Objective: This study investigated how school counsellors in international schools in Hong Kong supported the wellbeing of students and families during the period of school closure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of parents.Method: Sixteen parents with children in eleven different international schools in Hong Kong were interviewed and the data were analysed thematically.Results: Strong pre-existing relationships, role clarity, and open communication between counsellors and parents were associated with the effective adaptation of counselling services to the changing needs of parents during the school closure period, but these characteristics were often weak or absent.Conclusions: Parents’ perceptions of counselling during the school closure period provide important feedback that schools can use to build more integrated and responsive support services. Counsellors can support students’ wellbeing more effectively during crises by communicating their roles clearly, building strong relationships with parents, and helping students to maintain a diverse experience in their schooling. Copyright © 2021 Informa UK Limited.

The study aimed to explore the effectiveness and both teachers' and students' acceptance of using three types of e-learning activities, namely online teaching videos, Internet resources, and digital games, to learn classical Chinese (CC) in the out-of-class context. Thirteen Chinese language teachers and 551 students from five secondary schools in Hong Kong participated in the study on a voluntary basis. The findings of pre- and post-test comparisons indicated that students used CC reading strategies more frequently, improved their self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation in CC reading, and participated in more self-learning activities after using the e-learning activities. User acceptance of e-learning activities was examined based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Findings of regression analysis and structural equation modeling generally support the hypothesized TAM, suggesting that students' perception of the e-learning activities would affect their intentional use, and, in turn, their actual use of the e-learning activities. Students' perceived playfulness and teacher encouragement of the e-learning activities were the most critical reasons for them to accept and participate in the activities. Implications of the findings are discussed to provide insights into the applicability of using e-learning as a new learning approach in a traditional school subject.本研究旨在探討在課外使用三類電子學習活動（包括網上教學短片、互聯網資源及網上遊戲平台）對促進學生學習文言文的成效以及教師和學生對於這些課外電子學習活動的接受程度。研究共有來自5所香港中學的13名教師及551名學生自願參與。比較學生填寫的前、後測問卷結果，學生採用了這些電子學習活動之後，增加了使用文言文的閱讀策略，提高了閱讀文言文的自我效能感和內在動機，以及較以往更經常參與了文言文的自學活動。本研究同時以科技接受模型為理論基礎探討使用者對這些文言文課外電子活動的接受程度，多元迴歸分析及結構方程模型的統計結果支持本研究的假設模型，證明學生對這些電子活動的觀感會影響他們的使用意願，再進而影響他們的實際使用量，在眾多因素之中，學生對電子活動的趣味觀感和教師鼓勵是影響他們接受和參與這些活動最關鍵的因素，本研究的結果對於在學習文言文這傳統學科採用電子學習這種新的學習模式的可行性有重要的啟示。 Copyright © 2021 世界華語文教育學會.

Teacher feedback can be useful in helping English as Foreign Language (EFL) students revise their draft writing. Investigating how EFL students respond to various types of teacher feedback in draft revision has been regarded as an important field of study. However, such investigation is time-consuming and labour-intensive, which limits its practical application in EFL writing classes. To address this issue, this study was designed to explore an initiative to use a systematic method in tracking and analysing student revisions in response to teacher feedback. Firstly, an automated tracking method was proposed and applied to examine the technical feasibility of analysing the effects of teacher feedback on student revisions for 75 EFL undergraduate students from two Hong Kong universities. Secondly, the study explicitly sought to explore teachers’ perspectives on the automated tracking method by interviews. The quantitative results suggest that the automated tracking method can analyse teacher feedback and student revision with high accuracy compared to the manual analysis, while the qualitative results shed light on the benefits and limitations of the method. Overall, our findings provide a basis for further research on harnessing the potential of technology to support teachers in developing their professional feedback practice for EFL writing. Copyright © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Our previous work, FIBER (Flipped Issue-Based Enquiry Ride), is a pedagogical framework to integrate FC (Flipped Classroom) into the process of issue-based enquiry learning for social humanities education. This paper presents our recent work, G-FIBER (Gamified-FIBER), in which we have re-worked on FIBER with the infusion of gamified learning. In the evaluative study (with 72 high-school students in Hong Kong), we showed the pedagogical effectiveness of G-FIBER was significantly higher than FIBER's, with a medium-to-large effect size. This re-work contributes to the field with evidence for grounding more future studies on the crossover between FC and gamified learning for advancing students' learning in school education. Copyright © 2021 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. All rights reserved.

