Centre News


Centre News Archive
December 2011
	Links: Matinee 2: Leading Teams The second Matinee of Links was held on December 6, 2011 regarding Leading Teams. It included stimulus sharing from Emeritus Professor Patrick Duignan (International Speaker & Consultant). It gave the Links Leaders insights on teamwork and developing a collective responsibility for leadership of learning.	Keynote Speech at the Knowledge Exchange Conference 2011 Prof. Allan Walker was invited to give a presentation at the keynote speech at the Knowledge Exchange Conference 2011 on December 5, 2011 in Hong Kong. Topic: Seeding sustainable leader learning communities.
	Blue Line Knowledge Transfer Seminar on “Developing a Culture of Collective Responsibility for Leadership in Schools” Prof. Allan Walker conducted a Blue Line Knowledge Transfer Seminar with Prof. Patrick Duignan on December 5, 2011 on the topic of “Developing a Culture of Collective Responsibility for Leadership in Schools”. Emeritus Professor Duignan, from the Australian Catholic University, has been involved in education for almost 35 years as a teacher, deputy principal, principal and in a number of positions from lecturer to professor and Dean in tertiary education institutions. He has been a staff member at Memorial University (Canada), University of New England (Head of School), University of Brunei (Dean, Faculty of Education) and Australian Catholic University. He was currently Foundation Chair in Educational Leadership and Director of the Flagship in Educational Leadership at ACU National.
November 2011
	Links: Matinee 1: Leading People The first Matinee of Links was held on November 24, 2011 regarding Leading People. It included stimulus sharing from Helen Revans from West Island School on ‘Fearless Conversations’. It gave the Links Leaders on-hand people and leadership skills.
	Teacher Development Seminars Prof. Allan Walker was invited to conduct Teacher Development Seminars on November 23, 2011 and December 20, 2011. Prof. Walker and his TDG project team shared their “IEMA’s experience in using Moodle" at “Migration from Blackboard to Moodle Briefing” and “Pedagogical and Technicality issues of using Moodle to deliver e-learning in Higher Education” for colleagues who are forging advance pathways of online teaching and learning.
	Keynote Speech at International Conference of the All India Association of Educational Research Prof. Y. C. Cheng was invited to give a keynote speech at International Conference of the All India Association of Educational Research organized by the Institute of Professional Studies, Gwalior on November 18-20, 2011 in Pradesh, India. Topic: “Learning community for global education reform”.
	Keynote Speech at the “School Change: China Experience and International Dialogue” International Academic Conference Prof. Allan Walker was invited to give a keynote speech at the “School Change: China Experience and International Dialogue” International Academic Conference organized by the Institute of Schooling Reform and Development, East China Normal University on November 18-20, 2011 in Shanghai, China.
	Knowledge Transfer Seminar to Perth Principals and Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia Prof. Allan Walker, Joseph Lau Chair Professor of International Educational Leadership, was invited to give a Knowledge Transfer Seminar to a group of Perth Principals and Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia on November 7, 2011. Topic: Leadership for School Improvement.
	Links Forum 1: Leading Learning and Schools The Centre launched the second cohort of its international education leader learning programme for the English Schools Foundation. The innovative programme – Links 2011-2012 will run approximately for a year. The first Forum on November 2, 2011 included a talk by Chris Day, Professor Emeritus of Education at University of Nottingham. Further information about Links can be found at www.ied.edu.hk/apclc/links.
	Plenary Speech at the World Innovation Summit in Education (WISE) Prof. Y. C. Cheng was invited by the Qatar Foundation to give a plenary speech at the World Innovation Summit in Education (WISE) on November 1-3, 2011 in Doha, Gatar. Topic: “Rethinking innovation in education.”
October 2011
	Keynote Speech at the Conference on Education for Youth’ Creativity Prof. Y. C. Cheng was invited to give a keynote speech at the Conference on Education for Youth’ Creativity in celebration of the 110th Anniversary of the Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong, on October 29, 2011 in Hong Kong. Topic: “Education for fostering youths’ creativity”.	Keynote Speech at the Asia Education Leaders Forum Prof. Y. C. Cheng was invited to give a keynote speech at the Asia Education Leaders Forum, organized by the World Didac Asia, Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) & UNESCO, on October 26-28, 2011 in Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, Bangkok. Topic: “How can teachers face up to the changes in the next decades?”.
