Early exposure to quality musical activities benefits children’s holistic development and learning. It is, therefore, crucial to ensure kindergarten teachers can provide such activities for children. In Hong Kong, the Education Bureau (EDB) designed the Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide (Curriculum Development Council, 2017). While music is included as a subdomain in the official curriculum, with specific learning objectives and expectations for children, there is a dearth of research on the musical activity types kindergarten teachers conduct in practice. Similarly, no research has been conducted to explore the perspectives of local kindergarten stakeholders (e.g., quality assessors) on quality music education. Investigating these topics is vital to guide subsequent professional development (PD) efforts in kindergartens.This dissertation portfolio draws on Campbell and Scott-Kassner (2019)’s theoretical framework of quality music education in early childhood. The overall objective was to explore the provision and types of musical activities in Hong Kong kindergartens and stakeholders’ perspectives on quality musical practices. This dissertation comprises three empirical studies. Study 1 was a large-scale survey study with kindergarten teachers (n = 1,019), investigating the provision of musical activities in kindergartens and the potential differences in musical activities among teachers with different teaching experience. Descriptive, non-parametric, and parametric statistical analyses were performed. Study 2 was a content analysis exploring the types of musical activities mentioned in 164 Quality Review (QR) reports published by the EDB. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistical analyses, word frequency, and co-occurrence analyses. Study 3 was a content analysis of 323 QR reports, exploring the positive and negative feedback and recommendations for improvement regarding music pedagogical practices mentioned by quality assessors in the reports. Data was

Programming education has become essential in primary schools, yet students' perceptions vary significantly across different achievement levels. While teacher support is crucial for learning, little is known about how it influences students' attitudes and flow experience across different achievement groups in programming education. This study examined the interrelationships among perceived teacher support, students' attitudes, and flow experience in programming learning across different achievement levels. Data were collected through surveys from 549 students across 43 Hong Kong primary schools. Students were categorised into three groups based on their programming achievement levels: above-average, average, and below-average. A multi-group mediation analysis was conducted to examine the relationships between variables. The above-average group showed significantly more positive perceptions across all variables than other groups. Students’ attitudes mediated the relationship between perceived teacher support and flow experience differently across achievement groups. The findings highlight the importance of differentiated teacher support strategies across achievement tiers and suggest that fostering positive attitudes towards programming is crucial for all achievement levels, particularly through enhancing the perceived usefulness of programming. Copyright © 2025 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

The advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed information acquisition and utilization in higher education academic writing. This study fills the empirical research gap by examining how university students use generative AI tools for digital academic writing. The study investigates the experiences of 140 undergraduates enrolled in an ‘Introduction to Linguistics’ course at a university in Hong Kong employing generative AI applications, such as ChatGPT3.5 and the AI Image Generation feature in Padlet, for a collaborative multimedia Wikibook project spanning 13 weeks. The mixed-method approach included analyzing AI-generated content integration within 29 multimedia-enhanced Wikibook chapters, development logs with ChatGPT interactions, the assimilation of AI-generated content into drafts, and collaborative composition dynamics. Additionally, a survey with 98 student responses assessed perceptions regarding AI efficacy in academic writing support. Key findings reveal the multifaceted role of ChatGPT in shaping discourse, offering linguistic tools, and structuring information. The students recognized the advantages of leveraging AI tools, rapidly acclimating to their strengths and limitations through practical engagement. The outcomes of this research offer insights into students’ effective utilization of AI-generated content and suggest potential directions for incorporating generative AI tools into academic writing pedagogy. Copyright © 2024 by the authors.

Some previous studies have found that teachers are sensitive to traditional prescriptions such as the use of whom rather than who in object function, and between you and me rather than between you and I. This paper aims to examine whether Australian teachers as native speakers of English and Hong Kong teachers as non-native English speakers still display such conservative attitudes towards disputable usages these days. Data were collected via two elicitation tests. In the first survey, 34 Australian teachers and 37 Hong Kong teachers were invited to participate in a judgement test. Their responses were compared with those of students. In the second survey, 73 Australian teachers, 70 Hong Kong teachers, 207 Australian students and 188 Hong Kong students were presented with a proofreading test. The findings showed significant differences between teachers and students towards disputable usages. Both Australian teachers and Hong Kong teachers had a higher tendency to reject and replace items such as different to, less + plural noun and final prepositions. This suggests that tolerance diminishes with involvement in teaching and familiarity with prescriptive rules. Pedagogical implications of these findings are also discussed. Copyright © 2001 SAGE Publications.