This study examined how a dialogic reading (DR) program with a component of multisensory learning (MS) of Chinese characters improved early Chinese reading and writing skills in L2 Chinese-speaking kindergarteners in Hong Kong. The DR + MS program was compared to the same DR program but focusing on morphological awareness (MA) training. A total of 118 3- to 4-year-old L2 Chinese-speaking kindergartners were recruited for the study. These children were randomly assigned to one of three separate training groups: DR + MS, DR + MA, and DR alone as a control group: Before and after a 12-week training session, all participating children were tested on a range of Chinese words reading and writing-related skills. The DR + MS group demonstrated the strongest growth in Chinese word reading and writing skills. The DR + MA group showed a trend toward greater improvement in Chinese vocabulary knowledge. These results demonstrated enjoyable ways to develop Chinese early literacy skills. Copyright © 2021 ACTFL.

This study examined the perceptions of two groups of teachers, namely Secondary 3 and Secondary 6, regarding effective pedagogical practices in relation to curriculum reform. A total of 1,215 teachers from 91 secondary schools participated in the study. Collaborative inquiry, instructional strategy and catering for learner diversity were conceived as the three most effective pedagogical practices for implementation of the reforms while seven perceived student learning outcomes were also identified. Further multi-group analyses supported invariance between the two teacher groups in their perceptions of student learning when applying the three pedagogical practices in the classrooms. Results of path analyses revealed that Secondary 6 teachers viewed collaborative inquiry as having a significant effect on all aspects of student learning, but such impacts were not seen as very likely in the view of Secondary 3 teachers. On the contrary, Secondary 3 teachers conceived instructional strategy as the most effective way to enhance student learning. Catering for learner diversity had a positive association with various aspects of student learning in the view of both teacher groups. The study concludes with the implication for enhancing professional development of teachers. Copyright © 2021 National Institute of Education, Singapore.

Transmitting traditional music for sustainability has been a common theme in global music education. Recently, the school systems of Hong Kong and Guangdong have been encouraged by governmental authorities to teach Cantonese opera aiming at enhancing the sustainability of the genre and promote a Chinese cultural identity within students. This paper details a survey of school music teachers working in Hong Kong and Guangdong examining the current state of Cantonese opera teaching in the schools of both regions and investigate how it is affected by teacher variables including their interest in Chinese opera, the confidence in teaching the subject, and their perceptions of their Chinese cultural identities. A total of 1,974 valid questionnaires were received and examined. Descriptive and inferential statistics including MANOVA and chi-square tests were used to analyze the data. Findings reveal that Cantonese opera teaching is limited in both regions. While teachers are modestly interested, confident, and knowledgeable about teaching the genre, there is a significant relationship between the music backgrounds of teachers and their interest in Cantonese opera. The article discusses the findings within the context of a historical predominance of Western music within music education curricula and wider societies. Implications for policy makers are proposed. Copyright © 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

This research study contributes to understanding teachers’ perceptions and views of using controversial issues and political neutrality in teaching, through an analysis of data gathered through questionnaire responses in a wider project and 41 semi-structured interviews. There are diversified views about the relationship between controversial issues and education. Some teachers feel that it is impossible to avoid controversial issues and that using them is educationally necessary. Three approaches were identified regarding their teaching of controversial issues: ‘open’, ‘critical’, and ‘committed’. The authors argue that teachers’ actions are influenced by factors which are discussed as ‘contextual’, ‘political’, and ‘pedagogical’. Teachers operate in specific places and times, have their own views about the nature of the good society, and prioritize their professional responsibilities. These findings contribute to our understandings of the teachers’ viewpoints and how those views are shaped. Such understandings will contribute to the development of reflective education policy and practice. Copyright © 2021 Teacher Development.

Dialogic teaching has been demonstrated to be conducive to the development of such important competencies and skills as creativity, communication skills, and critical thinking skills. However, the literature confirms that teacher-student interactions in the classroom are predominantly monologic rather than dialogic across subjects, grades, and countries. This article reports the results of a study that assesses the effectiveness of a Philosophy for Children (P4C) programme in facilitating the development of dialogic and inquiry teaching in teachers in Hong Kong. In the study, training and support were provided for teachers to enable them to teach P4C to their students during Integrated Humanities and English lessons. P4C was found to help increase the teachers’ effectiveness in the classroom in terms of their ability to engage in dialogic and inquiry teaching, to develop relevant curricular materials for such teaching, to reflect on their own teaching, to recognise their students’ capacity for constructing knowledge through dialogic inquiry, to transfer the teaching strategies learned in P4C to other non-P4C lessons, and to identify and analyse philosophical concepts in the school curriculum. The findings of this study suggest that P4C plays a significant role in promoting the professional development of teachers. Copyright © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.