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Copyright of Journal of Curriculum Studies / Kecheng Yanjiu is the property of Angle Publishing Co., Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: "Spirituality Education" of children has gained more concern in recent years, but there is a lack of consensus for its meaning. Some literatures regard Spirituality Education as Religious Education, while quite many literatures have shown a close relationship between Spirituality Education and Humanistic Education, which could be unrelated with Religious Education. What is the meaning of "Spirituality Education" being mentioned by the EKE reformers after all? Is it the former or the later? The Guide to the Preprimary Curriculum (2006) proposed "Lifelong learning" and "Holistic Learning", affirming the need of child-centredness (Humanistic Education) in curriculum. If so, there is a likelihood that "Spirituality Education" has a closer connection with humanistic education than with religious education. It is therefore vital to clarify the meaning of "Spirituality Education" for fostering the current early childhood educational reform. This paper seeks to explore if Spirituality Education has been misunderstood by the early childhood education practitioners with a result that hindering the implementation of educational reform. Focus of Discussion: Through literatures review and the author's interpretation, this paper attempts to demonstrate that Spirituality Education is actually closely related with Humanistic Education and Holistic Education. Spirituality Education shares similar elements with that of liberal studies, in which the concerned areas and aspects of knowledge are widespread. Hence, it is not limited in promoting Religious Education. And pedagogies adopted in Spirituality Education mainly emphasize diversified and critical thinking. The rationales behind Spirituality Education are closely related with that of Humanistic Education and Holistic Education. Spirituality Education has no direct relation with Religious Education which emphasizes direct transmission of religious dogma. Suggestion: In view of the importance of the role of Spirituality Education played in early childhood educational reform, early childhood education stakeholders are encouraged to distinguish the differences between Religious Education and Spirituality Education. The early childhood educational institution should discriminate between them, and to practise their school-based curriculums and pedagogies in accordance with their schools' missions and religious backgrounds. It is hoped that the authorities could tolerate and accept schools with different missions, religious and cultural backgrounds, to provide them opportunities for receiving school vouchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The "Primary school curriculum leadership" scheme was first introduced to Hong Kong primary schools by the Education Bureau in year 2002/03. An additional teaching post which was known as Primary Schoolmaster/Schoolmistress (Curriculum Development) - or PSM(CD), had been created to help the school head to lead internal curriculum development in primary school. This scheme was considered to be a pioneering initiative in Hong Kong as well as the Chinese culture societies. Aims: The paper reviews the curriculum leadership development in Hong Kong primary schools by examining the impacts of the work of PSM(CD) on internal curriculum development and school development in the context of curriculum reform, the challenges and difficulties faced by the PSM(CD)s in discharging their responsibilities, their successful experiences, and provides implications for future development. Comments: PSM(CD)s claimed that to carry out their responsibilities, they needed to perform different roles such as coworker, mentor, innovator, role model, and leader. Furthermore, the most important factors that would hinder their work were school organizational factors, supports of school heads and colleagues, readiness of the school as a whole for change, and personal limitations. Conclusion: This paper argues while some achievements had been made since the introduction of the PSM(CD) scheme, it is also worth our attention to note that this scheme promoted teacher leadership development at the school sites, which eventually contributed positive impacts on whole school development. On the other hand, it is noted that PSM(CD)s would encounter many difficulties and challenges in discharging their duties. There is urgent need to find out solutions to help the newly appointed PSM(CD)s to develop their competences and become a "successful" curriculum leader. This paper also concludes the successful criteria of the work of PSDM(CD) which should be a useful reference for the PSM(CD)s as well as the school heads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Educational Practice & Research is the property of National Taipei University of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Taiwan Journal of Sociology of Education is the property of Taiwan Association for the Sociology of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)