	Keynote Speech at the International Symposium on “School Improvement and Professional Development for Teachers” Prof. Allan Walker was invited to give a keynote speech at the International Symposium on “School Improvement and Professional Development for Teachers”, organized by Northeast China Normal University on October 24-26, 2011, in Chang Chun, China. Topic: “Principal as fusion chef: Building more inclusive schools”.
	Keynote Speech at the 4th National Symposium on Foreign Language Teacher Education and Development Prof. Y. C. Cheng was invited to give a keynote speech at the 4th National Symposium on Foreign Language Teacher Education and Development, organized by the China English Language Education Society, on October 20-22, 2011 in Zhejiang, China. Topic: “Paradigm shift in teacher education: Foreign language teachers for the future”.
	Keynote Speech at the Higher Education Leadership in East Asia Summit Prof. Philip Hallinger was invited to give a keynote speech at the Higher Education Leadership in East Asia Summit, on October 19, 2011 in Singapore. Topic: “Riding the Tiger of Change in Higher Education in Asia”.
	Immersion Forum on Instructional Leadership to Blue Liners Further to the Knowledge Transfer forum on Instructional leadership in June 2011, Prof Philip Hallinger ran an immersion forum on Instructional Leadership to blue liners. The forum was held on Oct 14, 2011.
	Plenary Speech at the Major Event in Saudi Arabia on Secondary Education Reform Prof. Y. C. Cheng was invited to give a plenary speech at the Major Event in Saudi Arabia on Secondary Education Reform, organized by the King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Reform Project (Tatweer), Department of Strategy, Planning and Design, Ministry of Education, on October 17-18, 2011 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Topic: “Investing in the Future: Upper Secondary Education Reform in Hong Kong?”.
	Chair Professor Lecture Prof. Allan Walker, Joseph Lau Chair Professor of International Educational Leadership, was invited to give the Chair Professor Lecture on October 4, 2011. Prof. Allan Walker shared with us his intriguing topic – “Clones, Drones and Dragons: Ongoing uncertainties around successful school leadership”. An audience of over two hundred shared the experience. Studies have shown that leadership can make a difference in student outcomes and the capacity of schools for improvement. However, many school leaders face challenges of leading and managing schools and of on-going uncertainties in the fast changing landscape of education. In his lecture, Prof. Walker examined key issues of successful school leadership and leader development in Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific region. He used three metaphors – clones, drones and dragons – to analyse the evolution and uncertainties that have impeded the understanding and development of school leadership. His presentation was followed by a panel discussion of in which members shared their personal experience and insights on school leadership. Please visit www.ied.edu.hk/cplectures for details of Prof. Walker’s presentation.
September 2011
	Keynote Speech at the 16th Annual Leadership & Ethics Conference Prof. Allan Walker was invited to give a keynote speech at the 16th Annual Leadership & Ethics Conference, on September 25-27, 2011 in British Columbia, Canada. Topic: “The making of authentic leaders: ongoing uncertainties”.
	Expert Discussant at the Symposium of the European Conference for Educational Research Prof. Y. C. Cheng was invited as an expert discussant on ‘Urban education: Views from 3 continents’ at the Symposium of the European Conference for Educational Research, organized by the World Educational Research Association on 13-16 September 2011 in Berlin, Germany.	Links 2011-12: The Director’s Cut Prof. Bruce Barnett from the University of Texas at San Antonio, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Department, visited the APCLC in early September 2011 and conducted a coaching and mentoring workshop entitled “The Directors’ Cut’ of the “Links: Leading Learning and Schools 2011-12”, our ongoing programme for leaders in international schools.
	APCLC Knowledge Transfer and Research Seminar 2011 On Sep 19-20, 2011, the APCLC invited our fellows coming to HK to a regional research seminar/ meeting in forging a new research initiative on instructional leadership in East Asia. The APCLC fellows in HK, Mainland China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore are invited to participate in a cross national / cultural collaborative study in which Directors of APCLC are the chief Project investigators. At the seminar, the APCLC provided an overview of the project, solidify the research team / networks. The APCLC has also provided initial training in the relevant interview and observation methods that will be used in the study. The research skill training was conducted by Prof. Bruce Barnett from the University of Texas-San Antonio (USA).
