In order to enhance teacher professional ethics education, The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) and Qufu Normal University (QFNU) signed an MoU in August last year to establish the ‘EdUHK-QFNU Centre of Professional Ethics for Teachers’ (also known as the ‘QFNU-EdUHK Centre of Professional Ethics for Teachers’). The two institutions launched the “Experiential Learning on Professional Ethics for Teachers” course in May this year. Pre-service teachers from EdUHK can participate in a one-week camp in Qufu, Shandong – the hometown of Confucius and Mencius – to experience the cultivation of Confucian culture, and deepen their understanding of Chinese traditional culture as well as the heritage of teacher ethics, thereby enhancing their sense of identity with the country's history and culture.
The opening ceremony of the camp was successfully held on 16 May at EdUHK’s Tai Po Campus. Officiating at the ceremony, EdUHK President Professor John Lee Chi-Kin said, “Teacher professional ethics experiential learning is not just about knowledge exchange. We hope that during the learning process, EdUHK students will maintain an open-minded attitude, learn from each other, inspire one another, and collectively promote the development of teacher’s professional ethics education, as well as more firmly put into practice the norms of teachers’ professional ethics."
Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of QFNU Professor Zhang Honghai addressed that, “Through the launch of this teacher professional ethics education experiential exchange activity, I hope that EdUHK students can deepen their understanding of the essence of Chinese traditional culture, strengthen their sense of identity with the country's history and culture, and have a more comprehensive experience of China's long history and the profound connotation of the inheritance from teacher to student.”
Professor May Cheng May-hung Vice President (Academic) and Chair of the Management Committee of the EdUHK Centre for Classical Chinese Education, presented a souvenir to the QFNU representatives. They in turn introduced the activity arrangements to the EdUHK students and engaged in interactive Q&A sessions.
The first camp took place between 18 and 25 May in Qufu, and comprised expert lectures, dialogues with experts, cultural visits, moral cultivation, national situation visits, and academic discussions. EdUHK students also had interviews and exchanges with local youths.
EdUHK Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Heritage Education and Arts Management Year one student Lin Yanbing said, “Through the on-site exchange in the hometown of Confucius and Mencius, I have learned and experienced the perfect combination of Confucian culture and teacher professional ethics education, and also gained insight into the latest developments in mainland education, broadening my horizons.”
Another participant, Zhou Yinzi a Year four student of Bachelor of Education (Honours) (Chinese Language) said, “By looking back to the origins and cultivating moral character, learning from the virtuous and thinking in harmony, the camp has allowed us to better understand the noble mission of ‘nurturing virtue while cultivating people,’ which will further enhance our professional qualities as future teachers and contribute to the development of teacher professional ethics education in Hong Kong.”
