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Caitlin Wong

The  past 10 years have seen changes in varying degrees in different sectors of Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region of China, and education is one area that has experienced significant change.

Of special note is the comprehensive reform programme launched six years ago and designed to progressively overhaul curricula, assessments and admissions systems across the board, from early childhood schooling to tertiary level.

Among other things, the reforms have called for an upgrading of qualifications and skills of teachers and educationists. The ongoing standardisation covers all levels of practitioner, from teachers to school principals and education administrators.

Education training programmes have been developed and expanded over the years, and new training programmes have been added on.

New on the horizon is a doctor of education programme, to be launched by the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) in the coming academic year.

The programme, which mainly targets  school principals, teachers and education administrators working both with the government and in private institutions, is designed to prepare those engaged in education for changes and developments in key areas of the education reforms.

In its initial phases, the programme will focus on measurement and assessment in education, and on English-language education.

Bob Adamson, HKIEd programme co-ordinator and head of the department of curriculum and instruction, said there were growing concerns among mainland and regional educators; one particular concern was the use of English as the medium of instruction, and how it worked in the region.

'You have the whole issue of English as a medium of instruction around the region, including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and other countries,' Dr Adamson said. 'There is a policy of using English to teach, which brings up such issues as choosing between the local varieties of English and more generally used English in schools.'

Assessment was another concern.

'You also have all these reforms in assessment throughout Southeast Asia and the mainland, where everybody is moving towards less reliance on formal public examinations for evaluating students,' he said. 'Given these developments, we are hoping the programme will attract education professionals and examination officials from around the region.'

HKIEd's doctor of education programme is designed flexibly to suit the participants' various career and personal needs, and can be completed in three to five years full-time , and four to seven years part-time. The faculty would be teachers of international standing.

Applicants should be experienced practitioners in education with a relevant master's degree.

HKIEd has already accepted 14 applicants to the course, including a Hong Kong school principal and vice-principal, and two educationists from Beijing.

Dr Adamson said the programme would require a commitment as global education evolved and became increasingly challenging.

The programme would emphasise practical applications and professional sharing.

'The experience is necessary,' Dr Adamson said. He added that it would help students to make sense of a lot of what they would be learning if participants could apply the knowledge to realistic situations.

'One of the important things about this programme is peer support. We are very selective about the professional experience of the participants, to ensure that they have quality input to share with their peers.'

Dr Adamson said a strength of the programme was its practical orientation. Looking ahead,  he said education management and Chinese-language teaching were also likely to be areas for future assessments.

Meanwhile, Baptist University is beefing up its early childhood education portfolio.

In September, the university will launch a new postgraduate diploma on early childhood education, designed for those who have no related first degrees.

Agnes Yau So-ngor, acting head of the university's school of continuing education, said the initiative would expand on the early childhood education programme to include a full range of academic training, from basic certificate of education to undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.

The objective was to provide a progressive upgrading for  practitioners from diverse academic backgrounds. There was a pressing need for standardisation of teaching in early childhood education, Dr Yau said. Meanwhile, aspirants holding unrelated degrees were encouraged to undertake training and bridge the academic gap.

The new postgraduate diploma would be taught part time. Dr Yau said this would give participants flexibility while they enjoyed quality learning with minimum  pressure.

'We feel that early childhood education is an area where there is still much to do in terms of teacher upgrading and standardisation of qualifications,' Dr Yau said.

This was a pressing issue, and not just because of a need to keep abreast of education reform, she said. Early childhood education marked the starting point, and its quality would affect the quality of education at all subsequent levels of learning, she said.



Classes assessed - across the board