ENG-1961 — Page 342

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Research

UNIVERSITY

INVESTIGATION into a wide variety of problems, including such diverse subjects as drug addiction and wind stresses in buildings, was carried out in 1961 as part of the continuing research pro- gramme of the University of Hong Kong. Altogether 26 teaching departments, four of which were newly formed during the year, are concerned with various projects in the programme and a number of major developments have taken place.

One of these new developments is the work which the University Department of Education is now undertaking in connexion with the Hong Kong Council for Educational Research, a body established initially for two years, with the help of a grant from the Asia Foundation. Membership of the Council includes repre- sentatives of the Director of Education, the Post-Secondary Colleges, the Mencius Educational Foundation and the University; the Professor of Education is Chairman. Following the appointment of a full-time Executive Secretary and a clerk, the Council chose convenors to set up research committees in fields which include the teaching of English, the teaching of Chinese, the improvement of selection procedures, the education of handicapped children, the structure of secondary education and the economics and priorities of educational development. These committees, which include a cross-section of senior teachers throughout the Colony, have the dual function of disseminating knowledge of educational research already carried out elsewhere, as well as conducting original inquiries of their own. In addition to their work with the Council, the staff of the University's Education Department continued their inquiries throughout the year in comparative education and child guidance, and published several papers in these fields.

In the Department of Economics and Political Science research was again primarily devoted to the current economic and social problems of Hong Kong, China and the Far East. Numerous