	Leader Learning in Hong Kong 2011 Prof. Allan Walker, Joseph Lau Chair Professor of International Educational Leadership, organized a full-day leader experiential learning for more than 80 principals and scholars-practitioners from: (i) Australia Education Foundation, University of Melbourne; (ii) Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Victoria Government of Australia; and (iii) MOE of Thailand visiting Hong Kong schools and attending leader learning seminar on September 20, 2011. This full day leader learning not only facilitate networking and the transfer of professional knowledge in education in an effort to support continuous professional development among teachers, principals and educational leaders; but also contributes to education development through knowledge transfer as services to the community and the profession.
July 2011
	School Improvement Institute 2011 For one week participants in the IEMA's School Improvement Institute (SII) had the opportunity to meet face-to-face. The SII is a core course in the APCLC's online master program. Coming from schools in places as diverse as Nanjing, Jakarta and Bagio City, participants met their online course-mates for in-depth seminars that leveraged this diversity to focus learning on themes related to intercultural leadership. The SII occurs every July in Bangkok.
	Blue Light 2011 July marked the APCLC's first Blue Light held for Australian school leaders. For one week in Bangkok leaders shared their experiences and worked through a series of workshops dealing with leading change, school improvement and getting results with context-based data. The participation of Thai principals helped participants to consider the impact of leadership strategies in different contexts.
June 2011
	Blue Skies 2010-11 Stimulus Meeting 5 Ms. Audrey EU, J.P. (member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong) was invited to be the speaker for the final session of Blue Skies 2010-11 stimulus series. She shared a lively session on Leadership, Wellbeing and Balance of Life. All the beginning and experienced principals found the sharing very inspiring to have self-reflection on the healthy balance of life and work.
	Blue Skies 2010-11 Celebration In the final structured meeting of Blue Skies 2010-11, all Beginning Principals and Sponsors reported very positive feedback and significant comments to the Blue Skies programme as a whole. Prof Y. C. Cheng was invited to be the guest of honour to present the participation certificates to the blue skiers of cohort six.
	Blue Line 2010-11 Forum 3 Further to the success of Forum 2, Prof Philip Hallinger ran another practical forum on Instructional Leadership to blue liners. This workshop first introduced a comprehensive framework of instructional leadership and a self-assessment by using the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale. The workshop also examined the time pressures that lead school principals away from exercising instructional leadership.
	Links 2010-11 Forum 2 In the final forum of Links 2010-11, Dr Trisha Leahy, the CEO of Hong Kong Sports Institute, highlighted some basic information on the policy environment, governance structure, etc of the current sports development in Hong Kong. She also shared her successful story of leading HKSI to be the pioneer of physical activities development and promotion.
	Links 2010-11 Finale In the final get-togther of first cohort of Links, Links Leaders consolidated what they have learnt through a review of the programme and various self-reflection activities. Links Leaders showed great appreciation of this finale event and the Links programme as a whole.
	APCLC-EPL Knowledge Transfer Talk for Leaders from the University of Houston, USA APCLC and EPL hosted a knowledge transfer talk for the University of Houston Group of 68 people who are educational doctoral students and faculty members go to China to study school leadership development on June 25, 2011. Prof Allan Walker gave a presentation relating to “Innovative approaches to School Leaders Development” and “Leadership for student learning in a high accountability context”.
	Principals visiting Hong Kong Sports Institute Ms. Leona Lam, Head Sponsor of the blue skies programme at APCLC, organized the blue skies principals’ visit the Hong Kong Sports Institute on June 10, 2011. During the visit, Dr Trisha Leahy, the CEO of HKSI, provided a talk and a guided tour for the local principals to learn more about the development of physical activities in Hong Kong.
May 2011
	Blue Skies 2010-11 Showcase Forum Building up on the success of Innovation Showcase by Sponsors, it was the Beginning Principals’ turn to share their school practices of which they were proud. The principals also appreciated the attendance of five EdB officials to show their support and value for what were occurring in their schools.
