In this paper, we explore the challenges experienced by a group of Primary 5 to 6 (age 12-14) students as they engaged in a series of problem-solving tasks through block-based programming. The challenges were analysed according to a taxonomy focusing on the presence of computational thinking (CT) elements in mathematics contexts: preparing problems, programming, create computational abstractions, as well as troubleshooting and debugging. Our results suggested that the challenges experienced by students were compounded by both having to learn the CT-based environment as well as to apply mathematical concepts and problem solving in that environment. Possible explanations for the observed challenges stemming from differences between CT and mathematical thinking are discussed in detail, along with suggestions towards improving the effectiveness of integrating CT into mathematics learning. This study provides evidence-based directions towards enriching mathematics education with computation. Copyright ©2021 SAGE Publications.

Against the backdrop of the worldwide spread of COVID-19, this study aims to validate a model for coping with psychological distress and examine the effect of music listening, as a coping strategy, in moderating and lessening the effects of stressors on psychological distress. Based on 198 returned questionnaires from preservice kindergarten teachers, this study suggests students experienced such common mental health issues as stress, anxiety and depression due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Time pressures, general social mistreatment, academic alienation and developmental challenges were significant stressors predicting students' anxiety. Music listening played a prominent moderating role on the relationship between stressors and psychological wellbeing mental health/psychological distress. However, music with lyrics with a positive meaning may lessen the moderating effect of musical elements. This study suggests that music listening has a prominent moderating effect on health/psychological distress, while the implicit or explicit musical meaning of the music perceived by the audience determines its moderating effect. Copyright ©2021 SAGE Publications.

Background: Educators have divided and often strongly held views on whether service-learning should be required of all students. However, studies examining students' view on mandatory service-learning are limited in the literature. Purpose: This article contrasts and examines students' views toward a service-learning requirement at a Hong Kong university before and after attending a mandatory service-learning course, and any resulting changes. Methodology/Approach: This is a retrospective qualitative study using semistructured interviews. Participants were 49 students who completed a service-learning course in the 2013-2014 academic year. They were selected according to the nature of their performance in their completed course. Findings/Conclusions: Results show that students' perspectives toward service-learning are not static but rather change dramatically as a result of their experiences. Most students, even those who recalled being initially negative or resigned, reported positive views toward service-learning after completing the course. Implications: Students' initial resistance alone is not a reason for making service-learning optional. Some students have a negative view due to a lack of information or misinformation. Making it compulsory gives these students an opportunity to decide for themselves based on true experience, which, if implemented effectively, has the potential of nurturing initially hostile or inert students into more civic-minded citizens. Copyright ©2021 SAGE Publications.

In the context of increasing disciplinary interest in ‘geographies of education’, this article looks at the particular phenomenon of cross-border schooling (CBS), wherein children are involved in daily boundary crossing for education and engage in a (usually) arduous commute. Here, we draw upon a recent research project involving CBS at the Shenzhen–Hong Kong border. We consider three aspects of this border crossing that were significant in the project’s findings: the materialities of the border; the importance of routine (and rhythm); and the daily experience of tiredness and relentless exhaustion for the children and parents involved. The article also highlights the themes of ‘Changing Places’ (especially how they are known and experienced) and ‘Globalisation’. Copyright © 2021 Taylor & Francis Ltd.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created substantial challenges across higher education, requiring academic institutes to conduct all teaching, learning, and assessments remotely online. To obtain a stronger understanding of the opinions of teachers and students in Hong Kong during this period, an anonymous online survey was distributed to all teachers and students at a higher education institute. Overall, 48 teachers and 425 students responded to the survey. This paper specifically analyzes the responses to open-ended questions from the survey to identify key topics and concepts. Open coding was used to obtain key terms, which were further grouped into categories. Results indicated that higher education teachers and students had similar issues (e.g., access to digital devices and software) and benefits (e.g., flexible scheduling and time arrangements) regarding online education. However, some categories were reported as both issues and benefits by teachers and students (e.g., communication/interaction), demonstrating that individual circumstances, abilities, preferences, and experiences, may influence satisfaction levels. Furthermore, results indicated that the delivery of quality online education enforced during a pandemic requires a multi-factorial and tailored approach. The information presented in this study will help higher education institutes to develop, redefine, and re-conceptualize online learning initiatives. Copyright © 2021 The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Education

