Dr Rosemary Callingham

University of New England, Australia
Exchange to Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong

I took up a Cheung Kong Endeavour Fellowship at the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) in August 2006. My purpose was to undertake a research study extending the use of mathematics assessment tasks into a different cultural setting. The study was timely because the HKIEd had just begun a major project supporting school-based assessment.

I lived on the campus of the HKIEd in an international visitors centre. The HKIEd was situated in the New Territories, about as far away from the central part of Hong Kong as you can get without living in China proper. The facilities at the HKIEd were outstanding. The library was the best education collection that I have ever encountered and the physical environment was tranquil and beautiful. I had access to sound and video recording and editing facilities, well-equipped lecture theatres and teaching rooms and good IT and sporting facilities.

Professionally the time was exceptional. I knew that a number of well-regarded international experts were at the HKIEd, which had motivated my study. What I had not expected, however, was the large number of visiting experts hosted by the Institute. I was able to meet and listen to world class speakers, many of whom were household names in academic circles. Their expertise ranged from school reform, civics and citizenship, cognitive psychology and assessment in schools to education in the Asia Pacific region and the role of universities. Add to that postgraduate and postdoctoral students from Italy and Germany, and academics from Malaysia, the Philippines, the USA and Canada, and students from Mainland China as well as Hong Kong, and the experience was truly international.

I particularly enjoyed visiting schools. The children were delightful, and always eager to practice their English, which was far better than my Cantonese, despite the classes I took. I went to one school where we sang Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree and almost caused a riot by providing taste tests of vegemite! Teachers say the same things everywhere – they are busy, overworked, stressed – but they are also very centred on their students, and want them to do well. In the government schools, most classrooms were equipped with a computer console and ceiling mounted data projector. I was told that teachers don’t use them but I observed the equipment very well used in different classrooms. Classrooms were generally very noisy – from traffic noise, air conditioners and fans – and it was not surprising that many teachers used a microphone. Lack of voice would be a professional hazard for Hong Kong teachers.

What were the highlights? Professionally there were many, but particularly the ongoing friendships that I made and the opportunities to develop new thinking and share ideas. Education is a multi-disciplinary field drawing on sociology, psychology, and philosophy, as well as domains such as mathematics, language and the arts. At the HKIEd, I was privileged to meet experts in all of these areas, as well as in emerging fields such as inclusive education. The informal exchanges that were possible, over coffee, lunch or simply in the corridors, were an intellectual delight and allowed me to extend my understanding of the complexity of education and the enormous task that teachers face in Hong Kong.

Personally there were so many wonderful moments that I will remember forever:

• Tai Chi classes – I could just about manage the first set of exercises but the second, which required use of a sword, defeated me!
• Working with 2 delightful young Chinese students to translate some oral mental computation tests into Cantonese – a new experience for them and me.
• The farewell to a young German postdoctoral fellow who played Bach partitas and some Beethoven on the cello accompanied by the Chinese head of the arts on the piano to an international audience: British, Australian, New Zealander, Canadian, American, Filipino, Italian and Chinese (Mainland and Hong Kong) ranging in age from about 10 years old upwards. A marvelous multicultural moment: as our host said, “this is what academia should be”.
• Seeing the HKIEd production of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream with the fairies dancing in classical Malay Indian style – another unforgettable multicultural moment.
• Visiting the Swiss-German School Fair – like school fairs the world over and an incongruous delight in Hong Kong!
• And of course the amazing seafood restaurants, boat trips and shopping!

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