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In 2004, the
University Grants Committee (UGC) asked all Hong Kong's
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to re-define their
roles. How has HKIEd responded?
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At HKIEd, we have a clear and
distinctive mission. We were established to nurture knowledgeable,
caring and responsible teachers who will serve the needs
of Hong Kong schools. We also have a commitment to focus
on applied research that supports the needs of education
and the local school community. This role is endorsed
by the UGC.
While our agreed role does not need to be re-defined,
there must be a re-interpretation of teacher education
so that it covers a broader spectrum of employment opportunities
and is not confined to teaching pupils in schools. In
a knowledge-based society, professionally trained teachers
will become facilitators helping people in many walks
of life to learn. This broader conception of teaching
will see them working as librarians, IT coordinators,
providers of learning resources or extra-curricular activities
in schools, textbook editors and authors, as well as trainers
and tutors outside schools.
I also believe that our role as a provider of continuing
professional support will need to be strengthened. Various
educational reforms are having a significant impact on
teachers, principals and schools as a whole. For example,
curriculum reforms and the move to school-based management
mean that we will need to enhance our support for teachers
and schools both through relevant courses and applied
research activities.
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The education sector is facing the thorny
issue of redundant teachers. What are your views on this problem
and what repercussions will there be for HKIEd graduates and
the entire teaching profession in the long term? |
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This problem is not unique to Hong Kong. Like many other
parts of the world, as sub-degree teacher education programmes
are upgraded to degree level, we end up with tensions among
those who are already in the profession and those who have
higher qualifications and want to enter the profession. In
developed countries such as the UK and the US, the problem
is less acute as there is a high rate of teacher turnover
with many teachers moving into other areas of employment where
their skills are transferable. In Hong Kong, the structural
change in qualifications is exacerbated by demographic developments
and policy measures such as priority employment for redundant
teachers. We are also seeing schools employing many new teachers
in a range of more short term and less established posts.
New and trained teachers will always be needed to provide
fresh blood to the profession. They contribute new perspectives,
support innovation and provide constructive challenges to
orthodoxy. According to annual surveys carried out among Hong
Kong school principals, our graduates are highly regarded
for their enthusiasm, initiative and sense of responsibility
- characteristics crucial to a professional teacher. Also,
despite the predictions, in 2003 over 96 percent of our students
obtained employment or went on to further studies. At the
moment, Hong Kong is still operating under the planning mindset
that matches supply with demand and the premise that graduate
teachers are guaranteed employment. This will have to change
over time as has happened in other fields such as social work
and the legal profession. |
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