A school‐based project in five kindergartens: the case of teacher development and school development

Kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong are blamed for not putting child‐initiated learning theory into practice. Their competence is challenged. An earlier study (Li, 2003 Li, YL. (2003). Roadblocks to educational reform: investigating knowledge and practice of Hong Kong kindergarten teachers. International Journal of Educational Reform, 12(3): 217–229.  [Google Scholar]) suggested that the professional development of kindergarten teachers was limited by their inability to extend thinking beyond their own personal concerns so that the needs of the children were not the major determinant of their classroom practice. It was argued that to confront and modify the teachers' personal beliefs the presence of models, action research and joint collaborative activity were the keys. This report was a follow‐up study of a school‐based project, providing opportunities for teachers to engage in collaborative investigation of school curriculum and of pedagogical innovations. In this study, the practice and belief of a group of around 60 teachers were tracked during their participation in the project and the merits of peer coaching, mentoring and collaborative teamwork were examined. Classroom observations and semi‐structured interviews (40–60 minutes) were adopted as the main research procedure. Teaching records, videoed teaching episodes and feedback on project workshops were sources of data collected for triangulation. The findings of the study suggest that collegiality holds some promise for change in teachers' practice, though questions concerning the constancy of change are of concern.     

Correction to: Cultural divides in acceptance and continuance of learning management system use: a longitudinal study of teenagers

Educational technology research and development - In the abstract, the second “FG” in the sentence below should be “SG”: The sample was classified into three cultural...     

How Sustainable Are In‐service Teacher‐training Courses?

The present research addressed the issue of ‘life after a course’. The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of four in‐service teacher‐training courses at the Hong Kong Institute of Education in terms of their usefulness and relevance to the teachers’ needs on return to school. An end‐of‐course evaluation questionnaire and a follow‐up questionnaire were sent six months after the courses to see if there were any significant differences in the participants’ views on the effectiveness of a course at two different time points. Qualitative data collected from interviews between the tutors and participants six months after the courses were also analysed to find out which aspects of the courses were considered to be most useful to the teachers on their return to school, and why they were useful. The findings from the research give valuable insights into the design of teacher‐education courses.     

元词六十首选评（下）

《元词六十首选评》系月人从唐圭璋先生所编《全金元词》下册《全金元词·元词》所收212家3721首词作中选出25家55首词作．少则仅录1首。多则录其13首,另选无名氏词作5首共60首编定,并逐一评点,以期有一略微象样之元词选本传世。     

The impact of leadership and stakeholders on the success/failure of e-government service: Using the case study of e-stamping service in Hong Kong

Using e-stamping service in Hong Kong as a case study, this paper examines the impact of leadership and stakeholders on the success or failure of e-government service in Hong Kong. Multiple methods are used for data collection: documents and archival record research, direct observation, and interviews. Results show that both leadership and stakeholders have an impact on the success of e-stamping service.     

Teachers in action research: assumptions and potentials

Research literature has long indicated that action research may stimulate practitioners themselves to actively evaluate the quality of their practice. This study is designed to report the use of action research for the development of early years professional practice by analyzing the pre‐project and the post‐project video‐filmed teaching events. The finding was that action research might support knowledge development in the teacher profession. However, the teacher's ability to accommodate outside knowledge might be limited by one's inside knowledge. The study helps to clarify the assumptions and potentials of action research for teachers learning to teach.     

Perceived benefits and barriers to the use of high-speed broadband in Ireland's second-level schools

As part of Ireland's National Digital Strategy, high-speed broadband is being rolled out to all second-level schools to support greater use of information and communication technology (ICT) in education. This programme signals a move from slow and unreliable broadband connections for many schools to a guaranteed high-speed connection with technical support. Theoretically, this should allow for behaviours and pedagogies to adapt, incorporating ICT into education. Research shows that integrating ICT into teaching and learning is a gradual process for most teachers and is influenced by a complex mix of socio-technical factors. Our data set consists of survey data from teachers and principals from a sample of second-level schools. The survey collected factual and attitudinal variables including attitudes towards ICT integration, current availability of infrastructure and barriers to ICT use, before schools received high-speed broadband connectivity. We examine the factors influencing teachers’ attitudes to ICT and their perceived barriers in adopting new technologies in their day-to-day teaching. Analysis of this baseline period is essential in an iterative digital strategy, informing future strategies, targeting policy most effectively and achieving policy objectives. While attitudes towards the potential of high-speed broadband and use of ICT are consistently positive across sub groups of schools and teachers, perceived barriers to ICT usage differ.