Purpose:Social networks provide convenient communication and connection among people, and they have become essential in college students' lives. However, problems also come along with increasing concern about trust and privacy issues. This research attempts to investigate the trust and privacy perceptions of university students when using social networks for learning purposes.Design/methodology/approach:This paper investigated the differences in trust and privacy perceptions between undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) students through an online survey with 96 subjects in Hong Kong. The authors used the Mann–Whitney U test to compare the differences between the responses provided by UG and PG subjects.Findings:The authors found that both PG and UG students were generally satisfied with the use of social networking sites (SNSs) for learning. However, PG subjects used SNSs more for learning and were more willing to exchange with classmates than UG and PG perceived higher value of SNSs than UG students. The authors also found a relative lack of privacy awareness of UG students.Practical implicationsBased on the study’s findings, the authors made some recommendations about the application of SNSs for learning purposes. The authors also suggest universities provide more guidance and training to students on the privacy issues of SNSs.Originality/value:Even though some previous studies have focused on studying privacy and trust issues on SNSs, studies that aim at university students in the context of Asia–Pacific are rather limited, especially university students' own trust and privacy perceptions on using SNSs for learning purposes. Copyright © 2021 Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Learning Chinese as a second language is challenging for non-Chinese speaking population in Hong Kong. In order to facilitate the Chinese learning of this group of people, understanding their trajectory of Chinese language development is crucial. The present longitudinal study follows 88 non-Chinese speaking preschoolers in 4 time points, from their K1 to K3, in order to have a grasp of their Chinese language development in three key aspects, namely listening, speaking and reading. Results showed that non-Chinese speaking preschoolers progressed their Chinese language proficiency over time in the three domains, whereas their listening abilities have the best advancement. Though their speaking abilities were the worst at the beginning, they had significant improvement by the end of their K3. The qualitative data provides descriptors of the Chinese language proficiency of non-Chinese speaking preschoolers in different grades. The study's findings serve as a valuable reference for schools regarding school-based curriculum development, learning and teaching materials, approaches and assessments. Copyright © 2021 Academy Publication Co., Ltd.

A professional teaching development programme was established to equip multicultural teaching assistants (MTA) with skills and knowledge to teach non-Chinese speaking (NCS) preschoolers in Hong Kong. To evaluate if MTAs are perceived to be able to perform their intended roles (support Chinese and overall learning, provide pastoral support, bridge the communication between NCS parents and kindergartens, and promote social integration), questionnaires were collected from 18 principals and 74 teachers. To assess if the programme can equip MTAs with necessary skills for the planned roles, questionnaires were collected from 39 MTAs, and a focus group interview with 8 MTAs was also conducted. Results showed that principals and teachers were satisfied with MTAs' performances in supporting NCS students' learning. Moreover, the majority of MTAs agreed that the training programme helped them to perform their intended roles in preschools. Most modules taught in the training programme, apart from one exception, were well received by MTAs. The focus group interview revealed that MTAs were satisfied with the programme, though they preferred more training on Chinese writing skills and knowledge in dealing behavioral issues of children. The study shows the possibility of integrating MTAs into multicultural classrooms in Hong Kong to facilitate NCS children's learning. Copyright © 2021 Academy Publication Co., Ltd.

The Government of India’s National Policy of Education 2020 stipulates that in the following five years all stand-alone teacher education colleges will be required to convert to multidisciplinary higher education institutions. This calls for a complete overhaul of the country’s vast, diverse, and age-old system of teacher preparation. Evidence-based policy implementation is thus the need of the hour. This chapter attempts to aid the process by presenting insights from a comparative education research on pre-service teacher education (PSTE) of secondary school teachers at stand-alone teacher education institutions (TEIs) in the Indian city of Mumbai and university-based teacher education in the Chinese city of Hong Kong. Documentary sources, field visits, and 57 interviews form the basis of the findings. The dimensions for comparison include academic freedom and autonomy; pathways to PSTE; linkages of teacher education providers; and role and working conditions of teacher educators. The chapter deduces the core differences in teacher education at stand-alone TEIs vis-à-vis that at a university and draws out implications of shutting down the former. It concludes by laying down a road map for the effective universitization of teacher education in India that will result in genuinely improving teacher quality. Copyright © 2021 Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Ever since the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China on 1 July 1997, policy makers in Hong Kong have instituted a series of de-colonising language policies, notably Mother Tongue Education (Education Department, 1997. Medium of instruction guidance for secondary schools. Retrieved from https://www.legco.gov.hk/yr97-98/english/panels/ed/papers/ed1508-6.htm.) which emphasises the importance of the Chinese language in rebranding the city as a cosmopolitan bilingual city in Asia. One unintended consequence is that linguistically and culturally diverse pupils in the system are struggling to learning Chinese as an additional language (CAL). Against the backdrop of existing CAL policies which promote decentralisation and school-based curricula, this exploratory paper aims at examining the extent to which the language planning context has facilitated and constrained CAL teachers’ agency in Hong Kong secondary schools. Based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 10 CAL teachers purposively recruited from three local secondary schools, this study finds that certain features of the language planning contexts have constrained and transformed teacher agency in ways that lead to what Cummins’s (2000. Language, Power and Pedagogy: Bilingual Children in the Crossfire. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.) refers to as ‘the narrowing of the curriculum brought about by teaching to the test’ (p.248). The resultant emphasis on the short-term CAL goals, as manifested by this maximum-variation sample of teachers, is discussed with attention to how teacher agency is ecologically achieved and claimed, and a call for restructuring existing CAL policies to attend more to the mediating impact of the ecology on teacher agency, and to purposively channel teachers’ agentive action towards the long-term goal of mainstreaming. In doing so, CAL teachers can truly be ecologically set up as agentive language planners in the face of increasing