https://www.scmp.com/rss/881/feed Katherine Forestier is a journalist and education consultant. She is a former education editor of the Post. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com There is no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic has sharpened the focus on the fragility of human civilisation, in how it is coping not only with disease but multiple crises, of poverty, escalating climate change and angry fissures opening between and within societies. For decades there has been hope that education would succeed in helping young people fulfil their potential, and drive social and scientific progress. But in this time of crisis, many are questioning what has been achieved, and what... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/books/article/3190409/how-schools-can-tackle-climate-breakdown-intolerance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/books/article/3190409/how-schools-can-tackle-climate-breakdown-intolerance?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Aug 2022 09:33:11 +0000 Eddie Lo* is preparing for an imminent move to Britain with his wife, a primary-school teacher, and their two young children. They want their son settled in a British state primary school in time to sit the competitive 11-plus entrance examination next year. Several of Lo’s friends with children, including other teachers in his wife’s school, are preparing for a similar move, adding to the 27,000 British National (Overseas) passport holders who have already taken advantage of the scheme offered... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3132679/hong-kong-facing-education-crisis-curriculum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3132679/hong-kong-facing-education-crisis-curriculum?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 May 2021 02:15:11 +0000 Hong Kong, with its female chief executive, bureau chiefs, senior judges and business leaders, seems to be a place where women can thrive in leadership roles.  One would expect this to be the case in universities. These are, after all, supposed to be the bastions of education, enlightenment and social innovation. However, the University Grants Committee (UGC) data published by the Post this week shows this is not so. Women are woefully under-represented in senior positions in these institutions,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2165677/when-will-hong-kong-get-its-first-woman-university?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2165677/when-will-hong-kong-get-its-first-woman-university?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Sep 2018 23:15:30 +0000 So the Hong Kong government has bowed further to public pressure on the much-hated Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA). From this year, primary schools need only enter a randomly selected 10 per cent of their Primary Three pupils to sit the annual test, with no school identified even to the adjudicators of the exercise, according to the Education Bureau’s announcement last week.  Schools can, however, choose to fully participate, a future can of worms if parents don’t want their children to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2138174/hong-kong-schools-need-performance-reviews-or-without-tsa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2138174/hong-kong-schools-need-performance-reviews-or-without-tsa?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Mar 2018 09:53:15 +0000 Who would want to be a boy in the education race in Hong Kong? According to a report on the 2017 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) examination published last month, female candidates outperformed males by a whopping 16 percentage points in meeting the minimum entry requirements for university. Just under half of all female day school candidates (49.2 per cent) gained the magic “3322” results in Chinese and English language, maths and liberal studies, compared with one-third (33.1... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2133212/boy-trouble-gender-gap-hong-kong-public-exam-results-cannot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2133212/boy-trouble-gender-gap-hong-kong-public-exam-results-cannot?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Feb 2018 02:26:12 +0000 The launch of Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s sweeping review of the education system has, arguably, brought to a close the era of extraordinary reform unleashed two decades ago when Hong Kong departed from British rule. Eight government-appointed task forces, reviewing curriculum, assessment, teachers’ professional development, school-based management, parent education and elements of post-secondary education and research, are now being convened. We all have an interest in their... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2131727/hong-kong-education-reform-continues-beijings-role-presents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2131727/hong-kong-education-reform-continues-beijings-role-presents?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Feb 2018 01:01:42 +0000 The BBC billed it as a battle between Chinese and British styles of education, and after a month of long study hours and the rapid-fire delivery of maths and science, the British pupils in the "Chinese School" won. At least, that was the conclusion of the school-based reality show Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School, which has captured the imagination of chat forums across China for demonstrating Chinese superiority and the ill-discipline of lippy British teenagers and their ambivalent... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1859446/bbc-depiction-east-asian-educational-superiority-questionable?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1859446/bbc-depiction-east-asian-educational-superiority-questionable?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Sep 2015 20:45:30 +0000 For students who are completing their higher education, a degree - even at master's level - is often not enough to secure their future employability. Many need to start some professional training and prepare for another set of qualifications. Universities in Hong Kong have traditionally worked hand in hand with professional bodies across fields such as medicine, law, accountancy and engineering to try and create a more seamless transition from academic study to ensure young people have... