ENG-1993 — Page 182

EDUCATION

conference. During the year, 672 teachers attended full-time ILE courses, and 908 attended part-time courses. Of these, 137 attended a summer immersion programme in the United Kingdom. The annual international conference in December was jointly organised by the ILE, the Department of Curriculum Studies of the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Association for Applied Linguistics. The conference, on the theme of language and learning, attracted over 300 local and overseas scholars, and more than 100 papers were delivered.

The colleges of education and ILE continued to be run by the Education Department, but planning proceeded to merge and upgrade them into a new autonomous Institute of Education, as recommended in the Education Commission's fifth report. In February, the Governor appointed a Provisional Governing Council to prepare for the creation of the institute in 1994. The institute will initially focus on upgrading its courses at pre-degree level, while planning to develop degree programmes.

Support Services

Teaching and learning in schools is reinforced by a wide range of services, mostly provided or supported by the department.

The Advisory Inspectorate advises schools on curriculum implementation, teaching methodology and educational resources; and offers short courses, seminars and workshops for teachers. Its teaching and resource centres offer resources and advice to kindergarten, primary and secondary teachers in the areas of language; mathematics; science; social and cultural subjects; computer education; technical subjects; civic education; religious, ethical and moral education; sex education and kindergarten teaching.

To strengthen the student guidance service in schools, the department encourages a whole-school approach, which emphasises a caring and positive learning environment and the involvement of all staff in solving students' problems. Its Student Guidance Section provides training in student guidance at primary level, enforces compulsory education, and ensures an adequate provision of study room facilities.

Educational television programmes, produced jointly by the department and Radio Television Hong Kong, are transmitted to schools by two local television stations. Syllabus-based programmes for students in Secondary 1 to 3 cover the Chinese and English languages, mathematics, social studies and science. Programmes for pupils in Primary 3 to 6 include health education.

In April, consultants proposed a five-year plan for developing information systems for schools and the department, covering 11 projects. The proposed computer systems will aim to alleviate the administrative workload of schools, enhance the quality of education services, and improve communication between schools and the department.

The Hong Kong Teachers' Centre, set up in 1989 to promote professionalism and a sense of unity among teachers, is supervised by an advisory management committee with wide representation from schools, teacher organisations and educational bodies; and is staffed by the department. During the year, the centre organised, sponsored or hosted over 700 activities with 50 000 participants. It maintains a professional library and publishes news bulletins.

The department's Educational Research Section conducts research, develops tests, evaluates education programmes and monitors educational standards. During the year, the section developed a new series of standardised Hong Kong Attainment Tests for junior

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