Teachers see need for more degrees

Despite having five professional qualifications to his name, Robin Cheung Man-biu felt inadequately prepared for the task of setting up a new school in Tuen Mun. So after overseeing his school's move from Kowloon into the new building for Tsung Tsin College, the experienced principal enrolled on a part-time Master's of Education course at Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). The flexible programme allowed him to follow up his own interests and take courses in school finance, administration and leadership, giving him vital knowledge for the day-to-day running of a bigger school serving a new community. 'But after taking the MEd programme, I felt that I had only opened my eyes,' said Mr Cheung. 'Knowing more made me aware of how much I still did not know - and education is such an interesting area. So I enrolled on a Doctor of Education programme.' For four more years, he burned the midnight oil preparing his thesis on how novice school principals in Hong Kong should manage the first two years of headship in a environment of constant educational reform - and completed it this summer. So topical is the subject that CUHK has recruited him directly on to its MEd programme to teach would-be and new principals about his findings. Dr Cheung's thirst for further learning is just one example of a trend that is sweeping Hong Kong's schools, where thousands of teachers are studying for higher degrees and professional development courses. William Yip Kam-yuen, chairman of the Association of Heads of Secondary Schools, which represents more than 500 principals and deputy principals, said: 'More than 60 per cent of heads in our association have higher degrees, mainly MEds. 'Teachers are also taking the MEd degree in growing numbers because of their interest in lifelong learning and personal development, and even some newly-appointed teachers have a master's degree.' The number and type of MEds and other master's degrees offered by Hong Kong universities are proliferating to meet the growing demand. Christine Davison, MEd programme director at University of Hong Kong, said: 'We have almost quadrupled the number of places at the master's level over the last two years. We now have 300 places and next year we will have 350. And we had over 900 applications for the master's programme starting in September.' The MEd is being offered in a growing range of specialties including English language and Putonghua teaching, guidance and counselling, sports and exercise science, and information technology in education. A set of new MEds in art, music and science education will be launched next year by the Hong Kong Institute of Education in partnership with the University of British Columbia in Canada. Meanwhile, HKU has developed a new generic version of the qualification, the MEd (Educational Studies), that can be tailored to suit the needs of teachers with wide-ranging interests. Intermediate-level programmes that lead into master's degrees are also expanding rapidly, with HKU offering a Postgraduate Certificate in Advanced Educational Studies across nine subject areas linked to its master's programmes, while CUHK has developed the Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Education. These programmes allow teachers flexibility to take individual courses as required, or as a one-off qualification. Those who gain the diploma or certificate and choose to go on to an MEd are exempted from some master's-level courses. A number of professional development courses for teachers are also being offered, with HKIEd particularly active in this area. About 15,000 teachers took its courses in the last academic year. About 60 per cent of teachers are spending more than 50 hours on professional development courses a year and 80 per cent have taken some such course, according to a study published by the Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications a year ago. The committee wants to see even more teachers taking part in training to boost their knowledge and skills. It is urging all teachers to undergo 150 hours of training over the next three years under a trial professional development programme it has launched. Schools are being encouraged to send staff to seminars and workshops and design their own development programmes to meet the target during the trial period which began in September. Entry and training requirements for English and Chinese language teachers set by the government to meet the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (Scolar) are also fuelling the boom in continuing education for teachers. From the start of this school year, all new Chinese and English language teachers are required to have a BEd or first or higher degree majoring in the relevant language, plus a teacher training qualification with a major. Those who do not meet the requirement have a maximum of five years to make up the deficiency. If their first degree is not in English or Chinese, they have to take a Postgraduate Diploma in Education or a Postgraduate Certificate in Education majoring in the language plus a postgraduate programme focusing on subject knowledge of the language. Or they can take a first or higher degree or a BEd in the language instead. Scolar also requires all existing teachers of the two languages to meet its language proficiency requirement by 2006. The test has been fraught with difficulties including a high failure rate and criticism of its suitability as a measure of teachers' knowledge. Many teachers prefer to take a master's degree that exempts them from the test, gives them a broader platform of knowledge and skills and improves their professional standing. Dr Edwin Wong King-por, head of continuing professional education at Hong Kong Institute of Education, said the demand for higher degrees came mainly from teachers several years into their careers. He said recent developments such as the introduction of school-based management in 2000 had given principals a far greater need for managerial skills, which helped to make the MEd the qualification of choice. 'Head teachers have more or less become chief executive officers of their schools and the number of management duties have multiplied both in quantity and complexity,' he said. 'The MEd is now a hidden agenda that every senior administrator in a school has to address if they want promotion.'