立法保障高素质学前教育师资:美国经验及启示

幼教师资水平是保证学前教育质量与可持续发展的关键因素。近年来美国联邦层面制定并出台了一系列重要法律,保障并不断提高幼教师资水平,有效促进了学前教育发展。美国保障高素质学前教育师资的经验主要可概括为五个方面:通过法的制定体现政府对师资问题的高度重视;不断明确并提高幼教资质要求;加大财政投入以提升幼教师资水平;加强幼儿教师教育与专业发展;保障幼儿教师的基本权益。美国发展学前教育的经验对我国提高幼教师资水平、促进学前教育事业发展具有重要的启示。     

立法促进高素质幼儿教师队伍建设:台湾地区的经验及其启示

近年来,为更好促进学前教育事业发展,台湾地区先后制定并颁布了多部学前教育及其相关法律,以建设一支稳定和高质量的幼教师资队伍。通过对台湾地区学前教育及相关法律的分析,发现台湾地区立法保障高素质幼儿教师队伍建设的主要经验有:1.明确规定并不断提高幼儿教师的资质;2.明确规定幼儿教师的任用制度;3.十分重视幼儿教师的在职进修与研究;4.注重保障幼儿教师的合法权利和待遇。台湾地区经验对于促进我国大陆地区幼儿教师队伍建设立法,提高教师队伍质量,因而促进学前教育事业发展具有积极的借鉴意义与重要启示。     

推行免费学前教育,保障学前教育公益性——澳门免费学前教育政策研究

免费学前教育是澳门特区政府在学前教育领域重要的施政理念和目标,也是其发挥政府职能以保障学前教育公益性的重要方式与手段.澳门特区政府免费学前教育政策的制定及其实施具有以下特点:明确政府在免费学前教育中的职责,建立免费学前教育政策体系;切实加大财政投入力度,不断扩大和提高免费学前教育的保障范围与水平;实施免费学前教育过渡政策并不断提高津贴水平;推行小班化改革,促进学前教育质量提高.免费学前教育政策有力地推动澳门保障并促进了学前教育公益性的实现,并促使其学前教育质量不断提高,这对我国其他地区思考制定免费学前教育政策,促进学前教育普及具有重要的借鉴价值.     

明确学前教育性质,切实保障学前教育地位——法国免费学前教育法律研究及其对我国的启示

法国学前教育在世界上一直处于领先位置,这与法国历来重视学前教育发展,实施免费学前教育,并在其<宪法>、教育基本法及多部相关法律法规中对法国学前教育性质、地位及其保障措施等做出明确规定密不可分.法国免费学前教育法律的主要特点在于:第一,明确学前教育的奠基性与公益性;第二,确立学前教育事业政府主办与政府投入为主的原则;第三,明确幼儿教师身份及其工资等基本权益的政府保障责任;第四,优先保障弱势地区、弱势群体学前教育权,维护学前教育公益性.借鉴法国学前教育法律制定的经验,我们需要充分认识并明确规定学前教育的独特价值、基本性质与重要地位;明确政府财政投入与教师队伍建设职责,切实保障并提升学前教育地位;重点并优先扶持弱势地区、弱势群体儿童的学前教育.     

我国幼儿教师培养政策：特点、矛盾与建议

幼儿教师培养是保障并不断提高幼师队伍质量的关键手段和必然途径。当前,我国基本建立了以师范院校教育为主体的多元幼师培养体系并不断提高学历要求,但在相关法律中缺乏对幼儿教师培养的专门、具体规定,并且未建立培养机构的资质认证体系且缺乏对培养质量评估的相关规定。在制定学前教育法及相关政策过程中,应补充和完善幼儿教师培养机构的准入标准和培养质量评估标准,因地制宜制定和完善幼儿教师学历培养体系的相关规定,进一步明确和逐步增加幼儿教师培养的经费投入等。     

美、英、印三国学前教育财政投入的保障机制特点分析

对美国、英国和印度三国学前教育财政投入的法律和政策保障进行了分析,认为其表现出两个特点:通过刚性立法或国家政策保障学前教育财政预算的实现;依托项目保证学前教育预算不断增加并向弱势群体倾斜。我国应借鉴三国的经验,将完善的教育财政立法作为保障学前教育发展的重要手段;并注重以实施大型项目的手段加强对弱势群体的资助,促进学前教育事业的长期稳定与公平发展。     

关于学前教育立法的几点思考

当下学前教育迈入快速发展的新时期,在取得一些优异成绩的同时,许多机制体制中的问题也亟待立法保障,进一步明确、解决.现有的学前教育法律环境已经无法满足新时代的需求.为更好地促进学前教育事业健康发展,亟需加强学前教育立法,提高立法位阶,用法律形式明确政府发展学前教育的主体地位;以发展普惠性学前教育为原则,扩充学前教育资源,努力维护幼儿教师的合法权益;科学保教,杜绝幼儿园"小学化"现象的出现,推进学前教育事业长久科学的发展.     