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1569310/insight-greater-clarity-needed-about-what-professional?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1569310/insight-greater-clarity-needed-about-what-professional?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Aug 2014 01:39:48 +0000 For Robin Cheung Man-biu, the classroom and even the principal's office was never enough. He is one of those people who always wants to do more for education. He built Tsung Tsin College in Tuen Mun, was an active member of policy bodies such as the University Grants Committee and Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications, and has been a prolific writer in the media. After retiring from his role as a principal, he embarked on a second career as a part-time lecturer at Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1412656/insight-principals-letters-are-masterclass-teaching?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1412656/insight-principals-letters-are-masterclass-teaching?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Jan 2014 01:30:00 +0000 The numbers, at least, are massive. One million users signed up to 16 University of Pennsylvania online courses; about 83,000 for the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's course "The science of gastronomy" and 23,000 for Chinese University's "The role of renminbi in the international monetary system". No lecturer could ever imagine reaching out to so many students, unless they double as a television star like Manchester University's physicist Brian Cox. Massive open online courses,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1402415/massive-open-online-courses-are-shaking-higher-education?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1402415/massive-open-online-courses-are-shaking-higher-education?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Jan 2014 05:06:19 +0000 Thousands of Hong Kong students are preparing to study abroad, either for school, full-time higher education, or exchange. Many more are submitting applications to enter the city's increasingly international universities. As these students make their choices, they will be bombarded with promotions extolling the benefits awaiting them. These will include the friends from across the globe they will make at college, and the opportunities they will have to develop the "intercultural competency... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1390996/insight-intercultural-exchanges-colleges-fall-short?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1390996/insight-intercultural-exchanges-colleges-fall-short?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Dec 2013 01:55:27 +0000 Traditional Chinese Medicine and Chinese Culture; Shakespeare's Hamlet; Text, Performance and Culture; Improving Your Image: Dental Photography and Practice - these are just a sample of courses about to start on a computer near you. I am a new convert to the power and potential of Moocs - massive open online courses - as a new channel for lifelong learning and a disruptive force in higher education. With the clarity of the teaching that is possible with Moocs, and the range of courses on offer,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1368728/insight-online-courses-transform-university-education-not?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1368728/insight-online-courses-transform-university-education-not?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Dec 2013 04:50:09 +0000 Hong Kong's education system has received more international accolades than almost any other. It is regularly placed at the top of global studies measuring academic achievement. In tests such as the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment, it does well in the relatively narrow gap between the high and low performers. The city has also implemented reforms to promote a more balanced style of education and improved access to higher levels of learning for all students. What is... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1345399/insight-schools-must-not-discriminate-against-our-most?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1345399/insight-schools-must-not-discriminate-against-our-most?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Nov 2013 02:15:15 +0000 It's Carnage, literally, in university cities across Britain, and many young international students may be wondering what has hit them. Carnage has been voted "the UK's number one student event" - according to its website - and is a staple of Freshers' Week. Buy the T-shirt, cut it to skimpy shreds according to the fancy dress theme, and use it as a ticket for one long bar crawl that has been known to turn city centres into, well, carnage. As the term kicks off, the party has just begun, and for... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1324465/insight-binge-drinking-uk-campuses-alienates-foreign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1324465/insight-binge-drinking-uk-campuses-alienates-foreign?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Oct 2013 16:00:00 +0000 It is tough being a boy in Hong Kong's education system. Exam results indicate that they are faring much worse than girls in meeting the minimum requirements for university. The results of the Diploma of Secondary Education, released in July, looked like good news for young people. About 35 per cent attained the magic Level 3 or above in both Chinese and English-language tests, and at least Level 2 in maths and liberal studies - the minimum needed to qualify for a place. But what we need to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1304892/insight-boys-losing-language-game?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1304892/insight-boys-losing-language-game?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 There is not much longer to wait. Thousands of Hong Kong students are making the transition from the grind and discipline of secondary school to university. These should be the best years of their lives in academic and social fulfilment, or so they are likely to believe. Many will travel overseas, with Britain the most popular destination for Hong Kong students. Universities there accepted about 4,000 for undergraduate places last year. The authors question whether students are being pushed... