The research team developed a mindfulness course for less academically able adolescents that aims to help them improve their emotional regulation and affective control with the ultimate aim of improving their academic performances. For the duration of the course in three secondary schools in Hong Kong high dropout rate and low attendance rate among the participants were recorded. Interviews with the students revealed that most students were not interested in the mindfulness course because of the quiet and static nature of mindfulness activities. Based on these findings, possible ways of improving the course are proposed.
[Copyright of Social Work in Mental Health is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15332985.2014.932885]

This paper discusses the relationship between ageing and learning, previous literature having confirmed that participation in continued learning in old age contributes to good health, satisfaction with life, independence and self-esteem. Realising that learning is vital to active ageing, the Hong Kong government has implemented policies and programs to encourage continued learning among the elderly to help improve their health and quality of life as they age. Given the government commitment, it is essential that the policy and provision be critically reviewed for effectiveness to ensure that it is meeting the needs and expectations of older people and supporting providers in delivering high-quality programs to elders. In this light, this paper examines the role of government, providers and community agencies in developing policy and provision for elder learning in Hong Kong. It discusses the approach to elder learning in Hong Kong before and after 1997, which is marked by the establishment of the Hong Kong Elderly Commission. It investigates new directions in elder learning policy and provision and finally, it identifies the needs for future research and policy development of elder learning in Hong Kong.
[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/10.1080/0158037X.2010.515573 ]

This paper reports on some research from an ARC funded project conducted by the authors into the ways in which Australian universities establish collaborations with partners in Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea to offer courses in those countries. The research used principally qualitative methods (interviews, observations, document collection and analysis) to develop case-studies of a range of partnerships in Hong Kong. The project commenced in 1999 and is in its final stages. The paper discusses the experiences of staff who developed, administered and taught courses offered in Hong Kong by Australian institutions in partnership with a local provider. It presents and discusses findings on their reasons for working 'off-shore' in Hong Kong, their engagement with local staff and students, and their experience of Hong Kong students' coping with Australian curricula, pedagogies and assessment.
[Copyright of Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) at http://www.aare.edu.au]

An information literacy (IL) framework has been proposed for Hong Kong students to adapt to the emergence of the knowledge-based society, digital culture and globalisation. The aims of the study reported herein were to validate the proposed IL model and collect the views of practitioners and representative stakeholders on the possibility of its successful implementation. The findings of a survey, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews indicate that the aims and scope of the IL model were recognised as being relevant. Three key issues of professional development in the IL education--the realisation of capacity building, obtaining the consensus and support of school principals and teachers, and allowing practitioners the flexibility to organise their own development--were identified from amongst the concerns of practitioners and representative stakeholders. Nine modules for teacher professional development are proposed here to address these issues.
[Copyright of Technology, Pedagogy and Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14759390601168031]

Mentoring as a time-honored and effective mode of training and teaching is briefly reviewed, highlighting the valuing of the mentoring relationship in educating gifted and talented youths in Chinese history. The current development of mentorship programs for gifted students at the Chinese University of Hong Kong is explained with examples from the search for potential mentors within the university community, and the development and operation of the mentorship program of Chinese creative writings for Hong Kong students. Future directions in the development of mentorship programs for gifted students using reformation technology and peer mentors in double mentoring are discussed, and a model of three levels of mentoring encompassing telementoring, double mentoring, and one-to-one mentoring is suggested.
[Copyright of Roeper Review is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02783190009554072]