美国、新西兰幼儿教师质量保障体系的比较与借鉴

为促进学前教育事业的发展，提升幼儿教师的专业水平，美国和新西兰建立了较为完善的幼儿教师质量保障体系。本文基于专业标准、评估认证、政策保障和资源支持四个方面对美国和新西兰幼儿教师教育质量保障体系进行了全面的论述和比较。我国可借鉴美国和新西兰的成功举措，通过完善幼儿教师专业标准，制定幼儿教师教育保障政策，健全幼儿教师教育机...     

幼儿教师专业化发展:实然之境与应然之策——基于学前教育系列政策变革的解读

幼儿教师的专业化发展既是实现自身价值的重要途径,更是提高幼儿教育质量的关键。通过剖析我国幼儿教师专业化发展的实然之境,揭示出幼儿教师发展过程中面临的三大时代难题,即教师数量不足,工作压力过大;培养目标单一,从业资格较低;专业素养欠缺,科研能力薄弱。对学前教育系列政策变革进行逐一解读,预示幼儿教师专业化发展迎来新的曙光,应从法律规章制度、培养目标与课程、教师资格认证及专业综合素质等方面,探寻促进幼儿教师专业化发展的路径,为学前教育事业健康发展提供根本保障。     

美国联邦学前教育投入的特点及其对我国的启示

充足的投入是一国学前教育事业发展的基本保障，而通过立法加以明确和规定则是保障学前教育投入的行之有效的做法。通过对美国几部重要的学前教育法中有关投入的法律规定进行分析，我们可以看到美国联邦学前教育投入具有以下五个方面的特点：现实主义的价值取向、法治原则、非全面系统性、促进学前教育公平、拨款额度不断增加。这对我国学前教育事业发展和立法保障财政投入有着重要的启示作用与借鉴价值。     

论我国宪法与香港特区基本法的关系

宪法是我国的根本大法。任何其他的基本法律包括港、澳特区的基本法都要遵循宪法的基本原则。在“一国两制”的方针下,香港特区《基本法》具有相对的独立性和特殊性。     

The Influence of Classic Chinese Philosophy of Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism on Classroom Discipline in Hong Kong Junior Secondary Schools

Discipline is a crucial aspect of teachers' and students' classroom lives. Hong Kong secondary teachers, as elsewhere, are concerned with students' misbehaviour. This article examines teachers' constructs of classroom discipline and strategies adopted for behaviour management. Qualitative data were collected by interviews and classroom observation. Sixty teachers were involved. Eighteen classrooms were observed. The influence of the three schools of classic Chinese philosophy, Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism, emerged as a main theme from the data. It was prominent as their key principles were incorporated into the teachers' personal system of classroom discipline. The findings illuminate the influence of Chinese culture in Hong Kong classrooms. Implications for the promotion of culturally responsive classrooms and the development of educational policies on pastoral care are drawn.     

A shift in Hong Kong principals ’ leadership conceptions

Schools in Hong Kong are now undergoing many educational reforms. With so many ideas and demanding tasks ahead, principals have been expected to bear the responsibility for implementing change. In 1991, the leadership of Hong Kong principals was described as “dictatorial” in a government document, which painted a bleak picture of the leadership being offered by Hong Kong principals at that time. However, this recent study showed that teachers perceived that principals as exerting some degree of transformational leadership in schools. All the eight dimensions of the leadership were above the mid-point on the rating scale. It seems that there is a shift in Hong Kong primary school principals leadership conceptions. This paper describes the extent to which teachers perceived their principal ’s to be exercising transformational leadership. Issues concerning principal development are discussed.     

Teacher professionalism in educational reform: the experiences of Hong Kong and Shanghai

Beginning in the 1990s, the education departments of Hong Kong and Shanghai began to actively initiate reform with a focus on the quality of education. In reviewing the implementation of educational reform in these two societies, we found that Hong Kong teachers tended to only adopt those policies which they felt were beneficial for students' learning, whereas Shanghai teachers tended to conform more to the state's requirements. Teachers in Hong Kong strongly expressed their frustration over the intensification of their work, while teachers in Shanghai seldom expressed disagreement over the state initiatives. Concerning the meaning of teacher professionalism, teachers in Hong Kong were more able than their counterparts in Shanghai to develop their own interpretations. However, at the same time, teachers' work in Hong Kong was still being monitored by the emerging schooling market, while the work of Shanghai teachers was monitored by the state. Teachers' work in both societies can be interpreted as ‘confined professionalism’. In addition, in both of the two societies teachers' awareness of their professionalism was comparatively weak. Further empowerment in this area is needed.     

