EdUHK Establishes Life Education Community for the Greater China Region to Foster Students’ Personal Development
EdUHK Establishes Life Education Community for the Greater China Region to Foster Students’ Personal Development
The launch ceremony for the “Life and Character Education Community (Greater China Region) (LACE Community (GCR))” was held today (17 June 2017) by the Centre for Religious and Spirituality Education (CRSE) of The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK). More than 100 schools have joined the LACE Community, whose purpose is to foster students’ personal and moral development.
Since its establishment in 2006, CRSE has actively promoted life education in the local community through professional training for teachers, cross-strait academic conferences and seminars, cross-region visits, etc., to foster exchanges related to the enhancement of life education. CRSE, which was established 10 years ago, advocated the establishment of the LACE Community in response to local demand for life education. The LACE Community provides an opportunity for different sectors of society, including schools, parents, medical specialists, religious organisations, welfare groups and the public, to work together to develop life education in Hong Kong. In its first phase, more than 100 schools have joined the LACE Community.
At the ceremony, Professor John Lee Chi-kin, Director of CRSE, stated that life education has long been a part of the policy-making process in Taiwan and the Mainland, but is still at an early stage of development in Hong Kong. He said, “The aim of establishing the LACE Community is to promote the long-term development of life education in Hong Kong through exchanges and the promotion of relevant experience in the Greater China Region, and to respond to the need to boost students’ positivity.”
In a dialogue session at the ceremony, Professor Lee and Professor Christine Ma-Lau discussed the role of family-school cooperation in developing children’s character. Professor Ma said, “In addition to enhancing children’s academic knowledge and hard skills, it is equally important to nurture their character and values.” She also addressed the inevitability of comparison in this competitive environment, adding that “the comparison of academic performance may adversely affect the self-identity of students who perform poorly. As they are potential pillars of society, their education should focus not only on knowledge, but also on character building, and the development of self-worth and moral values.”
Professor Lee said, “As the Greater China Region is founded on similar moral values, it is worth exploring how this cultural capital can be manifested to promote students’ character development. I look forward to Hong Kong and the other regions learning from one another to enrich and optimise the quality of the current curriculum, and teaching and learning approaches, and to explore how life and moral education can be enhanced through the participation of parents and communities.” He also announced that in the new academic year, the LACE Community would work towards the goal of expanding its membership, enhancing exchanges, conducting baseline studies of life education in Hong Kong, and producing life and education maps in the Greater China Region.
Officiating at the ceremony were Professor Christine Ma-Lau, Chairperson of Character Education Foundation; Ms Chu Wai-chun, Awardee of the Chief Executive Award for Teaching Excellence (Moral and Cvic Education); Mr Vincent Ng, Executive Director of Suicide Prevention Service; Dr Stanley Ng, Deputy Executive Director of Breakthrough; Professor Christina Maisenne Lee, Director of Wofoo Social Enteprises; Ms Lee Suet-ying, Chairman of Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools; Mr Lee Yiu-fai, Abbot of Sik Sik Yuen; Dr Yau Ka-man, Director of the Bei Shan Tang Foundation; Mr Cheung Yung-pong, Vice-Chairman of the HK Aided Primary School Heads Association; Ms Cheung Siu-yung, Director of Smile Traning & Development; Mr Lau Hor-keung, Principal Emeritus of Sha Tin Methodist College; Mr Cheng Kin-man, Principal of Christian & Missionary Alliance Sun Kei Primary School; Ms Cheng Man-chong, Founding Committee Member of the Association for Holistic Life Education; Mr Tam Wing-hang, Top Ten Regeneration Warrior; and Sr Dominica So, Supervisor General of the Sisters of the Precious Blood. The LACE Community will strive to expand its membership and launch various programmes to engage different sectors of the local community to promote the development of life education in Hong Kong.
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