ABSTRACTS - Faculty of Education - The University of Hong Kong

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論文摘要 ABSTRACTS
Exploring the Interaction between Private Higher Education and Social Change in Macau
The development of private higher education is an important phenomenon of the 21 st century. In
Macau the sector has expanded in astonishing speed. This presentation reports the interaction between
private higher education and social change in Macau. It explores the nature of private higher
education and the degree of privatization in the higher education system. It also investigates the issues
of fees, autonomy, equity and academic excellence.
LAU, Grace, CHAN, Rina and CHUNG, Lai Ping Ellie (Hong Kong Institute of Education)
[CS4.2]
How ‘Scaffolding’ Has Been Perceived as a Strategy for Construction of Knowledge in The
Early Childhood Classroom: A Reflection on The Reported Case Studies in Hong Kong with
Those in the West.
This paper reports data from a study about the challenges of educational reform carried out by three
in-service preschool teachers in Hong Kong. Intending to abide with the new paradigm shift to quality
teaching and learning originated from the West; these teachers adopted the social constructivist theory
and the application of the technique of scaffolding. The main difficulties when applying the
scaffolding techniques in a child-centered curriculum, as observed by the author in her capacity as a
teacher educator and researcher, could be the misunderstanding on the part of the teachers that there is
only one kind of scaffolding technique. This paper reports the application of scaffolding technique and
its difficulties in application as identified by the Hong Kong preschool teachers in the case studies.
The findings highlight the differences between the types of scaffolding techniques employed by the
West as reviewed in the literature with those adopted by the Hong Kong preschool teachers. The paper
concludes with a discussion that education is a complex and complicated endeavor involving a
plethora of judgments and ideologies affecting diverse people and the “meanings” of their experiences,
lives and Institutions. Implications are drawn for future policy refinement and development in Hong
Kong (SAR).
LAU, Tracy Chui Shan (Hong Kong Baptist University) [CS1.7]
Comparing Colonial and Postcolonial Pro-Beijing National Education in Chinese Communist
Schools in Hong Kong
This study focuses on the transformation of Chinese national education in the socio-political context
of the capitalist Hong Kong. It explores the reasons that Hong Kong pro-Beijing socialists initiated
education for the capitalist Hong Kong; the organization, teaching and learning of these schools and
the transformation of the educational policies and practices that students received in these educational
settings. This article deals with events that occurred from the 1946 to the post-1997 era. Initially the
ideological position of the pro-Beijing educators was relatively straightforward; they opposed both
British rule and the institutions of capitalism in line with the teachings of Mao Tse Tung and the
Chinese Communist Party. After the communist-inspired riots of 1967 the pro-Beijing forces lost a lot
of popular support. This situation was further complicated in the post-Cultural Revolution period,
when China embraced the idea of an economic opening. This made earlier opposition to capitalism
look outmoded, and forced the pro-Beijing educators to be more nuanced in their approaches to
education. The transfer of sovereignty also posted the pro-Beijing faction from anti-hegemonic to
pro-hegemonic. The re-integration with the mainland, the change in politics and the introduction of
privatization and the forces of neo-liberal globalization have created a new situation forcing these
Hong Kong socialist educators to respond quickly. Here we aim to see how these patriotic schools
transform themselves to fit into the market-oriented and globalized society of HKSAR (Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region) under the framework of ‘one country, two systems’.