Welcome to the Department of Health and Physical Education (HPE),The Hong Kong Institute of Education. The Department was newly established on 1 July 2009. With a team of dedicated staff, we educate our students to be self-reliant life-long learners that model healthy behaviors both personally and professionally through the effective and innovative teaching that focus on health and physical education.
A growing number of Hong Kong children and adolescents face serious health problems exacerbated by unhealthy lifestyle, behaviours and social environmental conditions that lead to stress, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, compensated dating, poor self-esteem, and alienation. Risk behaviours and social morbidities have produced an alarming rise in health problems among the youth.
To face the health challenges of our community, HPE will design and implement new programmes to equip in-service and future teachers with professional knowledge, skills and attitudes to promote health practices in local schools and the community. Our department is now introducing a Professional Development Course in School Health with the aims of tackling public health challenges in primary health care level and integrating education and research of adolescent and children’s health development. Besides, as the key PE teacher education provider in Hong Kong, we have developed the largest international network of joint projects in physical education, sports sciences and management worldwide.
We are also ready to embrace opportunities to cooperate with local schools, teachers, sports and health specialists and other community groups for evidence-based health-related research projects. We are now preparing to roll out various school health promotion campaigns and community health services in 2011. Areas of focus include substance abuse, infection control, pain management, nutrition, physical fitness and sports health. With our expertise in teaching and learning, the Department is in an ideal position to integrate communities – school teachers, students and the general public - with education and information.
I invite you to explore more about our Department by browsing this website and share our enthusiasm on health and physical education.
Dr. LI Chung
Acting Head
The Department of Health and Physical Education