	Links 2010-11 Inquiry Project Learning Expo A key element of Links is school-based inquiry based learning. Links Leaders could either finish it independently or with their Alliance members. The Learning Expo gave the Links Leaders an invaluable opportunity to present their findings. An additional forty invited guests (including the CEO of ESF, Heather Du Quesnay) joined the expo to show support and provide feedback to Links Leaders.
	Principals visiting Deloitte Dr. Anissa Chan and Ms Veronica Ma, Head Sponsors of the blue skies programme at APCLC, organized the blue skies secondary principals to visit Deloitte, one of the big 4 accounting agencies in HK, on May 26, 2011. The event provided an opportunity for local principals to learn about success and leadership in a profession outside education.
	Principals visiting 6 Catholic schools Mr. Yip Kai-kwan, Head Sponsor of the blue skies programme at APCLC, arranged a series of 3-day attachment programmes in six Catholic schools for the blue skies principals from May 11-25, 2011. Beginning Principals shadowed their attached Sponsors, in order to learn some tacit knowledge about school leadership and to build closer relationships with each other.
April 2011
	Blue Line 2010-11 Forum 2 Prof Philip Hallinger ran an useful forum on Leading Change in East Asia: The Challenge for School Leaders. The Forum engaged participants in examining a specific change in teaching, learning, curriculum, or management in their schools. During the workshop participants applied the workshop content to analyze the change process underway and develop practical strategies to jump-start that change to achieve greater impact.
	Links 2010-11 Matinee 5 Ms Helen Revans, who was a certified Fearless Living and Fearless Loving Life Coach, shared with the Links Leaders some powerful communication skills in order to have “fearless conversations” in their work situations. The interactive activities helped to equip them better to manage the challenges and dilemmas of the day-to-day conversations of a middle leader/teacher.
	Principals visiting Buddhist Fat Ho Memorial College in Tai O Ms. Wong She-lai Shirley, Head Sponsor of the blue skies programme at APCLC, organized the blue skies secondary principals to visit Buddhist Fat Ho Memorial College in Tai O on April 24, 2011. In this Easter visit, principals got closer to the nature to relax from their daily hectic work, while at the same time they could also share their thoughts in a more causal scenario.
	Principals visiting Shek Kwu Chau Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre Mr. Cheung Chi-hung Alex, Sponsor of the blue skies programme at APCLC, organized the blue skies primary principals to visit Shek Kwu Chau Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre on April 7, 2011. The visit was organized to local principals to enhance their understanding of the Government's anti-drug policy and the treatment and rehabilitation services available in Hong Kong.
March 2011
	"Missing Link" Research on School Leadership and Student Learning A “Missing Link” seminar was held on March 24, 2011, introducing the findings of Missing Link I and details of Missing Link II. It was the first study in Asia to investigate the link between leadership practices, school conditions and student outcomes using value-added data. Funded by the Hong Kong government’s General Research Fund (GRF), Missing Link I involved 179 key staff and 2,663 students from 48 local secondary schools. The findings indicated that local secondary schools principals struggled more with practices related to quality assurance and accountability than in other leadership areas.　The Principal investigator of 'The Missing Link I'', Prof Allan Walker, suggested that school principals and policy makers should work together to ensure that accountability demands were constructive and educationally beneficial to students and staff. The second part of the Missing Link project would be launched and led by Professor Philip Hallinger to further explore the impact of leadership on school improvement and student learning over time in the primary school sector. Missing Link II would be the first longitudinal study in Asia to link leadership practices and school conditions to student outcomes using a standardised test. More than 100 local primary schools and over 15,000 students would be involved in the study over three years. It aimed to determine how leadership from school principals and teachers contributes to school improvement in the local context. It also aimed to produce information that would help principals understand how to develop improvement strategies that fit their particular schools.
	Keynote Speech at the Seminar for Principals’ Continuing Professional Development Prof. Y. C. Cheng was invited to give a keynote speech at the Seminar for Principals’ Continuing Professional Development, organized by the Oxford University Press on 25 March 2011. Topic: “Challenges to Principals: Taking the Advantages of e-Learning for “Self-regulated Learning”.