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1295557/total-studying-time-uk-universities-varies-greatly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1295557/total-studying-time-uk-universities-varies-greatly?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Aug 2013 16:00:00 +0000 There is no getting away from the anxiety of tearing open the envelope containing your exam results. This is the moment when the dreams of teenagers seem to be realised or dashed. Some 71,000 Secondary Six students will learn today if they have made the grade in the second sitting of the new Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) exam - if success is measured by qualifying for one of 15,000 publicly-funded degree places on offer in the city. The old academic structure used examinations... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1281180/insight-good-grades-are-not-everything?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1281180/insight-good-grades-are-not-everything?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Jul 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong has been judged to have one of the best education systems in the world. In international assessments, such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Programme for International Student Assessment, our students come consistently near the top. The city has even been praised as a model for others to learn from. The influential McKinsey study, "How the World's Most Improved Systems Keep Getting Better", flagged Hong Kong as a "sustained improver" that had moved from... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1260927/parents-are-snubbing-top-rated-local-hong-kong-schools?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1260927/parents-are-snubbing-top-rated-local-hong-kong-schools?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Women have long broken through the glass ceiling in public life in Hong Kong. No one blinks an eye if the chief secretary for administration or the permanent secretary for education is a woman, and it might not be long before we have our first female chief executive. But Hong Kong's tertiary institutions are another story. With the exception of the Hong Kong Institute of Education, none of the city's universities have had a woman vice-chancellor or president. And across Hong Kong, there are just... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1239953/hong-kong-universities-lack-female-leadership?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1239953/hong-kong-universities-lack-female-leadership?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 There seems to be two ways of reforming the education system. The first is to listen to the views of those who have an interest in what goes on in schools: parents, students, employers and, of course, education professionals. The second is for governments to draw ideological battle lines and force changes based on one highly politicised view of what education should be, while condemning all that came before it and those who disagree. Hong Kong has won praise from education gurus worldwide, and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1213102/troubled-england-has-much-learn-hks-curriculum-reforms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1213102/troubled-england-has-much-learn-hks-curriculum-reforms?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong has what it takes to be an education hub, recently released international research has shown. The city has some of the best conditions to attract both foreign institutions and students to make a hub a reality. These include regulations to ensure the quality of courses and favourable financial incentives and visa conditions. Many countries want to be hubs, but at the British Council's Going Global 2013 conference, held in Dubai last month, it was Hong Kong that came out as one of the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1207658/challenges-being-education-hub?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1207658/challenges-being-education-hub?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The University of Hong Kong (HKU) boasts that "we stand with the top universities in the world" on its website - first in Hong Kong, first in Asia and 23rd in the world, according to one global league table it quotes. Rankings - when they are high - are inevitably something to shout about. They are used by institutions the world over as kite marks to attract the best students and staff, as well as funding for research and new infrastructure. Hong Kong students and parents also seem to love... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1191588/university-rankings-may-not-tell-whole-story?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1191588/university-rankings-may-not-tell-whole-story?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 As Hong Kong prepares to move to a four-year undergraduate structure, Britain and the United States have been running pilot schemes to 'shrink' the degree. In England, Anglia Ruskin was one of seven universities to pilot two-year degrees instead of the three-year norm, while in the US, Arcadia University has trialled a three-year model, one year shorter than the traditional four years it takes to complete a degree in that country. Reducing costs for students was the key motivation in both... https://www.scmp.com/article/741227/trials-open-debate-over-duration-degrees?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/741227/trials-open-debate-over-duration-degrees?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Women have called on the British Council to set up an international network to support women, who aspired to leadership in education, after hearing how they were failing to translate their superiority as students into career success. Dr Mary Stiasny, deputy director of the Institute of Education in London, said that once girls had equal access to education, they now normally went on in greater proportions than men to complete higher education. However, in Britain, only 10 per cent of... https://www.scmp.com/article/741225/academics-seek-support-network?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/741225/academics-seek-support-network?