This study uses data collected from children in Hong Kong for the PIRLS international reading survey of 2001. A total of 4867 students aged 9 to 10 years from 147 primary schools were assessed. The aim of the study is to investigate the observed differences in comprehension skills displayed in the test results from students at three ability levels. Affective factors (attitudes and reading self-concept) are also compared for the three groups. Results indicate that the lower-ability students performed very poorly in all four processes of comprehension even at the most basic level of retrieval of facts. This weakness at the lower level greatly impaired the students' ability to operate at higher levels of comprehension involving inference, prediction, integration of ideas and critical evaluation. The weakest readers had extreme difficulty with test items requiring an extended written response. Even on simple multiple-choice items their performance was inferior to the average and higher-ability groups. Data from the supplementary questionnaires indicates that across all ability groups the children's attitude toward reading is correlated positively with reading achievement. However, data collected on the students' reading self-concept produced anomalous results that cast some doubt on the feasibility of using self-evaluation and self-report questionnaires with this age and cultural group. Practical implications from the findings are discussed.
[Copyright of Australian Journal of Learning Disabilities is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19404150509546781]

This is an exploratory study of junior secondary school students' views of geography in Hong Kong. Twelve Secondary 1 and Secondary 3 students from six schools were interviewed to reveal what they think geography is. It is found that the impact of the school geography curriculum on students' views of the subject was evidenced in students' responses to the question, 'What is geography?'. Students generally held a narrow view of geography and viewed the subject in terms of terminology, topical areas and content covered in geography lessons and what they did in geography classes, such as going on field trips and map reading. Compared with S1 students, S3 students viewed geography as a subject of a wider scope and in their responses they mentioned more topical areas and more geographical issues. However, very few students held the view that geography is a study of spatial patterns. This suggests that teachers may need to strengthen the teaching of key geographical concepts.
[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/10.1080/10382040308667533]

Prompted by an increasing concern for quality in higher education in Hong Kong, a study was conducted at Lingnan University, a small liberal arts institution, to measure the influence of university education on students' academic, social and personal growth. The purpose of the study is to assess if value has been added to students as a result of their university experience and the kind of education they received. The empirical investigation adopts an approach of assessing quality of university education using data collected from individual students about their subjective experiences during the university years and their perceptions of the value of the educational experience.
[Copyright of Quality in Higher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1353832042000299531]

Lack of shared meaning can make communication difficult for people of different cultures. Perceptions and practical experience are important influences when devising and developing online learning experiences in cross-cultural contexts. In this study, 15 educational designers studying for their Masters Degree were asked to contribute their interpretations to an ongoing study of what meaning and interpretations were generated from a series of different learning environments offered via the Web. Course materials were designed in Australia and delivered into Hong Kong, SAR, and China. Students did not always interpret the visual information in the manner expected by the original designers. This paper discusses the outcomes of the investigation relating students' perceptions of the appropriateness of the western interface design guidelines as they applied them to a number of exemplary Chinese WWW sites, highlighting the cultural differences in meaning and representation.
[Copyright of Educational Media International is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09523980210131123]

In this age of new media, children are exposed to media messages at an early age. What can we do when the mass media exert such a great influence on children? One proposal has been for the introduction of a new school subject: media education. Though media education has not been part of the official curriculum in Hong Kong, some schools, both primary and secondary, have tried it out. This paper argues for the desirability of introducing media education in primary schools in Hong Kong, with regard to social change, recent education reform and learning initiatives of primary pupils. It then draws on the findings of a study conducted in a local primary school to examine the views of pupils, parents, and teachers on the effects on pupils of the implementation of media education lessons and campus radio projects in this age of new media.
[Copyright of Educational Studies is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03055690500237033]

Surveys at a university in Hong Kong indicated that graduates of discrete part-time programmes perceived significantly higher development in eight out of nine graduate capabilities than their counterparts in full-time programmes. Several possible explanations are considered and rejected. The conventional view that capabilities are nurtured through immersion in a stimulating campus environment was not applicable, as the part-time students spent less time on campus than the full-time ones. Other data in the survey suggested that the respective teaching and learning environments might be the principal cause. It appeared that the part-time courses had more teacher-student interaction, and were more likely to employ active learning approaches. Structural equation modelling was used to examine this possible explanation. A model in which the type of teaching and teacher-student relationships impacted upon capability development showed a good fit to the data. The greatest effect was from teaching approaches requiring active student involvement and aiming for understanding. There was a mutually reinforcing effect from good teacher-student relationships. The results suggest that a strong effect on the development of graduate capabilities may come through employing active learning approaches.
[Copyright of Studies in Higher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03075070500043127]