This paper examines the difference between adolescents’ perception of parents’ educational expectations and their own, and the role of parental involvement in developing adolescents’ educational expectations. The sample was drawn from the fifth cycle of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2012. About 3,000 Hong Kong 15 year-old students participated in the longitudinal study by completing the questionnaire. Using a logistic regression model, we investigated to what extent and how parental expectations and involvement were related to Hong Kong adolescents’ expectations for pursuing a university degree. The effects of individual characteristics (i.e., gender and cognitive ability) and family background (i.e., family structure and SES) were controlled in the model. Results indicated that perceived and actual parental expectations were important predictors shaping adolescents’ educational expectations even after the academic and socio-economic backgrounds of adolescents were taken into account. The model also suggested that less privileged adolescents might be able to overcome their socio-economic disadvantages in achieving high educational attainment if a parent was involved in helping them to make educational plans. The importance of family interventions – in particular, home-based communication between parents and adolescents – is discussed in this paper. Copyright © 2014 INET.

Existing research largely built on Pierre Bourdieu’s social reproduction theory to explain the structural constraints for inequality access to higher education. Much less has applied Amartya Sen’s capability approach, addressing the agency of “capability to aspire” for differential post-secondary education transitions. The data are from the PISA 2012 and the longitudinal study of adolescents in Hong Kong, consisted of 2741 senior year secondary students from 123 schools. Results show that the reproduction effects are still in effect to transmission of cultural and social capital, leading to shape post-secondary education transitions. Yet, adolescents’ likelihood of expecting to pursue a bachelor degree are increased through strengthening their own capabilities after taking into account of socioeconomic backgrounds. Copyright © 2017 All Academic, Inc.

Parents as the primacy agent of socialization are important to influence students’ educational pathways they are undertaken after compulsory education. Past studies have found that parents’ social status and family resources have intertwined effect on the differential patterns of educational expectation between students from different socio-cultural milieu. Those studies indicated that students from high socioeconomic background with more family resources are more likely expecting to pursue university degree than those of low socioeconomic groups. Parental involvement, as one of family cultural socialization exists in different forms, is conducive to support their children in their process of navigation to post-secondary education.The present paper attempts to link these three dimensions of family factors – family socioeconomic status, family resources and parental involvement, and to study their relationships with adolescents’ expectations to reach post-secondary education. The data were drawn from a recent longitudinal study which was an extension of PISA 2021. A total of 3,000 students aged 15 years in Hong Kong have participated in the subsequent survey. The logistic regression model was deployed to address the research question: to what extent family socioeconomic background, family resources and parental involvement predict students’ expectation of pursuing university degree. In particular, the relative contributions of different forms of parental involvement were clarified while student academic background was also controlled.The results affirm the persistence of inequalities on structural regularities that are linked to parents’ occupation and cultural possession. Nevertheless, the role of parent involvement in social communication with their children has significant relationship with students’ expectation on going to university, regardless of parent’s social status, family resource and student’s academic background. The findings may pose the need to strengthen

This study examined the relationships between faculty trust, professional learning communities and teacher professional learning among a sample of 2120 kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong. Faculty trust was examined through trust in colleagues, trust in the principal and trust in parents to explore the effects of organizational factors in details. The results showed that professional learning communities significantly mediated the positive effects of faculty trust on teacher professional learning. However, while trust in colleagues exerted a positive effect on teacher professional learning, the effects of trust in parents and trust in the principals were found to be negative and having no significant effect respectively. Kindergartens are recommended to promote teacher learning through enhancing faculty trust and professional learning communities. Copyright © 2019 All Academic, Inc.

This study examined the relationships between principals’ leadership practices (LP), professional learning community (PLC), teachers’ perceptions of self-efficacy (TE) and whole-child development (WCD) in the context of kindergarten education. A total of 2120 Hong Kong kindergarten teachers participated in the study. Results showed that LP had positive effects on five components of PLC; LP facilitated teachers’ perceived WCD directly and indirectly through the mediation of three PLC components, namely shared sense of purpose, collaborative activity and a collective focus on child learning. Moreover, three PLC components (i.e., a collective focus on child learning, deprivatized practice and reflective dialogue) had positive effects on teachers’ perceived WCD via self-efficacy. The implications for enhancing PLCs in kindergartens are discussed. Copyright © 2019 All Academic, Inc.

