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Conservation education can be fostered through formal and informal learning. An increasing number of zoological facilities with conservation missions have provided experiential learning venues characterized by self-directed, self-motivated and diversified learning experience integrated with fun and entertainment. In this paper, we develop an emotion--time--space model to address the diversity in visitors' experience and its influence on conservation intentions. An empirical study at Ocean Park, Hong Kong indicated that visitor's emotions, temporal and spatial behaviour influence the effectiveness of conservation education. Changes of personal emotions during the entire visit, the sequence of stops made, and the nature and combinations of attractions visited matter in explaining stronger intentions to protect animals and the environment. These findings have implications for zoological theme park design and improvements of learning outcomes in a free-choice learning environment.

We first examined the effects of a year-long professional development (PD) programme for elementary science teachers on fifth grade student performance on state-mandated science achievement tests of students from a treatment and a comparison group of teachers in the 2009-2010 academic year. Then, we investigated the longer-term impacts by comparing the 2010-2011 student test results of the teachers one year after receiving treatment in 2009-2010 with the students of teachers who received treatment during 2010-2011. Test scores were analysed using a propensity score matching method to examine the relationship between the PD and student achievement. Results showed that even though the treatment teachers were out of the classroom 20% of the school year to attend the PD, there was no difference between their students' science achievement scores and those of the comparison teachers who were in the classroom every day. This is an important finding because many principals and parents are reluctant to provide teachers with release time for PD. We also determined that students of teachers one year after participating in the PD significantly (p < 0.001) with a medium effect size (?[superscript 2] = 0.088) outperformed students of teachers who had just completed the programme. This suggests that it takes time for teachers to implement new teaching strategies and that to observe the impact of an intervention programme, it may be important to expand the timeframe of the programme evaluation.

Purpose: Teacher learning communities (TLCs) formed within subject departments are conceptualized as reform platform for facilitating school improvement and teacher development. The purpose of this paper is to examine the ways in which three TLCs were structured and managed for generating change capability in secondary schools in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach: A review of the literature on the contribution of learning communities to teacher professional development, and the functions and styles of subject leadership provides the theoretical background of the study. Participant observations and semi-structured interviews were employed as the main instruments for the investigation into the potentials of TLCs for enhancing professional renewals. Narrative accounts were obtained from a total of 21 teachers (including three subject leaders) on the nature and process of their participation in the renewal projects. Findings: The findings of the interview study reveal the landscape of subject leadership orientations that shaped the collaborative practices, power relations and knowledge representations within TLCs. Variability is noted in the subject leaders' concerns for harmonious relationship, executive control, professional growth and leadership empowerment. The spectrum of knowledge structure in these communities is marked by a hierarchical relationship on one end, and a heterarchical relationship on the other. Research limitations/implications: This paper portrays the dynamics within three TLCs, and depicts a continuum of three leadership styles. The literature on subject leadership in TLCs could be enriched with further investigations into the contextual variables and sources of influence that affect the choice of leadership orientations of subject leaders who grapple with a balance between managerial imperative for control and accountability and a learning imperative for participative explorations that satisfy teachers' aspirations for autonomy and creative investments in their own professional enhancement. Practical implications: Subject leadership training should encompass reflective discourse on epistemological beliefs and assumptions on teacher learning and development, and leadership orientations that shape collaborative professional renewal practices. Originality/value: While research studies conducted in the Western world show that reflective and collaborative inquiries within professional communities have helped to improve classroom practices and teacher development (e.g. Hord, 1997), yet little is known about the management practices of subject leaders that shape the internal cultural conditions, power relations and knowledge representation within their departments in the context of Hong Kong.

Both the commercial and education sectors experience an increase in inter-city exchanges in the forms of goods, capital, commands, people and information/knowledge under globalization. The quantification of flows and structural relations among cities in globalizing education are under-researched compared to the well-established world/global cities literature emphasizing economic linkages. In this paper, the city's global education networks are examined through the Globalizing Education Index system, which consists of place power and network power indicators. The study finds that many more cities worldwide participate in global networks, suggesting decentralized knowledge flows under globalization. Meanwhile, concentration is attested by the presence of traditional education powers at the top of city hierarchy.

This article reports a case study that investigated the ways in which heads of subject departments managed the development and application of new assessment strategies in one secondary school in Hong Kong. The data of the study were gathered through participant observation and interviews with 12 teachers who participated in an assessment for learning project in the school. The results show variation in the leadership approaches adopted by the department heads, highlighting the dichotomy between managerial accountability and professional empowerment as their perceived mandate, and techno-instrumentalism and autonomous explorations as their visions for school-based renewal initiatives. The findings of the study highlight the subcultures within subject departments resulting from the different leadership styles enacted by the subject leaders, and point to the need for further investigations into the mediating roles of culture of subject disciplines and contextual variables that shape the dynamics of educational management. (Contains 1 table.)

Research engagement is an important means for teachers to develop their professional competence. This paper reports on an enquiry into the research engagement of a group of primary school English language teachers in Guangdong province on the Chinese mainland. Drawing on questionnaire data and teachers' interview narratives, the paper examines how these Chinese primary school teachers experienced research and what their conceptions of good quality research were. While the enquiry revealed that the participants had a variety of research experiences, it also revealed that their research engagement was undermined by numerous contextual constraints and their perceived inadequacy as teacher researchers. These findings will be discussed with suggestions for making research an effective sustainable path for primary school English teachers' professional development.