新世纪的教师发展与教师教育

新世纪以来,中国内地和香港都启动了大规模的课程改革,对教师发展和教师教育提出了新的要求。基于对教师发展与教师教育之间关系的分析,文章指出了二者未来的发展方向,即发展中小学—大学伙伴协作关系,建立教师教育发展网络,促进多元化的教师发展和教师教育,以及深化教师与教师教育工作者的实践探究与反思。     

论香港师训会对香港教师专业发展的影响

我国香港地区师训与师资咨询委员会是香港教师教育领域最重要的咨询机构,对香港教师专业发展产生了重大影响,是香港教师专业发展的规划者和推动者,以及政府、学校、教师三主体之间的协调者。在分析师训会的相关重要文件报告基础上,详细论述师训会对香港教师专业发展的影响,以期对内地架构和发展教师专业发展咨询体系提供借鉴。     

An investigation of preservice early childhood teachers’ adoption of ICT in a teaching practicum context in Hong Kong

The research reported here investigated the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) by 15 Hong Kong preservice early childhood teachers (PSTs) who had completed a course regarding the use of ICT in early childhood settings as they participated in their first-year teaching practicum. The study examined the preservice teachers use of ICT and their ability to integrate ICT into their teaching practices. The research took place in 7 preschool settings across the Hong Kong Special Administration Region (SAR). The results indicated that preservice teachers used ICT mostly in the context of a teacher-directed approach to learning. The contexts allowed for few child-directed activities and very few child-initiated activities. Similarly, when the preservice teachers incorporated learning activities that used ICT, they initiated and directed most of the activities. The findings from this study indicate that school factors, such as school-level curriculum, ICT infrastructure, and the mentor-teacher’s teaching philosophy exerted a powerful influence on the way that preservice teachers were able to use ICT in their teaching practicum.     

New Opportunities for Change in American Teacher Education: Insights From Hong Kong

This article is an exploration of the emerging narratives on learning and teacher education in the United States and Hong Kong, as found in official policy statements and curriculum documents. Particular attention is given to Hong Kong's initiative in implementing an interdisciplinary liberal studies curriculum, and the continued professional development of teachers for this proposed change. This recent trend is used to illustrate the possibilities for a broader vision of creating and substantiating knowledge and learning in teacher education programs in the United States.     

CEPA and interrelationship between Chinese yuan and Hong Kong dollar

In order to explore the interrelated impacts of the economical communications between China and Hong Kong SAR, especially after the closer economic partnership arrangement (CEPA) and the Chinese yuan offshore financial business in Hong Kong banks in 2004, the exchange rates of the Chinese yuan and the Hong Kong dollar are investigated as well-performing market signals that should reflect this historical transformation. With vector autoregressive models (VAR), the Johansen cointegration test and the Granger causality test on the exchange rates of the Chinese yuan and the Hong Kong dollar adjusted by the consumer price index and inter-bank interest rates are examined. It is found that the exchange rates of the Chinese yuan and the Hong Kong dollar after CEPA are in long-term equilibrium and Granger causality with each other, which means that the interrelationship of the Chinese yuan and the Hong Kong dollar is more closely integrated after the implementation of the CEPA. In conclusion, the cooperation regarding bilateral trade and financial markets between China and Hong Kong SAR has been enhanced after 1997; furthermore, after the implementation of CEPA the interrelationship of the economies between China and Hong Kong SAR is significantly reinforced.     

Improving teaching self-efficacy for teachers in inclusive classrooms in Hong Kong

This study investigated changes in teacher self-efficacy for inclusive practice using a mixed method research design. Participants were 417 in-service teachers in Hong Kong taking a 1-week basic teacher-training course about inclusive education. Data were collected pre and post participation in the course using the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices Scale (TEIP). A series of five in-depth focus-group interviews provided greater clarification of the perceptions and efficacy issues of teachers. The best predictors to participants’ teaching self-efficacy were confidence in teaching students with special education needs (SEN) and knowledge of legislation and policies for inclusive practice. From the focus-groups, results demonstrated a more positive attitude change towards students with SEN with a number of essential factors emerging as highly beneficial for inclusive teaching in Hong Kong (i.e. caring and love, school environment and curriculum adaption). The discussion considers the role of short training programmes as an appropriate means to improving self-efficacy for teaching within inclusive classrooms in Hong Kong.