We investigated the provision of musical activities in Hong Kong kindergartens and analysed potential differences among teachers with different levels of teaching experience. Using a self-designed survey, we asked 1,019 teachers how often they conducted 18 specific musical activities. Overall, we found that participants provided considerable music exposure to children. Advanced teachers (more than 15 years' experience) reported conducting more musical activities for children than Beginning teachers (less than 5 years). Principal component analysis revealed the existence of four components: Singing and Transitions (the most frequent); Movement, Technology and Thematic Activities; Sound Production; and Creativity and Self-expression (the least frequent). Teachers with varying teaching experience tend to focus on different musical activities in the classroom. Specifically, Beginning teachers reported to conduct significantly fewer musical creativity activities than Advanced teachers. We conclude that teaching experience is a crucial factor that affects the provision and types of musical activities conducted by kindergarten teachers. Findings May guide subsequent professional development efforts to better prepare kindergarten teachers with different profiles to achieve the learning objectives established in the curriculum framework. Copyright © 2024 Australian Society for Music Education.

Aviation is a multidisciplinary subject that has influenced human development over the last century. Learning about aviation exposes students to principles of flight, earth science, aeronautical engineering, language, aviation communication and airmanship. In higher education, many non-aviation undergraduates participate in aviation related activities to have a first glimpse of the aviation industry and equip themselves with basic concepts. This study aims to examine learning perception among 82 university students who have participated in a series of online aviation career exploration activities during the pandemic in Hong Kong and China. They participated in virtual visits and career talks led by aviation professionals, hands-on flight simulation activities and online discussion in an online lab setting. A mixed research method was employed with the use of a motivational survey, teachers’ observation and semi-structured interviews to understand students’ learning perceptions. This study found that flying laboratory activities could effectively motivate students to learn aviation and improve their aviation knowledge. This could promote students’ aviation industry optimism, which may help the industry to recover in the post-pandemic world. This article offers recommendations for online engineering educators to use emerging technologies to teach aviation for future career preparation. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

In recent years, AI technologies have been developed to promote students' self-regulated learning (SRL) and proactive learning in digital learning environments. This paper discusses a comparative study between generative AI-based (SRLbot) and rule-based AI chatbots (Nemobot) in a 3-week science learning experience with 74 Secondary 4 students in Hong Kong. The experimental group used SRLbot to maintain a regular study habit and facilitate their SRL, while the control group utilized rule-based AI chatbots. Results showed that SRLbot effectively enhanced students' science knowledge, behavioural engagement and motivation. Quantile regression analysis indicated that the number of interactions significantly predicted variations in SRL. Students appreciated the personalized recommendations and flexibility of SRLbot, which adjusted responses based on their specific learning and SRL scenarios. The ChatGPT-enhanced instructional design reduced learning anxiety and promoted learning performance, motivation and sustained learning habits. Students' feedback on learning challenges, psychological support and self-regulation behaviours provided insights into their progress and experience with this technology. SRLbot's adaptability and personalized approach distinguished it from rule-based chatbots. The findings offer valuable evidence for AI developers and educators to consider generative AI settings and chatbot design, facilitating greater success in online science learning. Copyright © 2024 The Authors.

Artificial intelligence (AI) literacy is widely recognized as a new set of competencies that people use AI effectively and ethically in everyday life. In K-12 education, educators have started to employ different pedagogical strategies to foster students' AI literacy. Using digital story writing (DSW) in the classroom is an effective inquiry-based pedagogical approach to address literacy development by improving language and technological abilities across disciplines. This study recruited 82 primary students in Hong Kong to attend a three-month DSW journey to learn AI and completed a knowledge test at the end of the program. Among the students, 16 best-achieving students were further invited to participate in artefact-based interviews, and we further analysed their work to understand how they formulate AI understandings. It is found that the participating students were able to propose an authentic scenario, apply their new knowledge of AI and think up meaningful AI-driven solutions in their digital stories. Furthermore, we examined students' DSW process in terms of inquiry-based pedagogical cycle (orientation, conceptualization, investigation, conclusion, discussion) to demonstrate how they learn AI. Overall, DSW as an inquiry could effectively foster students' AI literacy in using and applying AI knowledge to solve real-life problems, far beyond merely knowing and understanding related concepts. We suggest that using DSW as a pedagogy has the potential to support students to scaffold students’ AI understanding, particularly for young children. Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.