Teachers are encouraged to enhance professional competence through reflective practice and they are also asked to undertake research to generate evidence for their professional practices. This paper reports on an inquiry into a group of primary school English language teachers' research engagement in the province of Guangdong on the Chinese mainland. The inquiry explored the effect of educational reforms on the participants' research engagement through the use of an open-ended questionnaire and group interviews. The inquiry revealed that research engagement had become an important part of the teachers' professional lives. Emerging findings from the inquiry also problematised their research engagement as it was found to have been undermined by a competitive promotion mechanism, the teachers' conceptualisations of research and challenges in the knowledge dissemination process. The paper ends with reflections on how to make teacher research "educational" for teachers and serve as an effective way for professional development.

Research engagement has been widely considered crucial in transforming teachers into "expert knowers about their students and classrooms" (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999, p. 16). This article reports on a mixed-method study of the research engagement of a group of primary school teachers in China's Guangdong province, focusing particularly on their conceptions of teacher research and the contextual factors driving them to do research. The study revealed that the majority of these teachers opted for the type of research involving experimental use of particular teaching methods or approaches in their classrooms with the intention of improving their teaching and their students' learning. While sharing research findings through publication is an integral part of academic research, these teachers did not place much emphasis on writing for publication, although they reported alternative forms of research dissemination. The study also revealed that research has been promoted through a top-down performance review process for schools and teachers, which has research activity and outcomes structured into it. This mechanism may be effective in promoting research activity among schools and teachers, but it is far less effective in actually supporting teachers' research efforts. We conclude that further research on primary school English teachers' research experiences is needed in order to provide relevant and useful knowledge to teacher educators and policymakers on the Chinese mainland, making research a sustainable path to professional excellence for teachers. (Contains 1 table.)

Changes in assessment practices in the direction of assessment for learning (AfL) can be a powerful force to enhance student learning. This article presents a case study of teacher learning in an AfL project in Hong Kong. In the Project, AfL strategies were adopted in Chinese Language and English Language classrooms at the junior secondary level. By examining subject leaders' and classroom teachers' experiences with the project reported in interviews, the paper enriches our understanding of the variations in the subject department contexts of teacher learning, the situatedness of teacher learning in terms of knowledge about student learning, understanding of AfL and curriculum leadership, as well as the relationship between teacher learning and changes in assessment practices. The article concludes with suggestions on fostering subject departments to be expansive environments for teacher professional learning and to be a vehicle of internal change, alerts the importance of integration of AfL into teachers' pedagogical content knowledge and the subject curriculum, and highlights the cultural dimension as an issue for further study in AfL.

This article seeks to understand the ways in which feedback was communicated in post-observation conferences in teaching practice supervision within the learning-oriented field experience assessment (LOFEA) framework. 32 post-observation conferences between 21 pairs of supervisors and participants of in-service teacher education programmes, and interviews with supervisors and participants were analyzed, with findings revealed in four themes: 1. The distribution of content and nature of feedback in post-observation conferences; 2. Communicating "learning-oriented assessment" feedback in post-observation conferences; 3. Learner participation in making judgment on performance; and 4. Learner participation in target-setting. The paper concludes with discussions about how "learning-oriented assessment" supervisory practices enhance teacher construction of professional knowledge and self-regulated learning. Ways of reframing supervisory practices are suggested.

Hormonal changes mediate the regulation of anion exchanger 2 (AE2) mRNA during intestinal development in rat. AE2 mRNA shows no segmental variation or variation along the crypt-villus axis. The AE2 mRNA levels decrease between days 14 and 21 after birth. This period parallels the transition period between the suckling and weanling stages. L-thyroxine treatment after day nine post-birth significantly decreases AE2 mRNA on day 13. Dexamethasone alone or along with L-thyroxine has no effect on the AE2 mRNA level.

Background: The "Pharmacy Technician and Assistant Role Redesign within Australian Hospitals Project" outcomes were released in November 2016. Aim: To assess pharmacy staff attitudes towards expanded hospital pharmacy technician (HPT) roles in a Victorian metropolitan teaching hospital. Method: An electronic questionnaire circulated to all pharmacists, interns and HPTs remained open for 4 weeks during September 2018. Questions focused on three key domains: HPT involvement in final accuracy checking of inpatient supplies and manufactured items, drugs of addiction (DA) management and clinical support roles. The hospital's Office for Research deemed the study a quality improvement activity. Results: The questionnaire was undertaken by 61 of 122 (50%) pharmacy staff. Fewer than 10% of respondents believed that HPTs are adequately used in current practice. Final accuracy checking technicians for inpatient medication supplies was supported by 82% of respondents. HPTs signing entries into dispensary DA registers for discharge and outpatient prescriptions was supported by 81% of respondents. Best possible medication history taking conducted by an HPT was supported by 52% of respondents, but support differed between pharmacists and HPTs, with 38 and 92% supportive, respectively (p < 0.01). Forty percent of respondents supported HPT involvement in patient medication counselling. Key themes identified from qualitative data included: the need for clarification of legal and indemnity issues, training and credentialing and professional attributes for expanded HPT roles. Conclusion: These findings are informing HPT role expansion within the pharmacy department and have identified potential barriers to change. Such findings may be useful to pharmacy departments undertaking similar role redesign work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]