This paper examines the effects of course characteristics on student ratings of university teaching. The multivariate effects of various course characteristics on student ratings of university teachers were examined by a 54322 multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with academic discipline, class size, level of course, type of course, and mode of study as independent variables and a set of six composite student ratings as the dependent variable. Data were obtained from a university in Hong Kong and consisted of 4996 course average ratings collected from 25 departments over two academic years. Significant differences were found in course average student ratings across academic disciplines, class size groups, course levels, types of course, and modes of study. The effect sizes of the largest differences between sub-groups within each of the factors were also estimated. Academic discipline differences and class size were found to have the largest effect on student ratings, with effect sizes of 0.43-0.86 and 0.55-1.01 respectively. Implications of the findings are discussed.
[Copyright of Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0260293990240207]

This study is part of a cross-cultural investigation that was initiated in Sweden followed by studies in Australia and Singapore. This paper shows how a phenomenographic approach may be used to reveal the qualitatively different ways in which 40 students in Hong Kong primary and secondary schools experience and understand the phenomenon of graphic representations of quantitative data. An outcome space depicting four variations of the children's understanding are revealed.
[Copyright of Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0031383990430102]

Using data gathered directly from over 100 executive MBA students in Hong Kong, this article reveals the reasons why executives decide to pursue an MBA and highlights significant differences in motivations by gender, age, educational background, and working experience that have important implications for MBA course and program developers.
[Copyright of Journal of Education for Business is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08832320009599021]

Promoting social integration and meaning derived from activities can be effective approaches to facilitating basic and advanced development among young participants in the Summer Youth Program of Hong Kong. Its rationale rests on the humanist perspective, which emphasizes the individual's deriving meaning and maintaining affiliation with people. To examine the effects of these experiences in the program, the study employed a pre-post design to survey 799 adolescent participants' experiences with the program and their basic (more emphasis on potential. skill, and social well-being) and advanced (more emphasis on civic responsibility, volunteerism, and transcendence) development. Results reveal that experience of the social integration approach tended to increase young participants' basic development, whereas experience of meaning in program activities appeared to induce advanced development.
[Copyright of Journal of Social Service Research is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J079v31n02_01]

In this short paper, we review the geographical education research carried out in Hong Kong and discuss their relevance to teacher education. The methodologies used in these reviewed studies will also form part of our discussion here.
[Copyright of International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10382040308667538]

This paper describes a research project investigating the workplace learning experience of information technology (IT) workers in Hong Kong. The research project explored in depth the workplace learning experiences of 65 IT workers from three different work sites. It went beyond the identification of workplace learning methods and resources workers used at work by probing into the complexities of workplace learning processes and the theoretical issues of workplace learning. A qualitative approach was used, relying primarily on data collected via in-depth interviews. This paper reports that (1). IT workers found troubleshooting, project work and installation of hardware and software, the most likely contexts to produce significant learning; and that (2). the rapid pace of technological growth in the IT industry results in a different learning environment to traditional industries such as tailoring, thus raising questions about the applicability of the notion of the community of practice as proposed by Lave and Wenger. Furthermore, by probing into the processes of known workplace learning methods such as learning from colleagues and vendors, this study uncovered many interesting findings about the workplace learning experience of IT workers.
[Copyright of Studies in Continuing Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01580370802097728 ]