Enhancing professional development for teacher educators through international linkages: The "ACEI: Hong Kong & Macau Branch"

In Hong Kong and Macau, educational practitioners and student teachers who are committed to a career in education usually join some professional organizations in their local communities. In the past, little effort had been made by professional organizations to pull students, educational practitioners, and the interested professionals in the two territories - Hong Kong and Macau - together. In 1998, the ACEI: Hong Kong and Macau Branch was founded by a group of teacher educators with the aim at linking students, parents, education practitioners, and other interested professionals of the two territories together in a collaborative effort to promote education quality, professional growth, exchange of ideas, as well as the inherent rights and well-being of children in home, school and community. Also, it fosters interaction among student teachers, teachers, administrators, counselors, and educators to exchange ideas and develop friendships across international boundaries (Hong Kong, Macau, USA, and other countries), as well as to provide an opportunity to publish materials that help members keep up with the important issues and current trends in the field of education. The Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) was founded in 1892 by a group of school teachers and other interested professionals in the United States. With over 130 branches in the US and other countries, ACEI is now one of the oldest organizations of its kind which shares a dual commitment to the fulfillment of every child's potential and to the professional development of classroom teachers. This workshop will help participants understand more about the functions of the ACEI: Hong Kong and Macau Branch. Information will be shared concerning how professional development of student teachers and educational practitioners in the two territories could be enriched through regional and international linkages, cooperation and participation in ACEI activities.