Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2001

T r a i n i n g T e a c h e r s The qualit y of university entrants depends heavil y on the k i n d of p r i ma ry and secondary schooling they receive, wh i ch i n t u r n depends on the calibre of school teachers w h o teach them. To help train quality teachers for secondary schools, the Faculty o f Education not onl y runs regular degree and certificate programmes i n education, but also coordinates retraining programmes an d workshops on counselling skills. Understanding Teachers' Needs Over the last two years, the Department of Curriculum and Instruction has held about 20 seminars, addressing issues that range from language teaching to curriculum reform and discrepancies in learning abilities. Through these seminars, school teachers have a chance to exchange ideas and refresh their professional knowledge, while the University can know more about their needs and the challenges they face. Training in Counselling Skills To make teaching more effective, teachers need to have some training in counselling. It would be very useful to know how to stimulate the students, help them cope with emotional problems, and give them career guidance. To help practising teachers acquire these skills and apply theories to everyday teaching activities, the Hong Kong Institute of Educational Research offers a Certificate Programme in Guidance and Counselling, a Certificate Programme in Career Guidance and Counselling, and a Certificate Programme in School Discipline and Classroom Management. Seen here are some graduates of the programmes with their instructors. T a k i n g C a r e o f S t u d e n ts w i t h S p e c i a l T a l e n t s Most secondary or p r i ma r y curricula have not taken int o account students w i t h exceptional abilities. A n d due to resource limitations, schools cannot offer a w i d e enough range of extracurricular activities to satisfy the needs of these gifted students. To make up for this lack, the teachers of the Faculty of Education have for years been r unn i ng special programmes for the gifted that complement the norma l curriculum. CHINES E UNIVERSIT Y BULLETI Autumn - Winter 2001 20