在傳統尚學文化及近年高等教育擴張的影響下，香港家長對子女教育普遍抱有很高的期望。然而，本地大學學額供給不足、親子對教育持有不同期望似乎都是阻礙家長實現「望」子成龍夢的不利因素。為了幫助香港家長實現「望」子成龍的熱望，本研究從家長視角出發，試圖回答以下問題：（1）面對緊張的學額供給，香港家長本就很高的學歷期望是否仍對子女的學業有積極影響？（2）若家長可以使子女與自己懷有相同水平的教育期望，家長的期望是否更易實現？為回答上述問題，我們借鑑了地位取得、社會認知和社會資本理論，針對研究問題提出三種假設。接着，我們運用描述性統計方法和多元線性迴歸模型來分析本次研究所用「香港高中學生升學及就業志向研究」數據。數據分析結果最符合我們據社會資本理論提出的假設：家長教育期望與子女的學業成就呈正相關關係；而當我們控制了家長教育期望的影響時，一致的親子教育期望對子女的學業成績有額外的積極影響。Deeply influenced by the traditional Chinese culture that respects scholars and the rapid expansion of higher education in recent years, parents in Hong Kong generally hold high expectations for their children’s education. In fact, however, both the shortage of local university places and the parent-child difference in educational expectations are likely to prevent parents from achieving their expectations. To help Hong Kong parents reach their goals, this study aims to answer the following two questions from the perspective of parents. First, facing the fierce competition for university places in Hong Kong, do parents’ way-too-high educational expectations still have positive effects on children’s academic performance? Second, if parents can align their children’s educational expectations with their own, are their expectations more likely to be fulfilled? To answer these questions, we will propose three different hypotheses according to status attainment theory, social cognitive theory, and social capital theory. Then, we will use descriptive statistical methods and multiple linear regression models to analyze the data used in this study (i.e., Panel Study on the Career and Educational Orientations of the Senior High School Students in Hong Kong). The results of data analyses are largely in line with the hypothesis drawn from the social capital theory. Parents’ educational expectations are positively related to their children’s academic performance. When parents’ educational expectations are conditioned, the alignment of parents’ and children’s expectations is likely to have an additional

The benefits of parental involvement in children’s education have been well established but increasing evidence suggests that overparenting may have adverse effects on children. The question of whether excessive parental involvement hinders children’s academic and psychosocial development warrants further investigations. This study examined the associations of parental educational involvement at home and in school with academic performance and psychological health of 507 Chinese Grade 3 schoolchildren in Hong Kong. Parents reported on their level of involvement in children’s schooling and their children’s psychosocial issues. Children were surveyed to determine their school engagement, and their Chinese language and mathematics attainment was assessed. We also explored the underlying mechanism by testing children’s engagement with school as a mediator of the relationships. Our results showed that home-based parental educational involvement was positively associated with children’s language competence and psychosocial wellbeing, and the associations were linked through engaging children with school. However, the benefits reached a plateau at higher level of parental involvement in children’s learning at home. School-based parental involvement had an indirect effect on children’s prosocial behavior through school engagement. These findings highlight the significance of optimal level of parental involvement in children’s education at home for children’s development.
[Copyright of Journal of Child and Family Studies is the property of Springer Science & Business Media. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-1011-2]

The present study examined the relationships among grit, academic performance, perceived academic failure, and stress levels of Hong Kong associate degree students using path analysis. Three hundred and forty-five students from a community college in Hong Kong voluntarily participated in the study. They completed a questionnaire that measured their grit (operationalized as interest and perseverance) and stress levels. The students also provided their actual academic performance and evaluated their perception of their academic performance as a success or a failure. The results of the path analysis showed that interest and perseverance were negatively associated with stress, and only perceived academic failure was positively associated with stress. These findings suggest that psychological appraisal and resources are more important antecedents of stress than objective negative events. Therefore, fostering students' psychological resilience may alleviate the stress experienced by associate degree students or college students in general.
[Copyright of Journal of adolescence is the property of Academic Press.]