The COVID-19 outbreak led to switch from face-to-face classes to virtual mode of teaching. This emerging phenomenon requires adopting new educational policies and strategies for synchronous learning at home. This study develops a conceptual model by investigating the holistic supports for kindergarten teachers, children and families. There are well-documented studies reporting on the relationships between families’ social backgrounds, home learning environment and experiences (e.g. Foster et al., 2005; Hartas, 2011). However, few studies have shown a connection to conceptualize holistic model through investigating contextual sources of support on home learning (Kluczniok et al., 2013). In coping with the challenges and limitations of home learning, Hong Kong government and kindergartens develop various measures, schemes and plans of action to facilitate teachers and families adopting different e-learning approaches and using educational resources. This study draws on the multiple data from policy documents, reports and empirical studies to analyze the impacts of policy implementation and educational programmes. The ethical issues are considered throughout the study. Five themes have been identified from the policy discourses and empirical evidence, including preparedness, adaption, affordance, responsive and transparency. Findings of this study show that a quick adjustment on information flow, social support and parenting practices that could influence the quality of home learning experience for children. This study offers an integrated view on identifying multiple sources of support that are conducive to children’s home learning. It gives insights into building a collective repertoire of educational practices for parents and teachers to adopt during the “New Normal” period. Copyright © 2021 EECERA.

Past studies have supported the view that parent background and family socioeconomic status determine the post-secondary educational expectations of adolescents. They build on Pierre Bourdieu’s social reproduction theory, but do not fully explain why some adolescents aspire to post-secondary education and some do not. The capability approach adopted by Amartya Sen, uses the concept of agency to address such individual differences and ‘capability to aspire’ may explain educational transitions. The data for this study is drawn from PISA 2012 and its longitudinal extension study of adolescents in Hong Kong. Results of logistic regression analyses suggest that the reproduction effects through school socioeconomic composition and habitus pertaining to parental expectation are major factors shaping adolescents’ expectations of pursuing a bachelor degree. However, agency factors, that is adolescents’ own capabilities, after taking into account their differing family socioeconomic backgrounds, can strengthen their aspirations to pursue a bachelor degree. This combined approach and its implications for theory and practice, as well as the limitations of the study, are discussed. Copyright © 2020 HKSAC.

This study adopts a social capital perspective to explore the characteristics of “Family-School-Community” partnership model in the kindergarten settings and how these partnerships influence play-based learning implementation. Data were collected through curriculum documents and focus group interviews with 49 participants. Findings revealed that bonding social capital was resided in teacher groups and exhibited in form of various professional development activities. Bridging and linking social capitals where those relationships are developed through the collaborations between home, kindergarten and society. Such partnerships bring about important resources facilitating play-based learning curriculum practices in the kindergartens. The proposed explanatory model may shed a light of providing early childhood practitioners and researchers with a social capital perspective of how to develop an effective play-based learning. Copyright © 2020 All Academic, Inc.

This study examined the relationships between professional learning communities (PLCs), principal leadership practices and teacher commitment to kindergartens among 2,120 educators from 153 Hong Kong kindergartens. The relationships were analyzed at both school and teacher levels using multilevel structural equation modeling. The result showed that at both levels, leadership practices promoted PLCs and exerted an indirect effect on teacher commitment through collaborative activities. Moreover, an indirect effect through reflective dialogue and a direct effect of leadership practices on teacher commitment were found at the teacher level. In contrast, the mediating effects of collective focus on student learning were insignificant at both levels. ECE principals are encouraged to introduce PLCs to promote teacher learning and commitment in the time of reforms. Copyright © 2020 All Academic, Inc.