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:00:00 +0000 It is natural to have views about what you are learning and how you can contribute to the school environment and community you are part of. Traditionally, many schools have lacked channels to express those views. But the British Council's Connecting Classrooms - Student Voice project has for nearly three years been helping some of the most innovative schools in Hong Kong to develop new relationships with their pupils. Next month, students, principals and teachers from these schools will... https://www.scmp.com/article/706952/going-global-give-students-new-voice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/706952/going-global-give-students-new-voice?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong has huge reason to feel proud this week. After a decade of debate, planning and action, its education reforms reached their climax with the launch of the new, radically different, senior secondary curriculum and structure. The blueprint for reform has been developed with the best intentions - to improve the education experience for young people and better prepare them for a knowledge-based economy. Over the past nine years, many measures have been implemented to improve the quality... https://www.scmp.com/article/691521/victory-education?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/691521/victory-education?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong education has long had its roots in its British heritage, with local exams leading to A-levels modelled on the British equivalent and students in international schools most likely to leave school with a clutch of British A-levels. This year that will change, with A-levels being replaced by the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE), and the English Schools Foundation (ESF) and several other international schools switching to the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma. ... https://www.scmp.com/article/683423/comparing-routes-university?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/683423/comparing-routes-university?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:00:00 +0000 February 12 is a landmark date in the history of knowledge - the 200th anniversary of the birth of one of the most important scientists to have ever lived, whose research and writings lay the foundations not only for so much scientific progress since then, but our very understanding of the origins of life. That man was Charles Darwin, who was educated for a career in the church but whose curiosity as a geologist and naturalist led him to publish the theory of evolution by natural selection.... https://www.scmp.com/article/669079/champion-curiosity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/669079/champion-curiosity?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Feb 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong's education reforms enter their crucial phase with the launch of the new senior secondary structure next year, a decade on since the soul-searching began on what our community wanted from its school system. As reforms progress towards their goal, it is worth remembering what they are all about. At heart are the interests of students - creating an environment in which young people thrive as learners, ready to be proactive, independent thinkers contributing to a society that increasingly... https://www.scmp.com/article/658159/giving-students-voice-lifetime-learning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/658159/giving-students-voice-lifetime-learning?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:00:00 +0000 Most people involved in education know that not many students will get grade As in a public examination in Hong Kong. In fact, less than 4 per cent of papers will achieve that hallowed mark in Hong Kong Certificate of Secondary Education and A-level exams. In the UK the situation is different. In the GCSE last year, 6.4 per cent of entries achieved an A* and 13.1 per cent an A. At GCE A-level, 25.3 per cent achieved grade As. However, despite that difference, grading has been treated as... https://www.scmp.com/article/624271/differences-exam-grading-systems-finally-being-resolved?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/624271/differences-exam-grading-systems-finally-being-resolved?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:00:00 +0000 Some teachers may call me an idealist, but I have absolute confidence in young people's abilities to have a big say in the shaping of their lives during childhood, and in their education. There's no doubt students can rise to the challenge when we trust them to take charge: whether it be deciding how to play, sharing their views of the teaching they are receiving or joining sensible discussion about their school. Some of that happens in many schools - but not all. Schools are somewhat... https://www.scmp.com/article/607869/its-time-break-silence-lets-hear-students-voices?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/607869/its-time-break-silence-lets-hear-students-voices?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:00:00 +0000 The massive changes in Hong Kong education came to a natural turning point last month, with the departure of former permanent secretary for education Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun, the woman who has steered education reforms so staunchly since 1998. As she noted, much of the groundwork for the reforms had now been set. Now was the time to hand over the reins to a fresh person to steer the implementation. Many bitter battles over the nature of the reforms are now over. In the local system, big issues... https://www.scmp.com/article/573755/it-may-be-farewell-not-goodbye?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/573755/it-may-be-farewell-not-goodbye?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:00:00 +0000 Watchdog's probe fails to find corruption but reveals lax management and practices that could lead to abuse The Independent Commission Against Corruption has made more than 80 recommendations to ensure the English Schools Foundation avoids the type of conflict of interest that sparked uproar three years ago. Carmel Chow Jun-lung, group head of the corruption prevention department, said the ICAC had not uncovered corruption but had identified many loose practices. These included inadequate... https://www.scmp.com/article/573765/icac-lays-down-guidelines-esf?