Bulletin Vol. 7 No. 7 Mar 1971

Staff Development Programme - A Close-Up Mr. Ho Kam-fai 生先輝錦何 In 1965 the University established a Staff Development Programme with the aid of a generous grant from the Ford Foundation and various other sources to enable selected staff members to go abroad for further advanced study and training. Together with visiting scholars and advisers from abroad, the programme was designed to ensure that the University remain "a Chinese institution of international character", providing a bridge between the East and West. The programme has enabled a number of senior academic and administrative staff to pursue advanced study and to reacquaint themselves with scholars and academic developments abroad. With this issue of the Bulletin we begin a series of interviews with participating staff members who will give an appraisal of the programme. The Bulletin is pleased to present the first "Close-Up" of Mr. Ho Kam-fai, a recipient of Ford Foundation Grant. The views expressed here represent the personal views of Mr. Ho and do not necessarily represent the Bulletin. Mr. Ho Kam-fai, lecturer and head of the Department of Social Work, United College, went to the School of Social Work, Columbia University, U.S.A. from September 1968 to June 1970 to read for his doctoral degree of Social Welfare (D.S.W.). During this period he finished the course work requirements leading to the doctoral degree and also had his dissertation proposal approved by the School prior to his return to the University. He will work on his dissertation while assuming his full-time post in his Department. Content of his Doctoral Studies Mr. Ho concentrated his studies on the Social Policy and Planning aspect of Social Welfare. He was under the guidance of an internationally known scholar in this area, Professor Alfred J. Kahn. As Mr. Ho sees his career more in the field of social work education than in practice, he selected, with the concurrence of his faculty adviser and the Advanced Programme Committee, education as his social science area which is a required component in the doctoral programme at Columbia University. He therefore had a number of courses on higher education at Teachers' College, Columbia University. Included in his course of study were: Philosophy of Higher Education, Comparative Education in the East, Curriculum Instruction in Higher Education, Supervision and Administration in Education. A third compulsory component of the programme is the research sequence. A series of courses and seminars were taken to acquaint him with contemporary theories and techniques in social research, with intent to enrich and deepen his competence to conduct independent scientific inquiries and surveys later in his professional career. The fourth and final area consisted of a number of elective courses taken in various Schools in, or affiliated with, the University. These elective subjects normally bear close relation to the major area of concentration or to career needs. Special Arrangements To make his educational programme more attuned to the needs and demands of his work at the University, Mr. Ho requested his faculty adviser for permission to participate, at least as an observer, in certain activities and committees related to administration in an academic institution. Consequently he had the privilege and opportunity to learn about such matters as admission and selection of students, student evaluation and assessment, student participation in academic policy and administratio staff development and training, promotion and tenure systems, curriculum and sequence development, etc. Arrangements were also made for him to visit a few Schools of Social Work within commuting distance and organizations connected with social work education and practice, such as the Council on Social Work Education and the National Association of Social Workers. These visits were valuable in the sense that they provided knowledge and information about the diversity of curriculum modality for the professional education of social work. Advantages of the Advanced Studies According to Mr. Ho, advantages accruing from advanced studies fall into two broad categories: 1. General Advantages It is widely accepted that staff development is an essential and on-going process for any organization, particularly for academic institutions which are expected to efficiently discharge society's mandate, namely transmission of knowledge and creation of knowledge. A university faculty member should keep himself abreast of contemporary trends and knowledge in his field of specialization. One of the most effective means to this end is to enable him to join the mainstream of the academic —3 —