Collaboration with the Education Community Partnering with Schools
At the Institute, partnership building is anchored in mutually beneficial models. Schools contribute to our field experience activities and in return obtain professional support in mentorship education from the Institute. Through well-established projects such as Secondary Teaching Evaluation and Mentoring (STEM), Variation for the Improvement of Teaching and Learning (VITAL) and the Teaching Analysis and Lesson Observation Network (TALON), the Institute works with school principals and mentors to provide an environment conducive to professional growth for both student teachers and school mentors. This collaborative model has been very positively received by our students and supported by the placement schools and school mentors.
The Associate Teaching Fellow (ATF) Scheme is another Institute initiative that helps both the school community and our students. Under this Scheme, well-qualified serving teachers are put through training and development programmes as supervisors by the Institute, in support of our student teachers during their field experience. Through this training and support model, the partnerships between the Institute and schools are fortified. Post-training evaluation has shown that the ATFs highly value the Scheme, which helps improve their skills in mentoring and lesson analysis.
Partnering with School Leaders
The Hong Kong School Principals’ Conference is recognised as a unique platform of exchange among educators. This biennial event is an important meeting at which school leaders can explore important education issues and the way forward at the macro level. Themed “Riding the Tide”, the Conference this year was held on 29 March 2010.
A thousand school leaders gathered to exchange views on the challenges brought about by the changing local and international education landscapes, and to find strategies to enhance students’ learning capacities.
Advancing Hong Kong as a Learning Society
The Institute values its role in disseminating professional knowledge, research findings and pedagogies, and in promoting a learning society, through active engagement with the community and the organisation of conferences, lectures, seminars and other activities. During 2009-10, these
included the following.
Chair Professors Public Lecture Series
With our scholars’ diverse range of expertise, we seek to advance knowledge transfer among schools and the wider community. During 2009-10, the Institute held 12 lectures in the Chair Professors Public Lecture Series. The topics spanned school leadership, Chinese and English language and literature, governance, Buddhist literature, learning assessment, ethnic minority education, world ethics and climate change, and lifelong learning and sustainable development. The series attracted 2,000 school leaders, frontline workers in the social and civic sectors, academics, students and parents.
Hong Kong Citizenship, Institutions and Culture Public Lecture Series
The Institute seeks to engage proactively with various external stakeholders and the community. Themed “Hong Kong Citizenship, Institutions and Culture Public Lecture Series”, five thought-provoking talks were organised during the year, with speakers including Mr Paul Yip, Chairman of the Hong Kong Policy Institute, Mr Lam Woon-kwong, Chairman of the Equal Opportunities Commission, and scholars from local universities. With the introduction of Liberal Studies at the secondary school level under the 3-3-4 academic structure*, the talks were
well received by 1,000 secondary school teachers and students.
Forum on the Post-1980s Generation
With the Post-80s generation becoming a social phenomenon, the Institute co-organised a public forum with the Roundtable Think Tank on
2 February 2010. Members of the Post-80s and Post-90s generations gave personal accounts of their involvement in social activities, and the forum generated robust discussion among scholars, social activists, media professionals and government officials. It also attracted wide media attention.
* The official title of the 3-3-4 academic structure is the New Academic
Structure for Senior Secondary Education and Higher Education
in Hong Kong. Under this structure, students will receive six years of
secondary education (three junior and three senior), and four years
of university education.
Reaching Out to the Wider Community
Exhibition on Village Schools
To help the community explore the rich heritage of village schools and their contributions to the development of local rural education, the Institute launched an exhibition in collaboration with the
Hong Kong Museum of History and the Leisure
and Cultural Services Department in mid-May 2010. Held at the Hong Kong Museum of Education, the exhibition gave visitors a glimpse of the old village schools in the New Territories through the display of around 200 artefacts, including old teaching tools, textbooks, schoolbags, nostalgic photos and
historical documents.
The Hong Kong Museum of Education
Located on the Institute’s Tai Po campus, the Hong Kong Museum of Education was officially opened in mid-May 2009. During the past year, the Museum received over 17,600 visitors. Only a year since its inauguration, the Museum has become a popular cultural and historical spot, attracting a large number of individual visitors and organised tours from schools, the elderly and social welfare agencies.
15th Anniversary Gala Dinner
The year-long celebration of the Institute’s 15th Anniversary culminated in a Gala Dinner held on
20 November 2009, which was attended by around
400 guests including alumni, friends and supporters from the education and wider communities. Officiating at the launch ceremony, the Honourable Henry Tang Ying-yen, GBM, GBS, JP, Chief Secretary for Administration, reiterated the government’s support for our development into an institution of excellence in Asia, to strengthen Hong Kong as a regional education hub in its migration to a knowledge-based economy.
Tribute to Teachers Video Campaign
At the Gala Dinner, the video clips for the “Tribute to Teachers” branding campaign were unveiled. Featuring dialogues between 15 pairs o f teachers and students, the videos highlighted the lasting impact teachers have on their pupils. Well-known figures and alumni supported us in driving home the meaningful message of education within the community.
They included, among others, Mr Dick Lee, former Commissioner of Police, Mr Sammy Leung and Mr Francis Mak, celebrity DJs, Mr Terence Chang, principal of the Diocesan Boys’ School and Mr Leo Lu, alumnus and Honorary Fellow of the Institute.
Educational Impacts
The Institute is proud of its teacher education heritage. Over the years, we have nurtured students into professional teachers whose achievements have been widely recognised. Through them, the community appreciates that teachers are central to the quality of education and gives its support to both education and the Institute.
Chief Executive’s Award for Teaching Excellence
The exemplary professional performance of our alumni was again on show through the 2009-10 Chief Executive’s Award for Teaching Excellence. The Award recognises achievements in Chinese and English Language Education Key Learning Areas. Of the 61 winning teachers, 43 were our alumni, with 22 receiving awards and 21 certificates of merit.
Support for the Education Cause
Recognising the importance of education, the Joseph Lau Luen Hung Charitable Trust donated $20 million to the Institute during the year. This very generous donation will support the Asia Pacific Centre for Leadership and Change and the establishment of an Endowed Chair in the field of education leadership, as well as endeavours in creative arts and culture, Greater China studies, and overseas experiential learning for students. In appreciation of the donation, the research centre has been renamed the Joseph Lau Luen Hung Charitable Trust Asia Pacific Centre for Leadership and Change.
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