On 31st May 2024, the Department of Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) held a cosy sharing session titled “Let’s Talk Education: HK & UK”. This presented staff and students with an opportunity to learn about the UK education system from a comparative education perspective, as well as equip the team of students about to embark on the UK trip in June with more contextual knowledge.
We were very fortunate to have invited two esteemed guest speakers – Professor Bob Adamson and Dr Teresa Ng. The seminar commenced with a comprehensive overview of education in the UK by Prof Adamson. As Visiting Professor at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China and former UNESCO Chair and Chair Professor of Curriculum Reform at EdUHK, he gave everyone present a flavour of what the education system is like in the four constituent countries of the UK, focussing especially on the curriculum, quality assurance measures, critiques and issues of that in England. Dr Ng, Assistant Professor of Teaching at C&I and expert in creative learning, then shared with us her first-hand experiences studying in the UK. She talked about teaching and learning in the UK and encouraged students on the UK trip to explore and challenge themselves through the lenses of meaning, implementation, and transformation.
A discussion panel with Prof Adamson and Dr Ng followed promptly afterwards. Questions were raised and attendees engaged in discussion regarding the parallels and differences of local and British school systems and cultures, specifically in terms of teaching and learning, curriculum, diversity, classroom management, whole-person development in the UK.