectives and approaches to God’s violence tend to be adopted by Bible teachers in Hong Kong in their training classes. This study included a questionnaire survey of 300 respondents and interviews with 40 selected interviewees. The results identified different approaches to divine violence, related to those proposed by Eric A. Seibert. Then, the researcher analysed the approaches, perceptions, thoughts, and ideas of the different teachers, and their willingness and reluctance to discuss divine violence in their training classes. The survey responses yielded insights into how to approach and interpret such problematic texts in the Bible. Moreover, they offered pedagogical suggestions on how to teach about divine violence, as well as discussing the actual nature of God and the ethical framework for His divine action. The conclusion of the study is that no matter how people interpret these problematic Scriptures, which describe God’s violent behaviour, Christians and non-Christians should no longer use violence to injure others or justify their violent behaviour in society. Instead, mutual communication between Christians and non-Christians should be encouraged. All rights reserved.

This study evaluates the impact of applying a flipped classroom model to an advanced psychology course at The Education University of Hong Kong. The study implemented mixed-method design, including pre-post surveys and focus group interviews. Overall findings indicated that students were satisfied with the flipped classroom approach but yielded no statistically significant differences in students’ learning preferences and capabilities. The authors recommend that instructors or course redesign teams be aware of the need to align learning and teaching activities as well as levels of assessment when implementing a flipped course format. Copyright © 2020 Miami University.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made online and distance learning the new normal at all levels of education. Music as a school subject that relies heavily on multimodal sensory and auditory-motor interactions has been dramatically affected. Music teachers may not be coping mentally or psychologically with these drastic changes. This study examined the psychological impact of COVID-19 on music teachers’ (N = 120) mental health and well-being through a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews (n = 10). The Fear of Coronavirus-19 Scale, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale and a shortened version of the Chinese Teacher Stress Questionnaire were used to measure Hong Kong music teachers’ experiences of psychological pressure and problem behaviours linked to the outbreak of the infectious disease. The findings revealed that music teachers are experiencing stress, fear, and anxiety in response to the pandemic. They are concerned about the effectiveness of online music teaching, parental expectations, students’ adaptability to online learning, technological integration and maintaining transformative teaching professionalism. Copyright © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.