The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of "Focused Word Recognition Method" in teaching a student with reading difficulties in Hong Kong. "Focused Word Recognition Method" is considered as a structured and systematic instruction for word identification. The Chinese characters are grouped for instruction by making use of their phonological, orthographic or semantic features. The participant in this study was an 11-year-old student in the Intensive Remedial Teaching Programme in Primary Schools (IRTP). He had difficulties in reading and writing Chinese characters. The stimulus materials of this study were five lists of Chinese characters. Each list consisted of characters with similar orthographic features. This training programme lasted for four weeks. Comparison of the results of pre-tests and post-tests showed that the student made significant improvement in the performances of dictation, reading aloud and fill-in the blanks activities.
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Using confirmatory factor analysis this study examines the cross-cultural generalizability of the factor structure for the Inventory of School Motivation (ISM), an instrument based on Personal Investment theory. The instrument consists of eight different scales with 43 survey items (ranging from 3 to 7 items each) and each reflecting one of eight specific dimensions: task, effort, competition, social power, affiliation, social concern, praise, and token. The factor structure was invariant over large samples of responses by Anglo-Australian (n=2,616), Migrant Australian (n=1,265), Aboriginal Australian (n=906), Hong Kong Chinese (n=697), Navajo (n=1,776), Anglo-American (n=884) and African (n=819) cultural groups of high school students. The results of factorial invariance analysis indicated that the ISM has a stable and reliable factor structure among the 7 cultural groups. Findings also provide evidence that the ISM scales are applicable to students of different cultural backgrounds; meaningful cross-cultural comparisons should use the 43 items in educational settings.
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According to the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE), equally able students have lower academic self-concepts when attending academically selective schools than non-selective schools. Here we evaluated the generalizability of the BFLPE with diverse self-constructs (e.g., self-concepts, values, goals, interest, etc.) for Grade 7 Hong Kong Chinese students (N= 1950). According to the internal/external frame of reference model, students formulate their self-concept by comparing their own performance (e.g., math achievement) with that of other students (i.e., the external frame) as well as their own performance in other academic areas (e.g., language; the internal frame). In support of the BFLPE, structural equation models showed that self-concept, self-efficacy and interest were most affected by school-average ability. Furthermore, students with high mastery goal, low performance goals, and low avoidance goals were less affected by the negative BFLPE. In agreement with the Eccles and Wigfield's (2002) expectancy-value model, expectancy and value had positive, additive effects on students' persistence/effort. However, there was no expectancy X value interaction as posited in earlier versions of the model. Implications for teaching are discussed.
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