Under the new education reform in Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has expanded its undergraduate education from 3 to 4 years since the 2012-2013 academic year. Along with the transition, the General University Requirements (GUR) has been developed as an integral part on general education of the new 4-year undergraduate curriculum of PolyU. The present study examined the implementation quality and effectiveness of the GUR in the 2012-2013 academic year based on focus group interviews with teachers. Twenty teachers who taught GUR subjects were interviewed for their perceptions and experiences about the GUR. Results revealed that the teachers generally had positive perceptions of the GUR in terms of its rationales, teaching and learning modes, and implementation quality. GUR subjects were also considered effective in helping students to develop in a holistic manner. The findings suggest that the first-year implementation of the GUR at PolyU was basically successful.

Background: This study is part of a larger study entitled “Secondary Students’ Independent Learning” funded by a Competitive Earmarked Research Grant (Number HKIED 8005/03H) of the Research Grants Committee, Hong Kong SAR Government. The original project aimed to establish and validate with empirical data, a conceptual framework of self-directed learning, the characteristics and processes involved and their relations with academic achievement of secondary students. Aims and Keywords: This study aimed to explore the effect of academic aims, goal setting and planning on academic achievement of secondary students. Sample: The sample comprised 14,846 students currently enrolled at Secondary 1 to Secondary 6 (except Secondary 5) from 23 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Methods: Students completed a self-administered questionnaire comprising 4-point Likert items (1: Strongly Disagree, 2: Partly Disagree; 3: Partly Agree, 4: Strongly Agree) on academic aims, goal setting, planning, and other aspects of self-directed learning not included in this study. Each construct was measured by five items. Measurement quality of the scales according to the framework was established using the Winsteps software (version 3.72.3). Based on Rasch scores of the latent variables and standardized scores of Chinese, English and mathematics, structural equation modeling was undertaken using Mplus (version 6). Results: Analyses indicated that academic aims and academic planning both directly predicted academic achievement, with educational aims being the stronger predictor. Academic goal setting indirectly predicted academic achievement via academic planning. Consistency was found both in the structure and in the effects of the predictor across gender and year levels. Conclusion: The study shows that self-directed learning has positive effect on academic achievement of secondary students of both gender and all year levels.

There is a strong need to understand, monitor, and enhance educational quality. This paper reports on a project that developed a framework of indicators for monitoring educational quality in Hong Kong primary schools. The framework was developed through various case studies and 2 large surveys of over 200 Hong Kong primary schools (involving over 650 classes, 3,800 teachers, and 20,000 students) during 1991-95. A preliminary framework, based on the research literature, included indicators at the student individual level, the classroom level, the teacher individual level, the teacher group level, and the organizational level. The framework was tested and developed through the 2 surveys (the first conducted in 1992 and the second in 1993-94) and a total of 12 case studies. Survey data was used to map the education profiles of Hong Kong primary schools by means on indicators; by percentage of schools in high, satisfactory, and low performance; by distribution of schools on each indicator; and by profiles of characteristics of effective and ineffective schools. Six tables and seven figures are included.

This article aims to explain the role principals play in the variation in academic achievement between secondary schools in Hong Kong. The article draws on survey data from 179 key staff and 2,037 students from 42 schools. The study uses 2 analytical approaches. First, it employs classification and regression tree analysis (CART). This was used to sort out the most significant leadership practices associated with student achievement. Second, based on first-stage analysis, the study further explores the effects of leadership practices on academic achievement using hierarchical linear modelling (HLM). Results indicate that transparent and efficient communication structures as managed by principals explained approximately 12% of between-schools variation in academic achievement. Leadership practices related to quality assurance and accountability and resource management also contributed to explaining between-schools variation in academic achievement, yet they had negative effects on student achievement. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
[Copyright of School Effectiveness and School Improvement is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2013.875044]