	Centre Directors have been conferred the Endowed Chair Professors Centre directors Prof. Allan Walker and Prof. Philip Hallinger have been conferred the endowed chair professors in their specialized fields of education. Prof. Allan Walker has been conferred as Joseph Lau Chair Professor of International Educational Leadership while Prof. Philip Hallinger has been conferred as Joseph Lau Chair Professor of Leadership and Change. The endowed chair inauguration ceremony was held on March 23, 2011. The appointments not only recognize Prof. Walker and Prof. Hallinger’s achievements and the strategic importance of their areas of study, but also manifest the invaluable partnerships forged between visionary benefactors and the HKIEd in pursuit of excellence in scholarship.
	The Asia Leadership Roundtable 2011 was held in Bangkok The A sia Leadership Roundt able 2011 was held in Bangkok from March 13-15, 2011. It was co-hosted by the Joseph Lau Luen Hung Charitable Trust Asia Pacific Centre for Leadership and Change of Hong Kong Institute of Education and the National Institute for the Development of Teachers and Educational Personnel of the Ministry of Education. The meeting was attended by 60 scholars, policymakers and school principals from 15 countries. The theme of the Roundtable discussions concerned Educational Reform in the Asia Pacific. The programme included presentations from Khunying Dr. Kasama Voravarn, former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education (Thailand), Professor Emeritus Brian Caldwell of the University of Melbourne (Australia), Professorial Fellow S. Gopinathan of the National Institute of Education (Singapore), and Joseph Lau Chair Professors Allan Walker and Philip Hallinger of the Hong Kong Institute of Education. The Roundtable discussions sought to identify obstacles and successful strategies for educational reform based on the experience of the countries represented in the meeting. Outcomes of the meeting include the following: 35 papers describing educational reform issues from the perspectives of the participants which will be published in international journals under the joint sponsorship of NIDTEP and the Asia Pacific Centre for Leadership and Change; Formal institutional collaboration between HKIEd and more than 15 other institutions the region as well as the USA, Australia, and Europe. A policy report summarizing what was learned from the meeting; Video interviews on educational reform issues that can be used in the APCLC learning and training curriculum.
	Links 2010-11 Matinee 4 This time the workshop was conducted in Nan Lian Garden, where hills and rocks, waters, plants and timber structures were built and arranged according to classical Tang style and rules. The serenely and tranquil environment was a perfect match of the theme of Matinee 4- Fusion, which inspired the Links Leaders to pay attention to the cross-cultural issues in their school.	Blue skies 2010-11 Stimulus Meeting 4 Mrs. LAW FAN Chiu-fun, Fanny G.B.S., J.P. was invited to share with our blue skiers on the macro-scope of Hong Kong’s unique position within her motherland, China. Audience found the seminar to be very stimulating for a broad horizon on t he recent developments of China and especially its implication on Hong Kong education.
February 2011
	Blue skies 2010-11 Stimulus Meeting 3 Mr. LAM Chiu-ying S.B.S., who was the Emeritus Director of Hong Kong Observatory, was invited to be the third guest speaker of blue skies stimulus series. His talk was found very inspiring for the BPs to reflect on the relationship between Nature and Man as One.	Blue Line 2010-11 Forum 1 The first formal Blue Line Forum was conducted by Br. Kelvin Canavan F.M.S, from Australia. He shared the success of Catholic schools being so popular in Sydney with our local Hong Kong principals. Throughout the forum, our audience learned an international perspective on improving educational outcomes for students and the role of leaders.
	Links 2010-11 Matinee 3 Prof. Bruce Abernathy shared his expertise on Human Performance to the Links Leaders. Throughout the workshop, leaders were motivated to think about the relationship between high performance and successful leadership, and what are the e ducational performance enhancers .
January 2011
	Links 2010-11 Live in Learning The overnight Residential workshop was conducted by Prof. Allan Walker and Dr. Terry Quong to help the Links Leaders to develop a better understanding of leadership and change in their own school and within the ESF, to form tighter links with their Alliance partners and other group members, and to facilitate them to kick start their Inquiry Learning Project.

Centre News Archive