Bulletin Spring‧Summer 1995

enlighten policy-makers and members of the educational profession. At the faculty level, it endeavours to serve as a resource centre for all faculty members, and to create and support a climate in which interdisciplinary research projects can flourish. Some Accomplishments While the institute is only two years old, it is already making its mark in the realms of research and development, and has essential systems and mechanisms geared towards optimal functioning. 1. The Launching of Major Research Programmes A Language Proficiency Programme Dr. Siu Ping-Kee, the director of the institute and his colleagues won a competitive grant of some $4,000,000 from the Government's Language Fund in December 1994 for afour-year programme entitled 'Development of Basic Readers of Primary School Children — the Cornerstone of Chinese Language Proficiency'. This programme will address issues relating to the decline of language proficiency among Hong Kong students, and aims at designing primary readers and related materials that will help students of Primary One to Four improve verbal comprehension and reasoning. The programme is also expected to generate ablueprint for the development of primary Chinese readers which can also be used for the compilation of textbooks for upper grades. Education Quality Research Programme The programme was initiated in September 1993 in response to the current concerns about the quality of education in Hong Kong, in the developing areas in Asia-Pacific, and in the developed countries in the West. Five sub-projects have developed under this particular programme, all of which aim at promoting research on the theory, measurement, and improvement of education quality in different social, economic, political, and cultural contexts. Research Programme on Education and Development in China and Chinese Societies The significant development of Chinese societies such as Hong Kong, Singapore, mainland China and Taiwan have drawn the attention and admiration of scholars and policy-makers the world over. Many have attributed their success to their educational systems. This programme illuminates crucial issues in the relationship between development and education in Chinese societies in general and in China in particular. The programme, which has initiated 11 research projects, will help establish the institute as a flagship of studies on Chinese education. Research Programme on Educational Administration, Leadership and Changes This was established in July 1994 in response to worldwide movements for educational changes and school improvement, and to corresponding developments in Hong Kong, China and other Asia-Pacific regions. This programme, which is expected to run for a period of five years, includes five sub-projects with different emphases on school-based management, professional development, educational leadership, school management and universal education, and resource allocation patterns. The Research Programme on Comparative Studies of Curriculum Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation in Asia-Pacific Regions The programme was established in July 1994. Being comparative Dr. P.K. Siu (middle), director of the institute, with two associate directors: Drs. Y.C. Cheng (left) and W.K. Tsang (right) The Hong Kong Institute ofEducational Researchof CUHK 32