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/573765/icac-lays-down-guidelines-esf?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:00:00 +0000 'MARYMOUNT SECONDARY is a very good school whose culture is characterised by a strong sense of identity and community ... the principal provides strong and skilful leadership . . . teaching and student learning is very good.' With those words, the community at the Happy Valley school - from principal to parents and students - could sigh with relief. They had in their hands an external school review that they could be proud of, with useful pointers as to how the school could move forward. Not... https://www.scmp.com/article/573749/very-happy-valley?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/573749/very-happy-valley?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:00:00 +0000 The devil is so often in the detail and that will be the case with the government's voucher scheme to promote kindergarten education. The innovative plan announced in the Policy Address has, in general, won cross-party support and is welcomed by the community. However, some of the details are problematic: in particular the implications of allowing vouchers to be used in only non-profit-making kindergartens that charge a maximum HK$24,000 a year in fees, and that teachers' salaries should be... https://www.scmp.com/article/572907/still-much-debate-voucher-scheme?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/572907/still-much-debate-voucher-scheme?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Nov 2006 16:00:00 +0000 Many parents know that among the worst moments of the school day is getting up at the crack of dawn to prepare their children's lunchboxes, only to have to unpack the contents - from squashed sandwiches to fermenting rice - at the end of the day. A group of parents at Kennedy School in Pok Fu Lam have now come to the rescue, by pooling together their more successful recipes for healthy packed lunches, published this week in The PTA Healthy Food Cookbook. The book, illustrated by pupils,... https://www.scmp.com/article/572914/parents-chip-cook-ideas-healthy-lunchboxes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/572914/parents-chip-cook-ideas-healthy-lunchboxes?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Nov 2006 16:00:00 +0000 Members express serious concern over review process in the re-election of president Paul Morris The Hong Kong Institute of Education's academic board has voted overwhelmingly for a resolution expressing serious concern over the review of its president's reappointment, and calling for the decision, due to be made by the council on Friday, to be delayed. The board, the equivalent of a university senate, voted 27 to one, with one abstention, on the motion. In a second motion, it voted 24 to one,... https://www.scmp.com/article/572919/hkied-board-calls-delay-decision-appointment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/572919/hkied-board-calls-delay-decision-appointment?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Nov 2006 16:00:00 +0000 Dr Colin Storey, Chinese University of Hong Kong's librarian, has a bachelor's degree in Chinese studies from the UK's Leeds University and an MPhil from the University of East Anglia. But that was not enough, prompting him to embark on a PhD with the University of Hong Kong's history department. His topic was related to his profession as a librarian and interest in China - the politics of information flow in academic libraries in the mainland, 1949 to 1989. He was fascinated by the... https://www.scmp.com/article/572072/bookworms-need-little-respect?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/572072/bookworms-need-little-respect?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Nov 2006 16:00:00 +0000 The Hong Kong Institute of Education was set up just over a decade ago to play a crucial role in the upgrading of teacher education, particularly at the primary and kindergarten levels that had been largely ignored by other universities. It was created out of five former teacher education colleges which, just a few years before, had still been recruiting school leavers out of Form Five. Initially its programmes were all at sub-degree level. Under its former director Ruth Hayhoe and its current... https://www.scmp.com/article/571991/road-ahead-still-unclear-hkied?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/571991/road-ahead-still-unclear-hkied?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Nov 2006 16:00:00 +0000 The current massive reform of the Hong Kong education system is going hand-in-hand with the upgrading of the teaching force. As chairman of the Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications (ACTEQ) Cheng Kai-ming, chair professor of education at the University of Hong Kong, has been playing a key role steering the growth in professional development in education. In a pilot scheme which ends next year, ACTEQ recommends that teachers complete 150 hours of professional development... https://www.scmp.com/article/572045/teachers-are-you-ready-become-pupils-again?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/572045/teachers-are-you-ready-become-pupils-again?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Nov 2006 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong is well on its way to becoming a learning society, with more than a quarter of adults pursuing some form of continuing education, many at postgraduate level. For many career paths, one degree is no longer enough, whether you are climbing the ladder in the world of finance, or honing expertise as a teacher. However, surveys show that there is another major motivation - many are pursuing courses for sheer personal interest and intellectual curiorisity, giving them a balance and depth of... https://www.scmp.com/article/572077/editors-note?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/572077/editors-note?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Nov 2006 16:00:00 +0000 IN THE SCHEME OF the reforms of senior secondary and university education, faculties of education get a double whammy. Not only are they having to re-engineer themselves for longer degrees. They are also having to prepare teachers for the changes in schools. The twin challenge is what is preoccupying John Lee Chi-kin, the dean of education at Chinese University of Hong Kong. The advent of four-year degrees posed a particular challenge for faculties of education and the Hong Kong Institute of... https://www.scmp.com/article/571106/challenges-change-and-five-year-conundrum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/571106/challenges-change-and-five-year-conundrum?