This paper describes the initial and inservice education of teachers in Hong Kong, and explores improving teacher education in the context of a changing era. According to the Basic Law for the future Hong Kong Government after China takes over in 1997, Hong Kong will not dispose of the existing educational system, but will build on it and continue…

Harold Stevenson, author of "The Learning Gap," describes differences between schools in the United States, which he feels are in crisis, and those in Asia. The article includes important differences in staff development and in the working conditions of teachers in those countries. (SM)

Teacher cohorts in England and China received special training in techniques for teaching higher-level critical and creative cognitive strategies to deaf learners. Evaluation after 6 months of classroom implementation found students improved in reasoning and critical (but not creative) thinking and teachers developed cognitive terminology and…

Four American professors formed a team to provide instruction in English as a second language (ESL) to university professors in the People's Republic of China. Participants received 180 hours of instruction in ESL methodology and English language skills based on individual approaches that covered the Silent Way, Community Language Learning, and…

Describes aspects of biology education in China, discussing school organization, science curriculum at primary and secondary levels, biology curriculum, environmental education, biology instruction, Chinese students, school factories, informal science education, popularization of science, college entrance requirements, and preservice and inservice…

The report details a 12-day workshop for 40 teachers of English as a foreign language (TEFL) held in China. It begins with an overview of the status of instruction in English as a second language (ESL) in that country, highlighting both progress and the difficulty of keeping up with demand for ESL teachers. Areas of difficulty in ESL instruction,…

This publication is devoted to distance education. "The Future of Distance Teaching Universities in a Worldwide Perspectives" (John S. Daniel) examines challenges likely to face the various countries and regions of the world in the next decade. "An Australian University's Approach to Distance Education--Formal and Non-Formal"…

This section of the journal presents state-of-the-art surveys of training in different countries in China, Africa, the Arab States, Eastern Europe, West Europe, Nordic Region, Caribbean, North America, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. (CT)

This paper presents the results of a formative evaluation of a young faculty development scholarship program conducted in teachers colleges in impoverished areas of China. In the paper we describe the implementation of the program, the utilization of scholarship by recipients, recipients' satisfaction, and outcome data. Based on these data we…

This paper explores curriculum evolution processes in relation to sociocultural considerations with respect to a (teacher-of-English-as-a-foreign-language) TEFL program conducted in Singapore for inservice (English-as-a-foreign-language) EFL trainee-teachers from the People's Republic of China (PRC). It reports on how curriculum evolution was…

The conference recorded in this document covered a wide variety of themes and consisted of keynote addresses, research presentations, and workshops. The following keynote addresses are included: "Technician Training: A New Zealand Perspective" (Wood); and "The Provision of Information Services in Vocational Education: The Present…

Drawing on work in general education, second/foreign language teacher education has begun to recognize that within its knowledge base, teachers, apart from the methods and materials they may use, are central to improving English language teaching. To understand the professional development of teachers in the English as a foreign language context,…

The three issues of the journal on second language teacher education include these articles: "We Need More and Different Flags" (Agnes Martin); "Dealing with Timetabling on Second Language Teacher Training Courses" (Craig Thaine); "Interview with Jill Florent"; "Haiku Idea" (Tim Hahn); "The Hidden…

This document is the final report of Phase I of a comparative study of teacher-training practices among 12 nation members of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. The purposes of the study were to: (1) provide concrete, comparable descriptions of teacher-preparation systems useful to educators, researchers, and policymakers in all APEC member…

This paper, written in outline form, summarizes the history and current situation of special education in China. The paper begins by listing milestones in Chinese special education from 200 B.C. to 1990 A.D. and noting that currently there are an estimated 6,500,000 children (ages 7-15, with disabilities, of whom 70,000 are being served in special…