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Nov 2006 16:00:00 +0000 Move follows fears over EMB interference in reappointment The president of the Hong Kong Institute of Education has called for the institute and Chinese University to 'actively explore' forming a university federation. Paul Morris spelt out his views on the possible merger of the institute and CUHK in the wake of controversy about his reappointment which its council is due to decide on December 1. Senior staff have raised concern with the council that there has been government interference... https://www.scmp.com/article/571120/hkied-chief-calls-ideas-federation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/571120/hkied-chief-calls-ideas-federation?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Nov 2006 16:00:00 +0000 It's time Hong Kong opened its eyes to a problem that is undermining efforts to engage students actively in learning. It is the fact that many of its children are too tired to learn as well as they could. A study published earlier this week revealed a staggering statistic: that one in three students at secondary school fall asleep in class at least once a week. Of course, it is possible that they are not to blame - that lessons are so boring and irrelevant to them that they nod off, just as... https://www.scmp.com/article/571107/wake-our-sleeping-sickness?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/571107/wake-our-sleeping-sickness?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Nov 2006 16:00:00 +0000 The Hong Kong Institute of Education, the largest provider of early childhood teacher education, has been left out of the loop in talks on increasing places to meet the chief executive's training goals for kindergarten teachers. In a written submission to Monday's meeting of the Legislative Council's education panel, the Hong Kong Institute of Education states: 'Recently, the government has invited more higher institutions to offer pre-primary teacher training programmes from 2007 onwards,... https://www.scmp.com/article/571121/institute-out-loop-kindergarten-education?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/571121/institute-out-loop-kindergarten-education?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Nov 2006 16:00:00 +0000 Staff say professor to be ousted to clear way for merger Senior staff at the Hong Kong Institute of Education have accused its council of being swayed by pressure to oust its president in order to merge it with Chinese University. An e-mail circulated from 18 senior staff to all staff and students states that the way the reappointment of president Paul Morris is being conducted 'fails to meet the normal international and even most local standards'. The staff attached their letter sent to... https://www.scmp.com/article/570810/institute-council-under-fire-over-fate-president?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/570810/institute-council-under-fire-over-fate-president?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Nov 2006 16:00:00 +0000 This is the sixth in our series of SCMP/TNS opinion leader surveys on the city's key socioeconomic and public policy issues, each based on findings of a specially commissioned survey by TNS, the world's leading custom research and market information provider. Some surveys' findings will underpin a series of high-level briefings, with a 'white paper' from each to be presented to the government in a spirit of constructive engagement; Survey of business leaders finds vast majority rank European or... https://www.scmp.com/article/570475/graduates-not-overseas-standards?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/570475/graduates-not-overseas-standards?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Nov 2006 16:00:00 +0000 PRINCIPAL CHEUNG Siu-ming is trying to do something very creative with the new direct subsidy scheme school he is leading. He is breaking ambitious ground at Creative Secondary School, Tseung Kwan O, by implementing the local curriculum and International Baccalaureate's Middle Years Programme (MYP) alongside each other for the first time. When it comes to Form Five - or senior secondary two in the new academic structure - students' paths will divide, some taking the IB diploma, some the new... https://www.scmp.com/article/570241/marriage-creativity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/570241/marriage-creativity?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Nov 2006 16:00:00 +0000 Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun may now be safely seated behind her new desk at the Independent Commission Against Corruption, out of the fray of education argument. But her legacy for Hong Kong's schools will be debated and analysed for months, may be years. Few places have embarked on reforms as daring as Hong Kong's, affecting every level of schooling, from primary admissions to new public exams. The most outward sign of change is the many new schools that not only have superior facilities but are... https://www.scmp.com/article/570247/policy-true-architect-wholesale-change?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/570247/policy-true-architect-wholesale-change?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Nov 2006 16:00:00 +0000 The IB Middle Years Programme is designed to help students develop the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and skills necessary to participate actively and responsibly in a changing world, according to information from the International Baccalaureate Organisation which developed and administers it around the world. The curriculum includes eight subject groups, which are studied through five core areas of interaction. The subjects include familiar offerings such as languages, sciences, arts,... https://www.scmp.com/article/570242/middle-course-broad-path?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/570242/middle-course-broad-path?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Nov 2006 16:00:00 +0000